The Thomas Leaper (Lloyds No 1 Bar), Derby

Smaller brother of the one next door. Its ok. Its also very much Wethers-by-numbers.

This is literally next door to the Standing Order. While it is not as grandiose as it's neighbour it is comfortable enough and on my two visits I had two excellent pints and a "Special Offer" Beef Madras for just £3.99. It is nowhere near as hectic as the Standing Order and getting served was fairly straightforward. It's a large single room with the bar on the left and the usual assortment of tables and chairs with the odd sofa. There are ten pumps at the bar and of these two were "available soon" guests and one was unclipped. The rest were the usual two GK beers, London Pride, Pedigree, the American Wheat Street, Backyard X2 and Leatherbritches Lemon Grass and Ginger. On my early visit I asked for the Backyard X2 and while it was being poured I enquired about the CAMRA discount. The barman said that it didn't apply to this one as it's too strong. He then revealed that the ABV was 7.4%. As it was poured I had to go along with it and it cost the princely sum of £3.25. On my return I had the Lemongrass and Ginger (£2.65) which did have the discount and went down a treat with the curry. This is a decent enough Spoons but as it's a Lloyds I'm not sure what it would be like in the evening. It's not in the same league as the Babington but I much preferred it to the Standing Order next door.