Salt Oakwood, Leeds

Visited yesterday, despite being lunch time, albeit on a Tuesday, the place was quiet with just two other people in and no sign of anyone sampling the stew (or oysters). Six hand pulls at the bar offering Cromarty Hit The Lip, Theakston Best Bitter, Vocation Bread & Butter, another Vocation beer, something by Kirkstall and a house ale also brewed by Kirkstall. My half of Hit The Lip set me back £2.10 and unfortunately was a bit on the warm side despite being pulled through prior to my glass being filled. The head was a little on the generous side too, but not quite enough to complain about. In terms of décor this is a modern feeling café bar with various types of seating. Music was playing which was pleasant and at a perfectly acceptable volume. I have been here before a few years back and thought it was OK, but I didn't really take to it on this occasion.

This is a welcome addition to the area, with its four hand pumps and an interesting collection of keg beers and foreign lagers as well. Plus there's the food - mostly stews, as you would expect; didn't see any oysters though (not that I was looking too hard). The ambience is definitely at the cafe end of the spectrum and I'm not sure I could have stood much more of the music... Beers on the bar were Kirkstall Pale Ale, Thornbridge Jaipur, and two beers that would take almost as long to say as to drink: Redwillow Brewery's Faithless XIV(2), which is a saison flavoured with juniper and lemongrass, and Hand Drawn Monkey Brewery's What Would Jephers Do?, which is described as a speciality grain beer. I didn't have time to ask for either of these, so I settled for the Kirkstall Pale, which was OK but a little pricey I thought at £1.70 for a half. If I lived around here I would definitely pop in from time to time to check out the beers, but I wouldn't make a special trip (anyone who likes oysters might have their own reasons for disagreeing with me).

nice little new pub in what used to be a bank nice range of real ale and food on offer well worth a viset