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The Hop & Cleaver, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 3JF
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Hop & Cleaver
This place is more than well described below and if I'd read about it in advance I might have concluded that it was a trendy expensive place that I wouldn't like. It turned out to be the exact opposite although on a Thursday afternoon it was quiet. The young female staff were very friendly and were happy for me to sit near the bar in the dining area even though I wasn't eating.
The bar has six hand pumps which had one unused, Liverpool Craft Brew #56, Hop Cleaver Hapsburg & Bosch, Arbor Basta Rosse and Cullercoats Fortification.
I went for the premises brewed Bosch which was a 5.5% smoked porter at £3.10 a pint and in first class condition. I preferred it here to the more famous Crown Posada nearby and would happily return.
On 8th June 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Hop & Cleaver
This is a large atmospheric old building in the Quayside area, housing a bar, smokehouse and brewery. You enter into a sizeable front seating area with plenty of high tables and stools and a few upturned barrels on which to rest your pint. To the right there is a small room signposted 'Taproom' which had low stool seating, a nice little fireplace and a series of beer taps which you can apparently pour your own beer from, should the walk to the bar be too daunting a prospect. Steps to the rear of this space lead up to the main bar area with the servery along the left hand wall, split by an old wooden pillar. There is a lot of old exposed brickwork and gnarled wooden beams and pillars throughout, which give the place a sense of history and make it quite an atmospheric spot to relax in. Beyond the bar is an uneven stone floored dining room with a long banquette down the back wall and standard tables and chairs through the rest of the space. Four ancient looking pillars with rope wound around them stud the mid-section of the room and there is plenty of old, battered looking stone and brickwork on show, with a wood store high up on the rear wall. A door to the right takes you through to the small on-site brewery and from here you can access their sister pub, Redhouse, which is next door. Opposite the bar there is a pleasant courtyard with decent looking garden furniture and a few plants and again from here you can access the neighbouring pub.
I popped in here to grab a bite to eat and enjoyed a burger from the notably meaty menu. I also felt compelled to try some of their own beer and had a choice of Hop and Cleaver Portly Stout, Copper Head, Pale Face or Red Horn. I gave the Portly Stout a try and thought it was okay without really blowing me away. Other cask options were Anarchy Knuckle Dragger, Bandwagon Orange Wit Beer, Electric Bear Livewire and Saltaire American Nut Brown, whilst keg and bottle drinkers were catered for with a wide range of options.
This is another excellent pub from the chain behind Redhouse and Lady Greys. I thought the interior was an excellent use of an unusual old building and the diverse range of enterprises being undertaken such as the brewery and smokehouse, is to be applauded. I had to cut my visit here short due to needing to head off for a train home, so I'd be very keen to make a return some time.
On 17th May 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Hop & Cleaver
I ended up in here by default having walked through from The Redhouse adjoining, a similar pub, almost the same one really. An ancient Elizabethan feeling building, lots of exposed stone walls, this is a brewhouse with the vessels free to inspect in a dedicated back room. I think the divide with the adjoining pub is the tiled and cobble floored alleyway but it is not that clear. Beamed ceiling, logs stacked by old fireplaces, an exposed brick arch leads from the main bar to a rear drinking area. One room has a white tiled wall and marble topped tables otherwise there is wood stained panelling and a rustic gnarled beamed ceiling. Knots of ropes around the timber posts. Their own brews of Quayside Porter, APA and India Red were on plus Hawkshead Windermere Pale and one called Almasty Mild plus Ticketybrew Pale Ale.
It's hard to know where this pub and The Redhouse start and finish, they are separate pubs but linked inextricably together. The overall experience is really rather good though even if you are not sure which pub you are in.
On 6th June 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Hop & Cleaver
We tried two of the Hop and Cleaver beers on this visit, and we're impressed. We tried the Simcoe at 4.9, which was full of flavour and also their refreshing Citra light at 3.6. The pub always has three of their beers on and a choice of guests, the Consett Ale Works White Hot was also good. A staff member told us that they don't supply their beers anywhere else.
The interior of the pub consisted of exposed roof beams, exposed brick walls and some old flag stones in front of the bar. The bar counter was a reclaimed white marble top, also there was lots of large wooden tables and bench seating near the front. All in all, an interesting pub and well worth a visit.
On 18th March 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about The Hop & Cleaver
A newly opened brewhouse owned by the same guys who have the Redhouse. In fact they share the same toilets and you can walk from one to the other via a rear passageway. Very nicely converted into a multi roomed bar. As you enter there's a seating area to the left and a small room to the right called The Taproom which can be hired complete with your own beer tap. Up a couple of steps, the bar is on the left, a further room at the rear is used for dining. Through the dining room is another room where the brewery is situated which also has a long table, there's also a small courtyard. 9 beers available on our 2 visits with 3 selling Hop & Cleaver beers the others had changing guests from a myriad of breweries. There are also several craft keg taps and a large selection of bourbons. They also have a smokehouse and the food looked excellent if you like 14 hour slow cooked brisket or 10 hour slow cooked pork. All the beers I had were in very good nick. Add a friendly barman and a pleasant atmosphere and you have a bar that I suspect we'll visit again and again.
On 31st October 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3224 recommendations about 3135 pubs]