Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Northern Monk Refectory, Leeds
Holbeck
Postal town: Leeds
LS11 9YJ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Northern Monk Refectory
Tap house set in the first floor of a former warehouse above the brewery, this has an appropriate quasi-industrial look with mostly canteen-style tables. Whilst it looks the part, the lack of furnishings means that it echoes badly when busy (as it naturally was on the Saturday evening when I visited). However, the eye is naturally drawn to the minimalist centrepiece of the bar-back with 16 plain numbered taps plus a couple of anonymous handpumps on the counter itself. These provide beers in a huge range of styles, and mostly at higher strengths, but after a good deal of dithering I went for the keg Eternal Session IPA (£4.40, and one of the cheaper and weaker offerings).
On 16th February 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Northern Monk Refectory
The Northern Monk refectory is based in a refurbished warehouse just outside the town centre.
Having run across New World IPA a few years ago on keg and thoroughly enjoyed it, this place was something of a must visit.
The brewery is downstairs with the refectory on the top floor.
It's a fairly basic space with long tables and benches decorated with vintage fire apparatus and offering decent views of the city. It's well named as it lacks any trad. boozer features but it does have something of an acoustics problem. The low ceilings seem to create a sort of 'boom' which makes hearing conversation, even with those sat next to you, difficult. Perhaps my hearing's just going with age.
It's also worth noting that there's a large outside area in front of the building with a well kept 'courtyard' and plenty of picnic tables for the alfresco pint.
The staff here were superb: chatty, friendly and informative on the wide range of beers available and very keen to offer tasters so that we made the correct choices.
Thai food is served all day and although we didn't eat the menu looked tempting.
The beer is mainly keg with 16 taps behind the bar and all the beers, and one cider, listed on a board above the taps. The range of keg beers was wide in terms of styles, flavours and strengths with many experimental brews available which are only served here.
Just the one cask ale on - Striding Edge, a lower strength pale ale which was packed full of flavour and almost made me weep that it was the only cask choice.
If you want amazing beer and aren't overly interested in what your companions are saying then this is the place for you.
On 26th July 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Northern Monk Refectory
This bar won't suit everybody,and CAMRA members may wish to stop reading now !This is the home of Northern Monk Brewing,with the kit on the ground floor and an open plan bar on the first.There are a series of long refectory tables with bench seating,together with some small tables to the side,but the hard floor and little decoration meant noise bounced around the interior,and it was busy on my Friday after work visit.Mainly a young crowd,but all welcome and the barmaid was very informative on their beer range and kindly offered tasters.There are two handpumps,with only one operational dispensing a collaberation brew called Striving Edge,which on running out was refreshed with a new barrel.However the focus here is on keg beer,with a very wide range of styles and strengths from Northern Monk along with a few guest kegs from the likes of Four Pure.There must have been around 15 options,and I sampled Northern Monk Faith (unfiltered grapefruit taste),Disobedience (pokey IPA with deep hops) and Neopolitain (tasted like the said ice cream with the underlying flavours you would expect,fantastic). There were some knockout strength beers as well ,and if you are prepared to give keg a go,there are some outstanding flavours available.Food is from a short Thai menu.
It's a bit pricey,and the unisex lavs are just part of the hipster vibe,but for me this is a must visit if you want to see whats available at the cutting edge of brewing in the UK.I will be back. Just a shame most of the beers will never find their way to cask conditioning,now that would be nirvana.
On 8th July 2017
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Northern Monk Refectory
Enjoyed some hand pulled ale and some craft beer on our visit. I noticed their beer prices were not displayed anywhere on this visit. They did have a beer board on the wall with the names of the beers and the ABV. The deco to this upstairs bar was very similar to Brewdog. The ceilings and floors are concrete. The downside here are the noise levels, especially when on our visit, there was a group of loud middle aged drunks acting like teenagers.
We found the barman in here to be very unfriendly and not at all welcoming. The toilet issues in here were also bizarre, as when I went to the loo, I saw a lady coming out of a cubicle. I immediately thought I was in the ladies, I couldn't see any other toilets, so I went to the bar to enquire. The stuck up barman told me that they were unisex and then proceeded to say sarcastically that we live in 2015 and that's the norm now.
When we finished our drinks I took the glasses back to the bar, and gave the so called barman a chance to say thanks, as he was stood in front of me, he forced a muttered thank you, begrudgingly.
On 14th June 2015
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about Northern Monk Refectory
A first floor brewpub specialising in craft beers. The room is very plain at the moment and is obviously a work in progress. There are 4 handpumps on the bar alongside numerous keg taps. None of the handpumps were clipped, so I asked the barman what was being served on cask. "Errrrrrr! nothing" he said, we'll probably have one on tomorrow. If they don't serve cask late on a Friday afternoon then when will they? We walked out and went for some proper beer at The Grove. Sadly another example of the craft beer brigade being so far up their own arses it probably hurts.
On 6th January 2015
- rating: 1
[User has posted 3223 recommendations about 3134 pubs]