Hogarths, Rochdale

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

ROB Camra left this review about Hogarths

Amber Taverns have spent a lot of money converting this branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland into one of their Hogarths gin palaces. The main room is light and airy and has chandeliers hanging from the ornate ceiling. There's a small room to each side of the entrance to the rear room which will be available for private bookings once the coronavirus issue is reduced. They're set in the old bank vaults with steel doors several inches thick and called Rake's Progress and Harlot's Progress. When opened they will seat 8 - 12 people each. The rear room is also nicely decorated, but with a much lower ceiling as it's converted from the old offices. At the rear is a large, wood decking beer garden. The bar is quite ornate and may well have been built specially rather than rescued from somewhere else. All this is the good news, the bad news is that in the opening week it was stocking typical Amber Taverns cask ale along with the usual Fosters, Carling, Strongbow and John Smiths tosh that they specialise in. Three handpumps, all in use serving Wainwright, Tetley Bitter and Hobgoblin, so nothing here for the beer ticker. However, both pints I had were in good nick and whilst already competitively priced, the fact that they take CAMRA vouchers made it downright cheap. A lovely building, saved and well restored. Overall I'm glad it's now part of the Rochdale beer scene. It will be in competition with the Wetherspoons Regal Moon next door for cheap lagers and gins, but it can't compete on the cask ale front and there's no food as far as I can see. It will no doubt find its place in the local market of the coming months and I, for one, wish them well.

On 12^th August 2020 - rating: 6
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