Arkwright's, Belper

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Pub SignMan left this review about Arkwright's

This is a very smartly presented micropub of sorts, tucked away down an inconspicuous town centre side street. The pub has a single room layout with bare boards throughout, high etched glass windows, plain painted walls and a high dark ceiling. The bar runs along the rear wall and has an unusual white wood panelled counter front with a metal top and blocky shelving units on the bar back. A railway-style sign with the pub’s name hangs from the bar canopy. On the far wall, a nice fireplace had been lit, generating some much-needed warmth on a cold Winter’s evening and helping to create a cosy feel that made you want to stay a bit longer than planned. Rows of tables and chairs fill the bulk of the room, with a few high stools dotted around in support. The whole place has been liberally decorated with old breweriana, high shelves are stocked with jugs and tankards, fairy lights add to the ambiance and a TV screen was spotted in one corner but remained unused throughout my stay. A crooner soundtrack played in the background, and I noticed some plentiful bench seating in a covered space down one side of the pub which was surprisingly popular despite the plummeting temperatures.
On the bar, cask ales amounted to Pentyrch Fear I’d Sleep, Wadworth 6X, Vocation Bread and Butter, Blue Beer Citra Mosaic and Shiny Affinity. I tried the Fear I’d Sleep, which was in excellent condition, and fell into conversation with a cheery CAMRA bloke who’d clocked me in a couple of other Belper pubs earlier in the day, so we chatted about our pub plans for the rest of the weekend for long enough to merit also sampling the Bead and Butter, which was also in top nick.
I really liked this place and was glad that I’d saved it until the end of my Belper crawl, as it definitely merited the extended stay. A pleasant environment in which to check out the interesting ale selection which seems to benefit from rapid turnover, I would say this is pushing the Angel’s Micropub pretty hard for the title of best pub in Belper.

On 4^th September 2023 - rating: 8
[User has posted 3322 recommendations about 3322 pubs]