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Picture of Picture House Social
Image posted by peter ashworth
Submitted on Wednesday, 8th January 2020
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Picture House Social, Sheffield

Pub added by Will Larter
383 Abbeydale Road
Sheffield
S7 1FS
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Reviews of Picture House Social (Average Rating: 6 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about Picture House Social

Walking down Abbeydale Road, your eye is easily caught by the grand, if somewhat shabby, facade of the former Abbeydale Picture House - a striking grade II listed building dating back to the 1920's when it served as a cinema, billiards hall and dance hall among other things. The cinema closed in 1975 and spend many years as a furniture showroom before more recently being brought back to life as a cinema, offering infrequent screenings and undergoing an incremental restoration process. Part of this project was the opening of the Picture House social, a modern basement bar offering craft beer, basic food and various games and events. The bar is situated in the former ballroom, accessed by a flight of stairs which lead you into a large main bar area with dark floorboards and a smart traditional servery along the right hand wall. The bar counter sports some attractive panelling whilst the bar back has various mirrors and a canopy with period light fittings. There's lots of standing room opposite the bar, in what feels like it must have been the old dancefloor, and there is a suggestion that this space is occasionally used for live music nowadays. On the left hand wall there are a series of banquette booths of varying sizes, with more dated looking banquettes running along the rear wall. These make up all of the seating apart from some hard benches in front of an alcove on the front wall which looks like the space where a stage would be set up if indeed they were putting on live music here. The wall here is covered with mirrors, but elsewhere there is a white and purple colour scheme, including lots of white tiles, which isn't entirely unpleasant. Through a door to the rear, you reach a small back room with an open kitchen of sorts to the left dishing out decent value pizzas, with a row of padded benches and a few high tables to the right for you to perch on and eat at. Opposite the kitchen, another door leads into a side room which is deceptively large and seems to act as some sort of games room, with three table tennis tables, retro arcade machines, table football and a large TV screen all noted. A few people were enjoying a game of ping-pong in this unusual space and I spotted some very pleasant stained glass doors to the back of the room, but didn't investigate further for fear of interrupting the games. Out the rear of the building, there is a scruffy terrace garden, with a split level decking area offering a rather uninspiring side view of the crumbling building.
There were three ales on the go when I arrived for a midweek evening visit - Abbeydale The Beat Goes On, Blackout Porter and Tapped Mojo - with the latter setting me back £4.20 a pint, which felt pretty steep for suburban Sheffield. I also stopped off to try their pizza which was very tasty and good value with the midweek 2-4-1 offer. The staff at both the bar and pizza counter were very friendly and there was quite a good vibe throughout the place from the predominantly younger crowd.
This is a worthy project that has made an interesting old building accessible to the public after a long period of closure. I enjoyed wandering around this place, even if it isn't perhaps as striking inside as the exterior might suggest. The pricey drinks and lack of pubby feel will be a put-off to many, but I can see the appeal and was certainly glad I stopped off to check it out.

On 7th December 2018 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3093 recommendations about 3093 pubs]

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Pub location see interactive map of local area
Map location corrected by Will Larter
Sheffield, 1.71 miles, 32 min walk (show)
Dore & Totley, 2.91 miles, 56 min walk (show)
Darnall, 4.27 miles, 1 hr 22 min walk (show)
Latest updates View all updates for Picture House Social, Sheffield
16th Feb 2022, 18:31
Picture submitted by Will Larter approved
 
16th Feb 2022, 18:27
Picture submitted by Will Larter

Pub Details

Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.

  • Accommodation : No last updated 29 May 2017 by ROB Camra
  • Bar Billiards : No last updated 07 December 2018 by Pub SignMan
  • Beer Festivals : Yes last updated 07 December 2018 by Pub SignMan
  • Beer Garden : Yes last updated 07 December 2018 by Pub SignMan
  • CAMRA Discount : No last updated 29 May 2017 by ROB Camra
  • Car Park : Yes last updated 29 May 2017 by ROB Camra
  • Child Friendly : Yes last updated 29 May 2017 by ROB Camra
  • Hot Food : Yes - Evenings only except Saturday & Sunday - last updated 29 May 2017 by ROB Camra
  • Jukebox : No last updated 07 December 2018 by Pub SignMan
  • Live Music : Yes last updated 29 May 2017 by ROB Camra
  • Micropub : No last updated 29 May 2017 by ROB Camra
  • Pinball : No last updated 07 December 2018 by Pub SignMan
  • Pool Table : No last updated 07 December 2018 by Pub SignMan
  • Real Ale : Yes last updated 29 May 2017 by ROB Camra
  • Real Cider : No last updated 29 May 2017 by ROB Camra
  • Wheelchair Access : No last updated 07 December 2018 by Pub SignMan
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