Ah, the joy of a good British pub. It is one of life’s indisputable – nay, irrefutable – pleasures: particularly in the dark winter months when the familiar golden warmth and humid, merry air, the tinkling of glasses and laughter, invite you in to take a pew, overflowing pint in hand, and stay awhile.
One of my best friends, Hannah, made the move over to New Zealand many moons ago and she’s not looked back – not seriously, anyway. But the one thing she says she really misses about England is a good old-fashioned boozer. Now, I know what you’re thinking… Clearly this person needs to reassess her priorities and consider a brief fling with AA, but – and stay with me here – in New Zealand, she says, the social landscape come an evening is characterised by bars and restaurant-bars, prohibition dens, rooftop cocktails – pubs as a concept just aren’t really a thing across the waters. Take a steadying breath and imagine that.
Despite our sentimentality towards this most iconic of British institutions, a sadly large number of pubs are closing every year, and so I wanted to dedicate some time to talking about why these ancient drinking dens are so special, and in so-doing I beg to highlight one of Leeds’ very own – a historical name which has just had a very sexy refurb – The Victoria Pub and Hotel on Great George Street.
This grand, Grade-II listed building is one of our City’s most celebrated and enduring, having first opened back in 1865. Whilst the upper floors of the Vic and Shenanigans Irish Pub next door are being redeveloped into student accommodation, the pub itself has been painstakingly restored; and the care, love and time put into making sure that it is set for immediate success are abundantly evident.
Think Highland Laddie vibes – but in a larger space. The class, beauty and antiquity of the interior décor, steeped in a tradition reimagined, has both brought the pub back to its former glory and elevated it far into the future, promising to be an icon for generations to come, and, despite the size of the place, it manages to somehow be cosy and convivial to boot. It’s everything you could ask for and more.
Picture the sort of après-work watering hole where good old-fashioned regulars rub shoulders with the city students (it is, after all, only a ten-minute walk from the uni) as well as nouveau-chic professionals dabbling in artisanal beer. Of which, by the way, there is a stonking selection. Kirkstall Brewery has a stellar line-up here and on first glance almost appears to be running the show (unsurprising when you consider that the whole venture is the lovechild of Whitelocks Ale House and Kirkstall).
I was both flummoxed and awed by their new 6% chocolate-orange stout which tasted like Christmas and Terry’s chocolate orange all whirled up in one glass. Once I’d gotten my head around the flavours I concluded that it was delightful and might even be enough to tempt Santa and a few of his merry elves.
Also on offer we had the Kirkstall sour, their classic Virtuous (a personal favourite of mine), Henry Weston’s cider, Guinness, a spattering of excellent German wheat beers including a fabulous Heffeweizen, as well as a fairly extensive wine menu and some classic cocktails.
Snacking and sipping have always gone hand in hand, a fact on which many of us can heartily agree, and as though they read our minds – Kirkstall Brewery and Whitelock’s have also installed a brand-new kitchen, as well as upgrading the beer dispensing equipment throughout the pub.
If the food samples were anything to go by, the Victoria Pub is soon going to be making another name for itself – as home to one of the best burgers in Leeds. We were afforded miniature samples of what I imagine is going to be a full gastro-pub style mains menu, not a far cry from Whitelocks and – I hope and predict – just as good.
One thing’s for sure – when my old pal Hannah decides to take a break from the hobbits and venture far over the misty mountains back home – I’ll have just the place to take her.
The Victoria Pub is officially opening this weekend from December 5th. You can find it at: 28 Great George Street, Leeds, LS1 3DL.
Photography by Amy Mortin.
