TO THE MAJORITY of the 20,000 people who passed through Leeds Station’s eye-catching new £20m Southern Entrance in its first week, the opening in January 2016 offered a critical five-minute time-saving on the relentless treadmill of work commutes.
To the more recreationally-minded, the Southern Entrance opened up a whole new playground for rail visitors to the city. Hidden beneath civic gravitas and improving the quality of life for the ritual traveller, was the formation of a kind of ‘Ale trail’ for metropolis sophisticates; fondly attached to the throbbing heart of the big city, but amenable to the industrial refinement of the City Centres outskirts and its irresistible craft ale epidemic.
It is not by chance that some of the region’s most successful breweries and ale culture protagonists have systematically congregated here in a chummy and urbane enclave. Ossett Brewery have invested significant sums in three bars within the Granary Wharf development, specifically with the opportunities of the impending Southern Entrance in mind, while the North Bar Group has heavily-funded the Cross Keys, and Cameron’s (formerly Leeds Brewery’s) Midnight Bell continues to attract the crowds in an area just far enough removed from the city centre to create its own identity.
Construction of the Southern Entrance began in December 2013 and immediately revealed its potential for Leeds as a Saturday night city break of sorts.
1. The Hop
Turn swiftly right out of the ground level station exit and hit The Hop; Ossett Brewery’s raucous ode to live music and fine beers. The infamous, sweeping brick arches underneath the train station are the central feature of The Hop’s interior, and the Leeds version of this successful bar chain must be one of the most idiosyncratic.
The upstairs seating area has live artists on a weekend and plenty of rock hierarchy décor to have you gazing around wistfully. Food-wise The Hop has a simple and uncomplicated menu and the pies are heartily recommended.
2. Candlebar
A short stroll across the open square takes you to the Candlebar; a visually-arresting monument to Leeds history and a cylindrical palace of craft ales, well-travelled wines and wood-fired pizzas.
Ossett Brewery invested £300,000 in opening this stunning, bright and airy waterside retreat in 2015 and you can see inside that this is a notch up from the more earthy charm of their other nearby venues. Candle House – a landmark building on the Leeds skyline under-used for far too long - has been restored as a mixed-use residential and leisure complex. The Candlebar fits in perfectly on the ground floor, with an ever-changing range of 14 craft ales and 20 premium wines from all over the world. Monthly wine themes promote regional specialities and the pizzas are readymade for that quick refuelling during an arduous pub-to-pub trek.
3. Cross Keys
Carry on over the canal and you will run square into the homely Cross Keys, a restored 1802-built watering hole from the industrial revolution. The entrance is a plain, wooden, white-painted door and the impression that you are wandering nonchalantly into someone’s house is continued by the open fire and an always-warm welcome at the bar.
Cross Keys delivers a passion for detail made famous by North Bar’s pioneering championing of real ale all those years ago. You can choose from a great range of IPAs, porters, pales and sessions, or scrumpy or sweet ciders if that’s your preference. Either way, you can then retire on the inviting weathered leather benches or in the spacious, secret courtyard out the back.
4. Northern Monk Refectory
Taking a swift turn to Marshall Street where the Northern Monk’s first-floor Refectory serves the glorious fruits of the working brewery downstairs; a hidden gem that perfectly sums up Leeds’ thirst for combining an industrial past with a breathless search for innovation.
Housed in a renovated Grade ll listed former mill building, the Northern Monk opens its arms to experimentation and collaboration in its range of beers – all proudly displayed in a long line of taps along the bar almost like a mirage. The venue represents the halfway point in the pub crawl, which arguably deserves a second pint and a bite to eat from the Monk’s polished and imaginative menu.
5. Midnight Bell
Double back on yourself and take in the bare-brick refinement of the Midnight Bell, Cameron’s Brewery’s flagship gastropub celebrating all that’s good about British cuisine.
Naturally, previous owner Leeds Brewery’s fine selection of ales takes precedence on their feature concrete bar, with some guest ales rotating alongside the hardy favourites of Leeds Best, Leeds Pale, Yorkshire Gold and Midnight Bell itself. There is an air of simplicity and quality about the Midnight Bell and the function room upstairs often lends a lively atmosphere to what has become a Holbeck institution.
6. The Grove Inn
Exiting through the Midnight Bell’s huge open beer garden (suitably refreshed by this stage), you can skip through the back streets to indulge in the time-hopping charm of The Grove; a living, breathing, spit and sawdust exhibit of an almost-lost pub heritage.
It's a classic Victorian pub with separate rooms, each buzzing with conversation, and a serving hatch bar offering fine local ales. The Grove retains a ‘locals’ charm with characters to match, but on the cusp of the city centre it celebrates a stubborn pride in surviving the breathless and unceasing development all around it.
7. The Pour House
Sliding past Bridgewater Place, continue to mix the old and the new by popping into the Pourhouse; a waterside haven retaining the high ceilings and original features of an industrial Granary building which offers an eye-watering Gin menu - which by this stage might be just the ticket.
Inside, the Pourhouse is airy and atmospheric with the sun reflecting the canal to create an idyllic setting. Outside, the cobbled courtyard offers one of the best outdoor drinking venues in Leeds. Upstairs, the ‘Gin Lane’ homage to the chequered history of ‘mother’s ruin’ is a fine stop-off point to sample one of 20 classic gins before heading off on the final straight.
8. Archies
Wander back down Canal Wharf and over the water, resist the temptation to pop in Candlebar again and you’ll find yourself at Archies; Ossett Brewery’s third and final addition to this Southern Entrance Wonderland.
Dancing until late with guest DJs is on the agenda here, along with a healthy interest in cocktails and beers. A vintage VW campervan welcomes you by the front door and the simple message of ‘Eat, Drink and Disco’ sets the tone, although the cavernous two-storey building is open all day from breakfast until late. The beer selection is a little more mainstream, but there’s plenty to keep you here for longer than you might have planned.
Best make sure to keep your eye on the time for that last train; if you find yourself staggering around the Dark Arches, you’ve done something wrong.
