CoffeeBeer >> Pint Pleasures >> Previous Beer Columns >> Three Sheffield Pubs

Previous Pint Pleasures - September 8, 2003

Yorkshire Grey, Charles Street, City Centre, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Star and Garter, 82 Winter Street, Netherthorpe, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

The Stag, 15 Psalter Lane, Sharrow Vale, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

In this column I'm going to review 3 pubs in 3 different parts of central Sheffield. I don't really have any particular reason to connect these 3 pubs in one review, except for the fact that I've enjoyed all 3 of them. And I've managed to use the number 3 four times in one short paragraph, which probably signifies something numerologically but I'm afraid I have no idea what

The Yorkshire Grey is a relaxed city pub in the heart of the City Centre, close to the Registry Office and the Moor. Featuring a red and white colour scheme, abstract art on the walls, and soft jazz playing in the background, this seems like a perfect lunchtime refuge for downtown office workers. On our visit we enjoyed fine pints of Black Sheep Best (3.8% ABV, Black Sheep Brewery, Ripon, North Yorkshire) as we chatted with a visiting Glaswegian actor from Broadstairs. I was hoping my pint would soothe my sinus infection, as we'd just spent a fruitless morning searching the city for goldenseal, an herb I've found to be very helpful for sinus infections. Apparently the goldenseal plant is now classified as an endangered species -- but hey, I'm a bit of an endangered species myself (i.e. a thin American female who loves real ale) so I ought to be allowed a bit of compensation.

The Yorkshire Grey features a large beer garden, and the food menu looks interesting. As long as you're stopping in for a pint you might want to check out the nearby Winter Garden, a glass covered park which opened last year and which contains 150 different species of plants. Hmmm, I wonder if they have any goldenseal... Also very close by are the Peace Gardens and the Millennium Galleries, all part of the "Heart of the City" revitalisation project. With all this leisurely entertainment nearby, you can easily work up enough of a thirst to return to the Yorkshire Grey for another pint.

Out of the City Centre toward Crookes and Walkley, just across the road from the University Library, is the Star and Garter. This roomy pub features cheap food and a big screen TV, making it popular with students and locals alike. It's also the administrative centre of the Walkley-Crookes Friendly Pool League. There are usually 2 real ales on, including Tetley's and one guest. You can always depend on the Tetley's (3.7% ABV, Carlsberg-Tetley Brewing Co., Leeds, West Yorkshire) being in good shape. A while back we tried pints of Nimmos XXXX (4.4% ABV, Castle Eden Brewery, Hartlepool, Durham). This is a very interesting beer: quite nutty, just like myself. I would call it a good "girl" beer, although boys who are confident of their manhood will enjoy it as well with absolutely no risk of emasculation. Another time we tried pints of Fursty Ferret (4.2% ABV, Gribble Brewery, Oving, nr Chichester, W Sussex), which tastes like golden suede -- but considering it was 28 degrees outside my tongue felt a bit overdressed. And on a later visit we enjoyed pints of Olde Trip (4.2% ABV, Hardys & Hansons, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire), which were pleasingly clever. This is the type of beer with which you can hole up in a back room for hours discussing a wide range of subjects.

South of the City Centre, on the other side of Ecclesall Road in Sharrow Vale, is the Stag. We first experienced this comfy, luxuriant pub on a wintry visit to Sheffield just before we moved here. Located within walking distance of our hotel we were pleased to find it warm and friendly with good food and several cask ales, which was just what we needed. Our first pints of Tetley's (3.7% ABV, Carlsberg-Tetley Brewing Co., Leeds, West Yorkshire) were good but not excellent, so we then ordered pints of Pedigree Bitter (4.5% ABV, Marston, Thompson & Evershed, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire), which were a tad better. The food is more expensive than some of the other Sheffield pubs we've been to, but for £3.95 each we got massive amounts. Andrew's bacon, mushroom, and cheese hot sandwich was excellent -- Andrew says Jonathan Meades would approve. And my roasted vegetable wrap with pesto mayonnaise and cheese was heavenly, just what the doctor ordered. Absolutely lovely -- was that roasted pumpkin? Oh my god -- it was touchingly beautiful. And with chips and salad? My god -- this could feed a lumberjack -- or a Southern California 4-egg-omelette surfer dude -- happily.

On our next visit a year later, when we stopped in for lunch, the Tetley's was off, so we had pints of Boddington's (3.8% ABV, Boddingtons, Manchester, Greater Manchester) which were okay but not thrilling. And this time there was no cheese in my roasted vegetable wrap which made it rather pointless, seeing as how a "roasted vegetable wrap with pesto mayonnaise and cheese" should really have cheese in it. Also on the menu were "scampi coated in breadwinners", which intrigued the three of us. Just how many breadwinners do they coat each scampi with? And how do they make them stick? I'm sorry, but it just sounds like way too much food...

On the wall was a sign saying PART TIME BAR STAFF REQUIRED -- MUST BE FLEXIBLE. Hmmm, I'm pretty flexible myself, but I don't really know how being able to do back bends, wrap my legs around my neck, and easily pop into a lotus position would make me particularly suitable for pouring pints. Perhaps there are some tight spaces around this pub which weren't obvious to us.

Ah, wait a minute -- I've just realised there is one other connection between these 3 pubs. The Star and Garter is on Winter Street, the Yorkshire Grey is next to the Winter Garden, and the first time we visited the Stag was on a cold winter's night. So there is a theme after all! Good...I feel much better now...