The Yorkshire Grey (Bar, Restaurant)

I was looking forward to coming here, because I’d heard that the pub boasted its own microbrewery. I like the idea of sampling weird and wonderful brews that you can’t buy anywhere else. Unfortunately, said microbrewery is no more. If you peer down the specially constructed circular window into the cellar, you can still see the once-shiny stainless steel paraphernalia of brewing, a rather sorrowful vista of disuse, of barrels emptied, good times past.

So my visit began with disappointment, and from then on I couldn’t shake the ‘Last Picture Show’ feeling of things closing down, together with a sense that the party had finished sometime last century, and I’d missed it. Without the novel attraction of a microbrewery The Yorkshire Grey is just another traditional pub, in the slightly shabby, slightly smelly sense. Though there’s not much to rabidly dislike about it, there’s not a lot to like, either. The aura of stolid mediocrity was confirmed when the pub’s music system began half-heartedly pumping out that anthem of middle-of-the-road dullness, The Eagles’ “Hotel California”.

That said, the staff are a friendly bunch, and raised my spirits considerably. Plus, if you are stuck for conversation you can start your own pub quiz, courtesy of the blackboards with song lyrics written by the cheery landlord. It’s a case of guess the artist and the song.

I wouldn’t want to be unduly dismissive of the Yorkshire Grey. It’s a perfectly acceptable place to stop for a drink if you are in the area, and it generally seems to have somewhere to sit – without being empty - which is always a plus. I also have to admit that, despite my desire to move on somewhere else after a couple, the friends I was with, happy that we had a table to ourselves, refused to budge, so we ended up staying until the not-so-bitter end. Obviously not everyone shared my disappointment. So I got into the spirit and went through those song lyrics with the landlord, who I discovered is a fan of glam rock. Is that better or worse than the Eagles? One to ponder over a pint, maybe. But, given the choice, I’d drink it somewhere else....read more