A catch up with a few familiar places in Bradford that I have not had chance to visit as much over the last few years. But first, a visit to an excellent little micropub in one of the city's outer suburbs....
I have visited virtually all of my local CAMRA pubs, but that said there are still a few within a relatively few miles that I have not been to. This is generally due to them being a bit out on a limb with no near neighbours for a back up pint, having no direct public transport connections between home and there, or possibly an uninspiring beer selection that makes a trip out less appealing. Well, this weekend I did visit one of where I had not previously called that was a little out on a limb which involved me driving the short distance to the sprawling village of Thornton, around 5 miles west of the city of Bradford and a few miles away from the so-called Bronte Country.
I headed up to the heights of Queensbury, eventually picking up the A6145 Thornton Road at the small settlement of Keelham. Here there used to be two pubs astride the crossroads until relatively recently, the Copper Kettle, and the Railway, which was a very comfortable pub which sold a decent pint of Tetleys Bitter. From there it was down the hill to Thornton, which appears to be quite linear, although it rises a way up the hillside from the main road, and there are a reasonable number of shops and a few pubs here. Several parts are quite attractive, especially the village centre which has the typical character of a Pennine hilltop settlement. And mentioning Bronte Country, Thornton has its own connections with the famous literary family who are more readily associated with Haworth, but in 1815 the Reverend Patrick Bronte became the incumbent of the village chapel and subsequently Charlotte, Emily, Anne and their brother Branwell were born here before the family moved the few miles to Haworth in 1820.
The pub I had come to visit is also in an attractive part of the village, South Square at the side of the main road. This is the Watchmaker (opening image), a smart micropub which was quite busy with a relaxed Sunday teatime crowd when I called in. Space was quite tight in here with a pillar in the front of the bar not helping, but there is another room to the side with further seating and a service hatch which saves the bar staff carting empty glasses through the other room on the way to the glasswasher. The pub originally opened in 2017, but was taken over by the present owners in 2019, and it is sympathetically decorated with much wood and a range in the side room, and is very much in keeping with the historic character of South Square, which is a group of restored weavers' cottages which also house a gallery, framers, and community arts centre. There is a courtyard in the centre of the square which has some outdoor seating, and the pub benefits from being able to use the Square's communal toilets, which has plenty of capacity compared to your typical micro pub. Back inside, on the bar there are a number of beers available on both hand pump and keg. I went for a pint of Tweed, from Salt, a 4.0% session pale off the hand pumps with Chinook in the boil and dry-hopped with Mosaic, Centennial, and Cascade. It was a very refreshing, clean tasting beer with a bitter hoppy finish, and in tip-top condition (NBBS 3.5). With the car in tow, I could only stay for one pint but had I been travelling by a different means, I would have definitely stayed for another. And what a friendly place it was! The lass behind the bar, who told me she is the daughter of the owner, chatted away to me as she collected glasses from a neighbouring table, whilst an eclectic mix of customers were very welcoming too. A lovely little community pub, and if you are in the area, it is definitely worth calling in here.
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| Look at those lacings: A great pint at The Watchmaker |
Meanwhile, I'd made a separate trip over to Bradford city centre in the latter part of August, a city whose reputation has taken a bit of a knock over recent years. But I have always had a soft spot for the city; friendly people, excellent curries, and some great pubs and bars, whose number like most places has diminished over the years. Last year I'd re-visited some of my long-standing favourite Bradford pubs to see how they were faring and found them generally to be in good form. This time, I'd decided to check out a couple of more recently-opened bars which I'd not had the chance to visit for a while.
And so I headed up to North Parade, calling in at the Record Cafe. Sandwiched between a European supermarket and a solicitors, this popular cafe bar opened its doors in 2014 when its mix of cask and craft beer, vinyl, and charcuterie marked it out as somewhere different. It brought cool to the streets of a less than cool Bradford and quickly built up a loyal following of beer buffs, music lovers, and discerning folk from near and further afield. It became a regular haunt of both Bradford City fans and away supporters attending the game at nearby Valley Parade. Whilst a number of bars have sprung up over the country in recent years offering vinyl alongside the beers, and several offer cold meats, cheeses, and conteras along similar lines to here, there isn't one that manages to combine being an independent record store and bar with a quality food offering quite like the Record Cafe.
I have always found the place to be pretty chilled, and as I walked in mid-Saturday afternoon, this time was no exception. The decor is reminiscent of those sleepy continental cafes with a calm clutter about them. Hams hang from the ceiling. There are fresh flowers peeping out from a beer can on every table. Lighting is subdued, with natural light streaming in from the large front window. A cool soundtrack at just the right level plays in the background.
Several tables were occupied by a mix of groups and couples of a variety of ages, some tucking in to cold meats, olives, and cheese. The vinyl is situated on a mezzanine floor towards the back of the bar and stocks a mix of new releases and classic albums, although following a thirsty walk up from the Interchange, getting a drink was a priority, so on this occasion I didn't go to browse the wares upstairs. From the four cask beers on the bar I went for a pint of English Pale Ale, a 5% collab between North Riding and Rivington which featured a number of English hops - Jester, Opus, Harlequin, and the mysteriously-named CF302. It was golden-blonde in colour, clean, well-balanced, with an underlying maltiness giving way to a slightly dry finish. It was very delicious too, worth a rating of NBSS 3.5, although I decided to go down a notch on the strength afterwards with a half of the 4.5% Lightbulb from Verdant off the taps. It was great to visit the Record Cafe again and I look forward to calling in again soon.
Across the road, the Sparrow was opened in 2011, starting off the independent bar scene that has grown up along North Parade. Like the Record Cafe, it attracted a wide variety of customers and was popular with football fans, but having been taken over by Kirkstall Brewery in 2018, it suddenly closed at the end of June this year, its future unclear with any references to it removed from the Kirkstall website. It is a shame because like a lot of people it had enticed me back for a drink in the city centre for the first time for years, and hopefully it will open again as a quality bar before too long.
Fortunately, next door, the Boar & Fable was open. This is another welcoming and chilled-out bar, modern and stylish, which takes its name from a ferocious boar that at one time lived in the woods around Bradford. The bar is at the far end of the room as you go in, and aside from this room there is additional space in the basement. The main room has exposed brick walls, wooden bench seating with scatter cushions, along with a number of tables. A number of brewery signs adorn the walls along with a couple of screens displaying the beers on offer, of which three are on cask and a further 7 on keg, a number of those from the continent alongside on this occasion beers from Vocation, Vault City, Pilot, and Drygate. On cask there were beers from Bingley, Brewsocial, and a Northern Monk/Blackjack collab. I perched on a stool beside the bar and went for a pint of the Bad Robots 4.2% session pale from Sheffield-based Brewsocial, which was a more than acceptable NBSS 3. I then went for the collab, which was also on at the Record Cafe. Modern Golden Ale had an ABV of 4.8% and featured Amarillo and Eclipse hops, and was brewed at The Old Flax Mill, Northern Monk's original base in Holbeck. It was pale gold in colour, well-rounded in flavour, with a slightly bitter finish, a delicious NBSS 3.5 to draw things to a close.
Another fine bar that is well worth calling when in the area. I even managed a final half a little further along North Parade at the Peacock. This split-level bar opened in 2016 offering a combination of real ale and Indian street food, and whilst both were still very much in evidence on this occasion, it seems as much like a sports bar these days with several TV screens showing the Ashes. Despite that there was a mixed crowd, with a group of ladies ordering wine at the bar as I ordered a half of a Bingley pale ale whose name I couldn't make out. I sat down and watched the cricket for a short while, and then decided to head off home, having enjoyed my brief return to North Parade.
So, a few excellent little bars, each with their own character that are well worth visiting in two different parts of the Bradford area....
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