A rare new pub has joined the select group in Bradford city centre that are in the Good Beer Guide for the 2025 edition, so I have been along to give it a try whilst checking in on some old favourites....
I caught the train early Friday evening from Halifax to take me on the short journey to Bradford Interchange. I alighted from the train and walked down the steps from the platforms to the concourse and out to the front of the station where the normally taxi-dominated car park was closed off behind fencing. But it wasn't just there. As I left the station I had to follow a walkway between fenced-off areas. Every now and again there would be another walkway heading off in a different direction, whilst behind the fencing were stacks of stones, bulldozers, and other equipment as a vast swathe of the city centre is being pedestrianised and a new urban park created as Bradford prepares to take on the mantle of UK City of Culture for 2025.
The walkway finished at the other side of the City Hall, which was bathed in a reddish light presumably for Remembrance Day. Here it opened out into the already-pedestrianised Centenary Square, and where Bradford 2025 was displayed on a large illuminated sign. Across in the distance shone the bright lights of the Alhambra Theatre and Bradford Live!, the new 4,000-capacity music venue converted out of the husk of the former Odeon Cinema. I walked towards these edifices of Bradford's entertainment scene, where in their shadow the rush-hour traffic, now with fewer options to escape, was queueing up to leave the city in a long procession, slowly inching forward a car at a time. I crossed over at a pedestrian crossing and carried on walking down Thornton Road for a short distance until I came to the prime reason for the evening's visit to Bradford.
The Lord Clyde is situated on the corner with Tetley Street, which is somewhat appropriate as it became a Tetleys pub in 1959 when the Leeds brewery took over the local William Whitakers brewery, who'd actually stopped brewing in 1928 and had subsequently sold Tetleys' beers in their pub estate. The pub is named after Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, a British Army officer born in 1792, who was a key figure in the 19th century Opium wars and became a hero of the Indian mutiny when he commanded the British forces in India. There is no evidence to suggest he ever had any connections with Bradford, but as was the way in Victorian times many pubs were named in honour of famous military figures. And elsewhere in the country there are other pubs called Lord Clyde, or Sir Colin Campbell, as he was before he was given his peerage in 1858.
I walked in to a lively bright pub with the bar separating the room into two distinct areas. In the left-hand lounge-type area, a group of after-work Friday drinkers were enjoying the start of their weekend, whilst a number of mainly guys were sat around the tables chatting or watching sport on one of the TVs that adorned the walls of the pub. There were 5 handpumps on the bar sandwiched between fonts offering the likes of Madri, Guinness, and Strongbow, which on first impressions on entering the pub you might think would be a little excessive, but then I realised that it would have been unlikely to get in the Beer Guide if real ale was merely an afterthought. I ordered a pint of Stancill Barnsley Bitter, one of a couple on from that brewer, whilst there was also a beer from Kirkby Lonsdale, which is not very common in these parts. I squeezed past the after-work crew and went to sit in the quieter other area of the pub, where my only companion was a lone guy sat on at the bar who fairly shortly headed outside for a smoke, leaving me alone with an empty pool table, and re-runs of West Indies v England from the recent one-day series on TV. There was some decent music playing as well, including the likes of MGMT and Foster The People which you don't get to hear in many pubs. And what about the beer, I hear you ask? Well, the 3.8% session bitter was very good; copper in colour, well-balanced with a dry bitter finish underpinned by a delicious slightly sweet malty base (NBSS 3.5). I liked the Lord Clyde too; it was fun, it was friendly, a happy place. And what would the 1st Baron Clyde have made of it? I think he would have rather liked it too.
From the Lord Clyde I set off walking up Tetley Street and then across Sunbridge Road and Westgate, passing dark, gloomy former warehouses from the days when the woollen trade dominated Bradford. At the top of the hill I crossed over Westgate and then cut through a small square to North Parade, where I made a beeline for one of my favourite bars.
The Record Cafe was fairly quiet compared with the Lord Clyde, although that didn't extend to the soundtrack. As I walked in, Amyl & The Sniffers were playing out over the sound system, maintaining the quality of the evening's musical accompaniment thus far. From the cask beers on offer, I went for one from Brass Castle that I had not seen before. This was Bright, which I found to be a delicious 4.3% hop-forward pale ale featuring Citra and Chinook, which had a light, dry aroma with a crisp tropical mouthfeel, followed by a tart dry finish (NBSS 3.5). Whilst the place wasn't too busy, a lot of the tables were taken up with couples and solitary drinkers, but I did manage to find an empty one facing the bar. The place had the usual chilled vibe, with the lively soundtrack played at a sensible level and subdued lighting adding to the mood. The decor is reminiscent of those sleepy continental cafes with a calm clutter about them. Hams hang from the ceiling, whilst fresh flowers peep out from a beer can on every table. I studied my phone and enjoyed my pint, deciding I would get another drink when it was finished. I went to the bar, and this time from the keg list, I went for a half of a beer from Wylam called Slasher, with an ABV of 6.66%, which I suspected had been brewed for the Halloween season, a fact confirmed when I read the blurb on the brewery's website "Slasher is a hauntingly bold and refreshing IPA that will send chills down your spine. Featuring a sinister blend of Superdelic, Citra, and El Dorado hops, the beer slashes through your palate with juicy, tropical aromas and a sharp, citrus bite. This beast of a beer is perfect for thrill-seekers who crave an IPA that is as action-packed as classic slasher films... and will have you screaming for more." And it was an absolute cracker too! As I had taken my half back to my table, the couple on the next table looked in my direction and realised we knew each other from the Grayston Unity in Halifax, and we'd been sat next to each other without realising for the past 20 minutes! So we had a bit of a catch-up, and then it was time to move on. Once again, I'd had a most enjoyable visit to the Record Cafe.
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| Chilled vibes at the Record Cafe |
It was only a short hop across the road to the scaffolding-shrouded Boar & Fable. I dream of the day when I will be able to visit North Parade and it will be completely free of scaffolding, fencing, roadworks, and other obstructions which have made taking photos of the bars here difficult over the years! This is another welcoming and chilled-out bar, which opened in 2020. It is modern and stylish, taking 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. I walked in and struggled to see what was on handpump as a group were sat at what is a pretty narrow bar front, blocking the view - and before you ask, I couldn't get close enough to read the screen to see what was on. A chink appeared, I saw one of the pump clips, and so I ordered a half of Cypher, which is a 4.1% American Pale Ale from Bingley Brewery featuring Amarillo and Simcoe hops. It was another very enjoyable beer, with a fruity, earthy flavour (NBSS 3.5). Aside from the inconvenience of the bar blockers, the atmosphere here was chilled, and made for a pleasant 20 minutes or so.
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| The Boar & Fable |
I walked along North Parade and then down an almost-deserted Darley Street, passing closed shops and hoardings, and then just to maintain the rather forlorn atmosphere of this part of the city centre, I turned down Kirkgate for a look at the now-closed Shoulder of Mutton, which shut down suddenly in September, with rumours swirling around as to the reason why. The pub which dates from 1825, is owned by Samuel Smiths, who have a reputation for sudden closures, no mobile phones and laptops, and various other eccentricities. Whatever the reason it is sad to see the place no longer open as I have always enjoyed calling in over many years for a pint of Old Brewery Bitter and a real slice of Bratfud life. It is to be hoped that it won't be too long before it opens its doors again.
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| No beer tonight at the Shoulder of Mutton |
I then made my way down to Market Street, where I called in the Exchange Craft Beer House, which has become something of a local institution over the past few years such has been its contribution to the Bradford pub scene. Essentially a cellar bar beneath Bradford's former Wool Exchange, it was quite busy when I walked in with many of the tables taken up. There were 6 handpumps on the bar, plus a number of keg fonts, with Lost in Ikea and a couple of others from owners Nightjar Brewery amongst them. I went though for a pint of the 3.4% It Belongs in a Museum, a hazy pale from Sureshot which I had thoroughly enjoyed on a recent trip to Wigan. I found a seat in the small snug-like area near to the entrance where I enjoyed my beer (NBSS 3.5) and started to think about going for a curry - well, when in Bradford, etc. I did though go back to the bar for a half of the always-delicious Milk Stout from Bristol Beer Factory, which was another really nice drop (NBSS 3.5) that maintained the high standard of beer I had come across over the course of the evening. As I left I took a photo of the outside of the bar, something I've never been able to do easily before due to the busy traffic that flowed along Market Street, but with the extension of pedestrianisation it has now become a possibility.
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| Exchange Craft Beer House, Bradford |
I had decided to go for a curry at the International, one of the original family-run restaurants in the city, which I had never actually visited before. I walked back over towards the Alhambra and headed up Morley Street, passing another of the originals, the Kashmir, where I have been many times over the years. A little further up the hill at the gable end of a row of terraced houses I came to the International, where there was a bit of a queue to get in - I should have tried to get their earlier, but the beer had been good. They eventually managed to squeeze me in and not long afterwards I was tucking into a delicious lamb and spinach karahi, which came in a generous enough helping for me to be able to take some back home for the following day. There was a great atmosphere in this bustling restaurant with a mixture of family groups, couples, and groups of guys like me having a post-beer curry, with attentive staff led by an older guy sweeping round to make sure everything was as it should be.
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| Good place for a curry: International, Morley Street, Bradford |
And then with time moving on, I booked an Uber to take me home, having had a most enjoyable evening's wander around the soon-to-be 2025 City of Culture....
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