Pub Review: The Old Unicorn, Stocks Hill, Bramley
The staff at the Old Unicorn were probably cursing. It was 7.29 when we walked in and asked: "Are we too late to order food?"
The barmaid shot a look across to a colleague who was just preparing to collect in the menus. A weary nod elicited the response "Yes, if you order in the next minute."
So the kitchen staff, no doubt already thinking they were ready to knock off work for the night, were summoned straight back to the burners to knock up something for Mr and Mrs Taverner.
Choosing in a minute wasn't too hard. As well as their main menu, the Old Unicorn does a much shorter list of dishes at two for 9, and being a frugal sort of a bloke, I directed my wife towards that section – having first checked there was something there that I rather fancied.
Gammon
And within 15 minutes we were served, she with a sizeable slab of gammon with chips and peas, me with four chunky porky herby sausages atop a pile of soft mash. This was good, honest pub grub, nothing flash or potentially award-winning but big and filling and cracking value.
And what's more there were no obvious signs that the staff had rewarded our tardiness by sabotaging the fare.
Other choices on the deal include corned beef hash, egg and chips and penne with artichokes.
Anyhow, we'd have got here earlier if we hadn't relied on Google Maps.
I dashed the map off on my printer before setting out, and it was only as we closed in on the arrow that I realised we were heading for the centre of Armley. So either Google doesn't know Leeds too well, or, more likely, I keyed in the wrong postcode. So this misadventure left us a couple of miles from Bramley and without a significant clue where we were going.
"I think it's opposite the bus station," said Mrs Taverner, proffering information which was both accurate and useless at the same time.
Accurate in that, yes, as it turns out, the Old Unicorn is opposite the bus station; useless in that I had no idea how to get to the bus station.
In due course I did the one thing that guys never do – slowed down to ask a pedestrian. As luck would have it, she knew the Old Unicorn well, and was able to provide crisp, concise and reliable directions, unlike my Google map.
The Old Unicorn is a sister pub to the Town Hall Tavern, which was reviewed here a fortnight ago. The two were once in the ownership of Dickensian-sounding pub company Musgrave and Sagar, but were snapped up by the expanding Timothy Taylor pub empire some years ago.
The two are quite different. The THT is an edge-of-centre drinking den, a haunt of lawyers and medics and businessfolk. The Unicorn is a locals' pub, pure and simple.
The ownership determines the offer, of course – and the Keighley brewer's products dominate across the long bar top, which is dead ahead as you enter from the car park. I went for Landlord on this occasion – but when you're ordering in 60 seconds you don't have too long to weigh up the options. It was a decent choice though, and clearly well looked after.
As is the pub. It's stone built onto the side of a hill and towers over the shops and traffic below. A steep drive leads up into the car park.
Inside there's bare brick and beams; old photographs cheek-by-jowl with horsey prints and posters advertising Sky Sport.
Picture
My favourite picture was beside the door, a team shot of Yorkshire's
1931 side featuring Hedley Verity, Herbert Sutcliffe and Maurice Leyland taken just a year or so before all three would become embroiled in the fever of Bodyline.
In many ways, the Old Unicorn is a traditional community house – as much a place to come for the quiz or to watch the footie or to meet your mates as it is somewhere to eat and drink.
Food is served every lunchtime and on weekday evenings. Aside from the
two-for-9 deal, main courses include an 8oz rump steak (8.75), grilled salmon (6.95) and a ploughman's board (6.95). A traditional Sunday menu offers two courses for 8.95 and three for 11.95.
But rather than being a destination pub, one you might choose to travel across the city for, it serves the local Bramley clientele well. You get the impression that most of the customers are regulars.
One corner is given over to a small cluster of games machines; one end of the pub is dominated by a huge TV screen. Perhaps its most impressive features is a huge new wooden covered drinking and dining area outside, which not only gives smokers somewhere to gather and stay dry – but with its big screen, it will be a great place to watch live sports too, not least the world cup which is looming large on the horizon.
s.w.jenkins@ntlworld.com
FACTFILE
Type: Community inn
Opening Hours: 11.30am-11pm Mon-Sat, 12noon--10.30 pm Sunday.
Beers: Changing selection of Timothy Taylor real ales plus good choice of lagers
Wine: Good selection of wines available by the glass or the bottle
Food: Good pub meals served noon-3pm every day, 5.30-7.30pm Mon-Fri.
Children: Welcomed
Disabled: Some split-level areas inside
Entertainment: Sky TV on plasma screens, games machines; general knowledge quiz Wednesday and fun bingo quiz on Thursday.
Beer garden: Large area with attractive new sheltered area for smokers
Parking: Large car park
Telephone: 0113 2564465
Website: www. oldunicornbramley.co.uk
EP 20 March 2010
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