The Fleece Bar Review: A local pub to watch the world (of Farsley) go by

“We will have to try The Fleece again.”
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The number of times me and my husband have said this when thinking about popping out for a drink is almost a running joke.

We had only been once before (and that could have been anything up to two years ago now) as we stopped by for a drink while heading out for a meal in the village.

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It was a Saturday night, it was wild weather and it was winter. But as we perched on seats at the bar I recall looking around and thinking ‘this is a proper local’.

The Fleece pub at Farsley.The Fleece pub at Farsley.
The Fleece pub at Farsley.

It was cosy, busy, bustling, relaxed and friendly - everything a local should be where it is the place to be on a Saturday night.

But this visit was a Thursday evening after work in the summer sunshine and England have just made it into the final of Euro 2020 - seems like a reasonable enough excuse to make that return visit.

Boasting cask ales and a very reasonable priced wine list which starts at £2.75 a glass up to £4.65 for a large one, it was actually the pub’s gin menu that caught my attention.

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There are the classics such as Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray, Gordons etc, the popular Whitley Neil brand’s flavoured gins and some I had never heard of before like Persian Blue Marshmallow, Sharish Blue Magic and King of Soho Variorum with hints of strawberries and cream. There is also a Slingsby Lemon on there which sounded tempting.

A sherbert lemon gin and tonic.A sherbert lemon gin and tonic.
A sherbert lemon gin and tonic.

On arrival, straight away a friendly barmaid said she would bring a drinks over and what was the order. Meandering over the gin options she made some suggestions and the landlord said he had a new sherbert lemon gin that was not yet behind the bar but did I fancy trying one of those?

Seemed rude not to and it was worth it. Fresh, and what can sometimes be a too tangy citrus, was off set by the tonic and garnish and made for an elegant and easy to drink G&T.

The pub is open for drinks inside and was busy as it does also do meals. It also has bar snacks that go beyond a bag of pork scratchings such as mini fish and chips, beer battered mushrooms, salt and pepper chicken and bread and olives.

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The dog though, was very happy with her free packet of beef crisps, and me, with a simple hour after being confined to the home office, sat outside watching the world of Farsley go by.

Address: 116 Town Street, Farsley, Leeds LS28 5LF.

Telephone: 0113 257 7683

Opening hours: Monday to Thursday, 10am-11pm; Friday & Saturday, 10am-12am; Sunday, 12pm-10.30pm.

Website: www.thefleecefarsley.co.uk

Value: 7/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Service: 7/10

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