Bar review: Slocken, Call Lane, Leeds

Like other Norse words absorbed by stealth into the native language, ‘Slocken’ became a Yorkshire dialect term for a vigorous quenching of the thirst. Here it has now been truncated to “slake”; in Norway, Sweden and Iceland it survives as Slokke, Sluka and Slokkva.

And though it hadn’t been heard in these parts for centuries it now feels like everyone’s using it: “I discovered this great new beer at Slocken,” “They’re doing massive pizzas at Slocken,” “It’s really time you wrote about Slocken.”

The bar is an off-shoot of the wonderful Wapentake, and is a short walk from there, in the building long held by Milo. “We’re Wapentake’s cooler sister,” says manager Megan Childs, joining me for a drink.

Despite a name from the dark ages, the design is an on-trend blend of heavy-duty post-industrial chic, all distressed wood and bare brick. The bar front is a grey ripple of corrugated iron beneath a counter of solid concrete and five steel factory lamps. It’s as though a terrifying horde of horn-helmeted designers has pillaged an abandoned factory for spoils.

Colourful cushions add comfort and vibrance to the mismatched, functional furniture; a display of old skateboards blends with enamelled signs advertising some of the bar’s favourite beer brands.

One wall is a little homage to classic rock – from the Doors and Led Zeppelin to the White Stripes by way of ELO and the Beastie Boys.

A staircase leads to a middle floor which is being developed as a music venue while the top floor offers old-school pub pleasures darts, pool and table football.

The new owners have ramped up the selection of beers, putting in four cask ale handpumps where Milo had none. From a fabulous choice of these four, plus ten keg fonts on the back wall, I opt for Changeable (4.2%) so named because Leeds microbrewer Sunbeam uses different hop varieties in each brew. This one – bright, smooth, and with a crisp bite soon giving way to a soft blanketing of gentle malt – features the talents of Summit.

“We’re trying to champion the local brewers,” says Megan, waving a hand across a line of kegs which includes beers from Leeds’s own North Brewing, Kirkstall and Northern Monk – as well as another from Huddersfield’s Magic Rock. Even emergent smaller brewers like Eyes, Crooked and Nomadic have made their way onto the bar here, while the house ale is White Rat from Huddersfield’s Rat Brewery.

Occasional tap take-over events will allow some of these small breweries to showcase their range. Similarly, the bar makes a great play of its local gins and wines from vineyards at Nun Monkton and Swillington.

The chef scatters manhole-sized pizzas with all manner of toppings – the hot one labours beneath layers of onionnbhaji, marinated lamb, chillies, coriander and curry sauce.

Down at the unfashionable end of Call Lane, hemmed in between the bus stops of Vicar Lane and the back-end of the market, Slocken is a little off the beaten track. “People are beginning to realise we are here,” says Megan. “We get a lot of the Wapentake regulars and this area is starting to become a little circuit of its own.”

FACTFILE

Call Lane, Leeds

Type: Laid back beer, gin and pizza house

Host: Megan Childs

Opening times: Noon-11pm Mon-Wed, noon-1am Thur-Sat, noon-9pm Sun

Beers: Changing selection of cask and keg ales, predominantly from Yorkshire, from around £3.30-pint. Occasional tap takeover events

Wine: Good selection from £2.70-glass and £15-bottle

Food: Wide-ranging pizza menu, with 14-inch pizzas from £12

Entertainment: Pool table, dart board and table football on top floor, occasional live music gigs at the weekend

Children: No special facilities

Disabled: Straightforward access to the ground floor - but stairs only to upper floors

Beer Garden: No

Parking: On-street and multi-storey parking nearby

Telephone: 0113 345 1121