please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A Leeds institution, and always worth a visit (if you can find it). Six real ales on today, but settled for a very nice pint of Nick Stafford's Hambleton Ales 'Nightmare Stout'.
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Excellent pub hidden down the allyways in Leeds city centre. The rised bar means that the staff tower over you when they serve fine real ale. In my opinion though the smoking ban has improved eveyones health but it has taken away some of the charm of Whitelocks. I like this place at its dingy smokey best. Used to do cracking roast beef dinner but haven't tried it recently. Keith Waterhouse's favorite pub. High praise indeed.
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Very Harry Potter. Suitably dingy, grimy and odd. Good beer range and good quality. Bar maid must have had a bad day as she had a face on her like a smacked trout. Apart from that well worth a visit.
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A contender for the title of most famous pub in Leeds and rightly so. Like several nearby pubs, it is approached by a long, narrow, almost Dickensian alleyway, part of which is used as an outdoor drinking area.
The interior is cosy and atmospheric, consisting of a small bar and a separate dining room. The décor is all wood and mirrors, which gives the place great character.
Seven real ales on my visit: Old Peculier, John Smith’s, Speckled Hen, Black Sheep Bitter, Deuchars IPA, Theakston’s Best and Milestone ‘Olde Home Wrecker’. The quality of the OHW was good, if not the best. It was served a tad cold, which may have contributed to my sense of it being relatively tasteless for a beer of 4.9%.
Young, friendly bar staff.
Fairly quiet on my visit, though I can imagine how busy it gets at times.
A ‘must visit’ pub though.
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It's famous, ancient, very interesting but oh so small and crowded. They have better beers now than the Scottish & Newcastle stuff they used to serve. Well worth going out of your way to visit.
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Lovely staff, real ales, outside space and antoque loos!
One of the best pubs in Leeds
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Spent yesterday afternoon in this pub and had a great time. Nice outdoor seating area greets you as you walk up the alley. Very unusual inside with a restaurant area on one side of the pub and a drinking area on the other side. As well as the beers Ordinary listed, 4 guests were available: Harvistoun Ptarmigan, Tom Woods Bomber County, Dr O'Kells IPA and Milestone Loxley Ale. I had all 4 and they were all superb, especially the IPA which I can reccomend if available. All priced at a very reasonable £2.50 a pint, excellent value for such a central pub.
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Called again Sunday and the chice of beers is back on with Skipton and Saltaire brewers featured as well as the favourites of Deuchers, J.Smiths and Theakstones. All in 8 hand pulls. Never fell out with this place, but back on the must call list.
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Hard to find (I had to ask a policeman!) down an alleyway (I think they are called something like a ginnel in Leeds but what do I know I‘m from the Smoke), this is a great find. There is history seeping from every fixture and fitting, much of it original I’d bet. A shame the loos had been modernized at some point but perhaps they were very basic before.
There were plenty of ales on last night, including Old Peculier; York Brewery Yorkshire Terrier; John Smith’s Cask; Abbott; Deuchars IPA; Batemans XB; and Ruddles County.
Another in my “I wish it was my local” category of pubs.
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A must-see if you're doing a pub crawl in Leeds - this place probably hasn't changed in the last hundred years. I'd also recommend this as a place to eat as the meals are in the £5-£6 price range and hearty portions are served. Decent selection of beers, although as others have noted not all of the pumps were operational on my visit.
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nice to see the top bar open saturday nights, quite worringly everytime i come here which is quite a lot, most of the pumpclips are turned round, they are either selling a lot of real ale, or just cant be bothered, to have all the pumps working, i am not sure which it is.
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Called in the other day and very few hand pulls available, Theakstons being the main with Deuchers and John Smith the others. Hope this is temporary and not a trend.
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pretty good city centre drinking
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I always visit here when in Leeds for work. Great bar, great choice of beers, friendly service, and great prices (speaking as a southerner!!)
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This is a magnificent pub right in the city centre. Like several Leeds pubs, it is hidden away in an alley but this only adds to its charm! The traditional pub is a long ground floor affair and they are re-launching an upstairs eating part in March 2007. Do visit, if you are in Leeds.
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The beer range and quality has improved over the last few years, but unfortunately the pub menu has become quite bland (though the quality of the food is fine, I hasten to add) and can't claim to be a luncheon bar anymore. On Saturday nights, they occasionally open the back bar, but I've only been in twice in the last ten years!
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I love this pub. Classic little hidden gem. Good beer and atmosphere. Unfortunatly under new management it seems to be getting a little shabby, and needs slight restoration now. Still worthy of a visit as is a must see.
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Wonderful old pub with good beer althought only 1 real ale available when we visited (Deuchars).
Food looks nice, but did seem a little bit pricey for Bar food.
It does smell a bit damp when you first go in but you cant smell it after a while. Not bad enough to put you off food or drink though!
The tabels are Very highly polished. They must buy brasso in bulk!
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It has very recently changed hands, but still seemed to be doing well enough, particularly when a group of four or five raucous drunks removed themselves after which it became a very civilised pub. Deuchars in fine condition, good food, decent wine.
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Beautiful example of pubs that have otherwise long gone elsewhere. Hidden in an alley off Briggate and long and thin in shape and faded copper brown in colour, it's an excellent location for a traditional lunch or for a couple of pints in the evening. The real ales are usually John Smiths, Theakstons bitter and OP and Deuchars IPA plus four guests, although on at least two occasions I've been and there has been no ale or even draught beer! May it survive for many more years though.
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All time classic pub, but very small and does get very busy. Try and visit when it's quiet so you get a change to check out the decor.
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A true old school city pub. Undoubtedly the best in Leeds, and not just for its unimaginably fortuitous location. Well-kept interior in general, but with just enough wear and tear. Good beers, but small, so you'll probably want to sit outside. Food tasty. Staff variable.
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This is a pub i went to whenever i was in Leeds ,the best in the city and very good food ,get`s busy at lunch times,my last visit was in March when i went to visit the ancestors,my next will be in September when i go up for my 60th birthday.It`s one of the things i miss since i moved to Poole ,good food ,and very good ale and a good atmosphere,i remember the old landlady many years ago ,Anastsia Altracter Bently ,anybody else remember her she was a great character.
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Possibly onr of the best city centre pubs I have ever been too (and I've been to a lot!). Great selection of ales, intimae atmosphere, made cosier by the already described ornate interior. warm, and inviting with a coppery glow this pub is to be enjoyed - relished in fact over a slow pint.
Moth
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Nice old-fashioned pub in a side-street by the city centre.
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Well worth a visit if only to admire it's ornate interior. Seven real ales on, the shape of the bar means it can feel a bit cramped if you don't secure a table. My pint of York Stonewall was a little past its best, but I'll certainly visit again.
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Probably the best pub in Leeds. Hard to find but well worth looking out. Good, hearty food. Can get packed.
anonymous - 15 Jan 2006 16:55 |
Found this place on a recent trip to Leeds, or should I say, refound, as once there remembered it from several years back. Nice friendly bar, well-kept couple of real ales.
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A symphony of mirrors, etched glass and plished brass. Whitelock's is a great leveller... Judges from the crown courts rub shoulders with students and shoppers. Very traditional pub – they still use knobbly handle-glasses here, although I have heard of a filthy rumour that they've 'modernised' the unapologetically old-fashioned dining rooms (loads of red velvet curtains and elderly waitresses that call you 'love')... say it ain't so!
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remember this pub from my time up in leeds. Lovely place, cosy, if a little too quiet at times! Nice atmosphere and good food.
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One of the best pubs in Leeds. Tucked away nicley. Cosy and a great atmosphere.
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Like to celebrate with a pint of Old Pec here if I`ve come out unscathed from Nags Head,Duncan & General Elliot....the last 2 being Sam Smiths houses (so the pain is aided by Blood alcohol level!)...Always a very good standard of beer & its just a case of wondering whether its worth standing around like `a sardine in a tin`if its too crowded..LET BIG WILLY GO!
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The best traditional pub in the city
Paul Blakeborough - 3 Sep 2004 08:57 |
About as traditional a it gets, super beers (try York Guzzler if it's on), friendly staff, hearty food and a load of space outside for the summer.
The wierd thing is that not many people know where it is, yet it's just off the side of Briggate, the busiest shopping street in the city
Ade - 14 May 2004 14:04 |
love the beef and red cabbage sandwiches - so good they are hardly there
DD - 8 Apr 2004 15:33 |
Ian Harlow - you are a complete liar. Just been in here and asked about the quiz - they aint had one for over a year. thanks a bunch mate. had to drink 3 pints to find this out.
Angry Paul - 8 Apr 2004 15:32 |
the best pub in leeds by far. great intimate feel to it. check it on a tuesday evening for the pub quiz, win a gallon of beer. also as said in andys quote beware of the lady food server!!cracking beef/pork sarnies.
IAN HARLOW - 9 Mar 2004 15:32 |
Magnificent City Centre pub. Beer range and quality are excellent.
John - 8 Mar 2004 13:35 |
good in the summer because you can sit outside, can never get a seat inside. nice original pub
banzai - 29 Dec 2003 16:14 |
Whitelocks is the bar at the Briggate end, the Turks Head is the bar at the far end of the yard. Very good selection of real ale & reasonable (i.e. Becks) lager
doug - 7 Aug 2003 21:32 |
it is nice to find a good old fashioned real ale pub in a city centre in amongst all the so called pubs that are nothing more than anonymous bland bars
be - 16 Jul 2003 15:44 |
The beer in this pub is, quite simply, brilliant. You cannot hope to find a better pint of hand pull anywhere. The bar sports a number of cask ales, with guest beers always on offer, and always perfectly kept.
The pub itself is also legendary; a 16th Century listed building hiding in Turks Head Yard. It did used to be called 'The Turks Head', but don't ask me why it was changed - I believe it was many years ago. Your surroundings are dark, despite dusty sunlight shining through the red velvet curtains, and you should get a prize if you can find the toilets without asking someone.
The staff are generally friendly and pretty knowledgable about the beers, but beware the abrasive woman who deals with the (lovely) food...
Andy - 9 Jun 2003 15:26 |
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