Tap and Spile, Harrogate - pub details
Address: Tower Street, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 1HS [map] [gmap]
Tel: 0871 951 1000 (ref 4633) - calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras
Harrogate (0.3 miles), Hornbeam Park (1 mile), Starbeck (1.8 miles)
- Real ale
> Current user rating: 6.0/10 (rated by 17 users)
other pubs nearby:
Muckles, Harrogate (0.1 miles), West Park, Harrogate (0.1 miles), Coach and Horses, Harrogate (0.1 miles), Har.Low.Gata, Harrogate (0.2 miles), Banyan Bar, Harrogate (0.2 miles) - see more nearby pubs
user reviews of Tap and Spile, Harrogate
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 18 shown - see all reviews
Went in with friends as the excellent Coach & Horses was jam packed . The Tap & Spile is a "last resort" kind of pub- as even on busy weekend nights its empty, so you can always get a seat . The choice of real ales is OK but the service is miserable & slow and as the night goes on the barman gets grumpier & more offensive. I have experienced the Tap & Spile (infrequently) for over 20 years- I remember it was the only real ale pub in Harrogate .There are excellent pubs in the immediate area and the Tap & Spile needs to change its attitude to customers if it does not want to remain a pub of "last resort" . We all agreed we wouldn't be going there again. Probably OK for dog owners - but the lounge does have a doggy smell to it. DaveRC - 4 Feb 2016 21:47 |
I have been going to this pub for the last 7 years or so on and off and for the last two of those years very regularly indeed taking in various different friends to show them a decent little Yorkshire pub with a friendly atmosphere and a good beer especially on a Tuesday evening when the folk jam session is on. Everyone i have taken into this pub is always pleasantly surprised in many cases with the exception of the landlord Roger i think hes called. Hes been noted on many occasions as damn right miserable for someone working in hospitality however although i always partially agreed i would always stick up for him seeing as though he was ok with me and i even managed to get a few words out of him an have a quick natter on a few occasions, not much really after all my custom but ok fair enough. I went in there with two friends a couple of weeks back now and we ordered three drinks. He told us the price at about ten pounds something not a cheap pub but were used to that now, and i explained to him that i was paying for my beer separately to which he replied raising his voice considerably in an extremely rude manner why "why didn't you tell me this before i added it up" I was astounded and so shocked and just politely responded "excuse me" and he carried on moaning again extremely rudely to me saying that i have done this before to which i replied that i thought he was missing the point of this argument and the fact he had to deduct about three pounds twenty from the total in his head and charge it separately was irrelevant the point is you must never talk to a customer like that especially not a loyal one! By this point i was extremely angry and offended and shocked and didn't really feel welcome and felt as though i wanted to leave as did my friends! When we explained this to him he very strongly told me that after talking to me like i have never experienced anywhere as a customer he would then go on to bar me from the pub saying that if i didn't pay for these drinks i would never be allowed back in! Without having time to think about what to do we stupidly made the mistake of paying for them an left feeling uncomfortable and angry within ten minutes! In this situation all you expect is a big apology and drinks on the house! As he knows i work in a bar as a deputy manager myself a considerably busier one than his most of the time and i do understand and actually struggle myself with difficult customers who make your job harder but i have never spoken to a customer the way he did that night and feel i could possibly loose my job if i did so! Its a great shame that i wont be returning to my favorite pub but i just don't feel welcome there at all and quite frankly don't want to be putting my money into a persons pockets who talks to me like that! I think for a start he should stop drinking quite so many beers behind that bar that we have always seen him putting away as on this night it clearly affected his attitude as you could see he was a little drunk and he has lost in my opinion a couple of good customers! mwill0142 - 18 Nov 2013 13:45 |
Always a good selection of real ales. Would be nice if they were a bit cheaper. Molly the spaniel is daft and cute. 3rd Wednesday of the month there is a spoken word night: Poems, Prose & Pints. I have to recommend that, I'm one of the organisers ;) cheekychinchilla - 15 Jul 2011 00:54 |
Mixed experience here. Tend to agree that there were too many beers on . The Old Peculier that i had was on the turn, but the other two that i sampled were well kept. A bit of a shame as the Landlord clearly loves his ale. Would try again as everyone can have an off day. ahscum - 19 Sep 2010 14:57 |
Used to drink here weekly for years despite the prices. But have only gone there rarely for the last year. I think there may be too many different beers on for the management to look after/turn over properly. A number of pints have had to be returned undrunk having sadly gone west, which, at these prices is a shame. A tally is kept on the blackboard of the number of different brews served over the years, which is commendable. But variety is no substitute for quality, and it would be preferable to settle down to a few regular gooduns, with maybe just the one new one each week. I hope things improve in this regard because decent real ale in Harrogate town is uncommon. exercitusx - 7 May 2010 18:34 |
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