Central eating

Among its pubs, the aptly-named Friendly is nearest the brewery. The Town Hall Tavern in Leeds has been owned by Timothy Taylor for several years and last month they re-opened it with an interior preened into contemporary smart with lots of wall prints and “gastro pub” ambitions. The beer is dearer than it is in Keighley.

Up front is a Cumbrian, Mat Atkinson, just back from Brisbane with a Bartender of the Year nomination. In charge at the stoves is Anton Scoones, whose experience includes an auspicious start at Simply Heathcotes, moving on to Mr Heathcote’s Michelin-starred Longridge restaurant, then Oulton Hall (Leeds) and latterly the General Tarleton near Knaresborough. It’s a smart CV and to get it over with, his food at the Leeds city centre pub does not disappoint, mostly at least.

It is a Friday night in mid-June, at what they call early doors. It is busy and rowdy in a well-behaved tumult. You have to be a group of six or more to reserve a table. Only one table was not occupied by drinkers. Otherwise what? Well, apparently they’ll shift some drinkers from a table if it is needed for eating at. Do you sense ill-feeling may ensue?

The Tavern’s website says it is one of the city’s most historic pubs – which is pushing it a bit far. It opened in 1926. It is in the “legal” part of town, facing Cuthbert Brodrick’s 1858 town hall and the law courts. Those who work there in one capacity or another would enjoy Tetley beer when it was brewed with pride in the city and tasted with delight in the surrounding towns. These days it is not and does not taste as good. The brewery’s last office employees were being shown the door as I wrote this piece.

There was a tale about a policeman who achieved a target weight at the Town Hall Tavern by drinking its Tetleys and eating only pork pies. At one time the Press would have been there too, in the era when lunchtime drinking was part of what these days is called networking. Old hacks would not recognise their old haunt now the rooms have been ripped out into one big space.

So, it’s Friday night and the racket is more pre-soccer match than gastro pub. It is awful. Someone has decided that above this din we really want to hear music. I have trouble discussing the finer points of five-aside darts with my guest. The cacophony is plain daft.

The brewery started a chef development programme this year, covering hygiene, butchering, and cooking specific to each pub. I suggest Mr Scoones is a few stages on from such basics. He has twice been a regional finalist in the Roux Scholarship and his menu reads well (the selection may have been re-jigged when you read this.) The food is local/regional where possible – Dales beef, free range pigs and fowl. Everything is prepared in the kitchen, from the ice cream to the chunky tartare sauce and a succulent bread and butter pudding served with yum-yum rhubarb ice cream.

A starter of Whitby crab and brown shrimp cake is a substantial ball in a crispy coating: lots of seaside flavours inside, served with stewed sweet strips of sweet peppers, diced chorizo and at £7.25 maybe just a teeny bit too dear. “Soup of the moment” was a coarse broth of watercress with a perfect poached egg and thick, hugely thick, triangles of herb bread which was too dry.

There are four vegetarian dishes but none appeals (two risottos are two too many for me). There’s a “pushed for time” selection though the contents could just as well hang with the starters. There are “knife and fork sandwiches” served with chips including fish fingers with sweet peppers, just to dilute the gastro pub tempo. There are “ale house classics” such as pie and mash, proper burger, rump steak and – we just had to – Scampi in a Basket. Bring on the hot pants and flared Levi’s. Fleetwood-landed langoustine are in a glossy wire basket with lovely fluffy chips and the chef’s tartare sauce in a dish. Tomato sauce is served in one of those miniature jars used for breakfast jams. That cost £10.95 and was a lot of fun. There is a short section titled Chef’s Signature Dishes. Basil crusted lamb and crispy belly; sticky Yorkshire pork belly with black pudding hash; fish of the day (cod) and the one we tried, “seared fillet of sea bass with langoustine, fettuccini, courgette and ginger” at £12.95. Well, the fish was obvious enough but the langoustine was not. The menu was misleading. In fact the langoustine was a subliminal speck and flavour in the pasta, which was over-run with a sweetness from raisins. This course missed my expectations by a mile.

People come and go. Tables empty. When we leave at mid-evening no-one else has eaten. The bill is served in a book, found in the pub’s archives. It is Macaulay’s England Under Charles II. The first owner was William Stockdale, March 18, 1911. The book may be worth more than the meal cost which was £55.15 including two halves of beer (£2.90) and 250ml of white wine (£5.10).

Verdict: Enjoyable food. Did I mention the noise? Avoid busy nights.

The Town Hall Tavern, 17 Westgate, Leeds LS1 2RA. Tel: 0113 2440765 and email at: [email protected].

Food served Monday to Saturday 11.30am to 9pm.