Pub 67, Day 26 – Tap & Barrel

This blog is the second to be penned by a guest writer. On this occasion, the author is Andy's colleague Richard, who we invited along to join us for a few beers... 

By Richard 

I joined up with Pubquest in September 2015 and couldn’t resist the opportunity to guest-write about my experience. 

 

Andy and Rob lured me in by suggesting we try some places near Kelham Island – naturally I jumped at the chance as there are some cracking pubs around there. Sadly, they had already been to the good ones, so I was going on an adventure in a sort-of ‘mop-up session’. We went to four pubs I had never been to before… and will never go to again.

The first one was the Tap & Barrel.

Before moving to Sheffield I had an experience that led to a rule in life we should all follow: Never Cross the Tram Tracks at the Bottom of Town near Wilkinson’s. Granted it’s not that catchy a saying but it remains accurate to this day. Years ago I walked past B&M Bargains where a lady was shouting at her kid to have a poo outside the store in an area away from the shop (but in full view of everyone walking by). When an elderly man suggested she use the toilet in KFC across the road she screamed at him to mind his own business. 

The Tap & Barrel is about 100 metres down the road from where this incident occurred.

I met Andy a couple of months prior at work and we strangely bonded over our mutual love of the musical Les Misérables – I would much rather be writing a review about that than the pubs we went to!

Andy had mentioned he was doing this blog and trying to visit every pub in Sheffield. My initial thoughts were dismissive: it seemed a very strange hobby, and why would anybody waste so much time on a blog that nobody reads? However, once I had carefully considered the prospect of joining them I realised we could end up in some great places that I would typically avoid.

The Tap & Barrel is situated on the corner of two busy roads and from the outside looked like a respectable place. The green and gold sign reminded me of the colours of House Tyrell from Game of Thrones, although admittedly the surrounding area did not resemble Highgarden.

We entered and were greeted by a friendly bar lady who was wearing a leopard-print onesie. I don't know if this was official staff uniform or if she had only just got out of bed, but it was a particularly odd choice seeing as it was a warm summer's evening (not typical winter-onsie-weather).

The pub was spacious and clean with the bar spreading across the far wall. We ordered our drinks and took a seat: looking around it was a standard boozer with a pool table, one or two locals and strangely someone setting up a karaoke machine on a dead Tuesday night!

Now, I’m not a man’s man type ale-drinker and would much prefer a cocktail if I'm honest, but sadly there weren't any on the menu. I settled with a Foster's (which was pleasant) and the guys had an Amstel which they appeared to enjoy. The rest of the experience was OK, we played pool (I beat Andy which I know he will thank me for mentioning), and just as we finished our drinks a rough-looking group entered the pub and went straight to the toilet together. We made eye contact with each other and without saying anything left the pub immediately.

I’m not a pub-reviewing ‘expert’ like my Pubquest drinking pals, but in my opinion the Tap & Barrel is a passable pub on the wrong side of town. Compared to other pubs in the immediate area it is an improvement, but when you consider a 10-minute walk in any direction would lead you to a superior boozer, it's probably not worth visiting again.

I would score the pub 4 out of 10. 

UPDATE: not long after our visit, two men were stabbed in the Tap & Barrel. It's a good job we took Richard along as back-up!

Tap & Barrel pool score: Pubquest 0-1 Rest of World
Pubquest pool score: Pubquest 3-2 Rest of World

Pub: Tap & Barrel (42 Waingate, S3 8LB)

Rating: 4/10

Pint: Amstel

Brewery: Heineken International (Zoeterwoude, Netherlands)

NEXT UP: A political scandal, at the Three Cranes...