Pub 42, Day 15 – Brown Bear

By Rob

Not altogether devastated to be leaving The Penny Black, we wandered over to the Brown Bear on Norfolk Street. 

Situated in a really smart area of the city centre – near the theatres, the public library, the Winter Gardens – the Brown Bear looks every bit the charming and traditional urban pub. The building is Grade II listed, dates back to the nineteenth century, and is one of Sheffield's oldest pubs, having been licensed back in 1822. Its location upon a picturesque cobbled street really adds to the Victorian aesthetic.

The inside matches up very nicely with its outward appearance. The pub exudes warmth and comfort, with its autumnal colours and two cosy rooms – both of which sit either side of a small, central bar. Once known for attracting celebrities and politicians, it's easy to see why the pub has maintained its popularity for so long.

And popular it certainly still is, as we walked into a busy taproom with very few empty seats. Luckily, after shouldering our way through elderly merrymakers, Izzy’s keen eyes fell upon a vacant table and chairs in the corner of one of the rooms. After securing our spot, Andy and I headed over to the bar to order the drinks.

It was at this point that the Brown Bear provided us with its own very unique manner of entertainment, in the form of a no-nonsense barman.

As we were waiting to order, another customer approached the bar from the opposite side. Eventually, the barman turned to us and inquired as to what we would like to drink. The newly-arrived gentleman, however, was less than pleased at this sequence of events and decided to vocalise his unhappiness.

“Um, excuse me,” he said, causing the barman to turn on the spot. “I’m waiting to be served”.

Frowning, and ignoring every customer-service handbook ever written, the barman calmly replied:

“Yes, I see that. But I should point out that we have something called a ‘queue system’ in place here. What that basically means is that I serve people in the order at which they arrive at the bar. These boys,” he pointed at myself and Andy, “were here before you.”

In response, the customer snorted and promptly left the pub.

An illustration of less-than-exemplary professionalism, maybe. But it was certainly funny to watch.

We each ordered a pint of Samuel Smith’s Light Mild, an ale which, as its name suggests, was quite light in both colour and taste – although it still carried a surprising amount of flavour for its 2.8% strength.

We all toasted what had been a successful evening, and both Izzy and Hannah complimented us repeatedly on our important cultural voyage until we were blushing with modesty. At least that is my recollection of the conversation.

Pub: Brown Bear (109 Norfolk Street, S1 2JE)

Rating: 8/10

Pint: Samuel Smith's Light Mild

Brewery: Samuel Smith Brewery (Tadcaster, North Yorkshire)

NEXT UP: A Woodseats pub crawl begins, at The Abbey...