Leeds Brewery have been quietly expanding in Leeds over the last few years.
They’ve now got four pubs and bars, each with a distinct identity and reason. PIN is their ‘contemporary cafe bar’, a small bar and restaurant tucked away on Dock Street, just over the river.
Given that PIN is a Leeds Brewery bar, it almost goes without saying that they’ve got Leeds Best and Pale on tap, and very good they are too. The cocktail list is long and impressive, but it’s great to see a couple of pumps full of proper beer right at the front. It shows that the place has a bit of heart and soul.
The food is very good. There’s nothing that unusual or exotic on the menu, but it’s all good, relaxed and comfortable food, the sort of food that, if you’re honest, you probably really like to eat.
We had some skewers or jerk chicken and some deep fried brie to start. The chicken had a good kick to it and was very tender, and the other starter was a chunk of breaded and deep fried cheese, so, really, what’s not to like?
A house-special type burger came next. The burger was a huge beast of a thing, a long, thick slab of seasoned ground beef in a toasted bun. The waitress asked if I wanted cheese and bacon on it, which of course I did, because refusing bacon and cheese on a burger is just plain stupid. So I got bacon and cheese. Lots of it.
I’ve heard a lot of talk about PIN’s chips, and the hype didn’t disappoint. These were chips cut by hand from big potatoes and fried at least twice. Proper chips with rustic, mis-matched sizes, the give away clue that your chips have been made properly.
We also had a steak, cooked medium-rare. It was actually medium-rare, which hardly ever happens. I also spotted a plate of fish and chips coming out of the kitchen that nearly made me fall off my chair. Those chips again, with a huge slice of crisp fish on top of them. Next time…
There was a dessert, too, sticky toffee pudding, which smelt great and which, I’m told, tasted as good as it looked.
A great meal in a fantastic, atmospheric little bar that’s run well by people who know what they’re doing.