Category: Awards

This months Pub of the Month award see us back in Commonside at the Closed Shop, directly opposite last months winner, Hallamshire House. Beer drinkers in the area have never had it so good! The Closed Shop was taken on by Sheffield’s Reet Ale Pubs over three years ago and it has since gone from strength to strength. A large scale refurbishment in July 2013 added the kitchen and updated the interior. It’s a traditional style pub with separate areas on different levels, and a large beer garden. The back room has a pool table and large TV screen for showing the occasional sports event. Manager Andy Stephens, Assistant Manager Christie McIntosh and bar staff Dan, Kirsten and Louise have worked hard to ensure the pub has a very friendly feel. It’s a great pub to just sit and chat to friends and the informal nature of the staff adds to the atmosphere. Evidence of this is the outdoor ‘A’ board with its ever changing humorous comments. (the word ‘humorous’ is being used loosely in this context as you’ll see when you visit!) However don’t let this light-hearted touch fool you when it comes to the serious business of food and Drink. 8 handpulls serve an array of fine beer, always including Blue Bee’s excellent Reet Pale, which is hardly a surprise as the company also owns the brewery. One or two Blue Bee specials usually feature on the other pumps as well as a range of local and national beers featuring a variety of styles. A good wine and spirits list caters for the non-beer drinkers. Worth a mention is Christie’s ‘Ginfusions’ – gin from Locksleys of Sheffield infused with an array of flavourings. Home cooked food is also a feature of the pub with a good mix of traditional dishes such as steak and ale pie, classic burgers, and old-favourite butties. Chef Dean Long and assistants Simon and James produce an ever-changing specials board to add to the choice and vegetarian options are always available. Sundays see the menu expanded to include traditional roast meats which are extremely popular. Wednesday and Sunday quizzes are a big attraction at the pub. Free to enter, often themed, and with a range of prizes. Sheffield CAMRA will be presenting the award on Tuesday 8th March. The evening starts at 8 pm, with a free buffet after the presentation. The Closed Shop opens at 4 weekdays, food till 9.30, and opens midday at weekends, with food till 9. Full details are on the pub’s website www.theclosedshopsheffield.co.uk or their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheClosedShop. You can also follow them on twitter – @theclosedshop. Get there on bus 95 or car parking is available at the rear of the pub.

Commonside is one of those classic Sheffield locations that stick in the mind as somewhere unique, especially as a beer drinker. You alight the number 95 bus on the crest of the Barber Road hill, outside the Dram Shop off-licence and New Cod on the Block fish & chip shop. If you are my age you nod at PA Jewellery (Old Bank, Commonside, Walkley) remembering how often their adverts and sponsorship were on Radio Hallam and walk up Commonside where two good pubs are opposite one another. You wonder why you don’t make the effort a little more often. The Hallamshire House is one of those pubs. It is a Sheffield classic multi-room pub and when the long serving licencee retired the lease was taken over by Thornbridge Brewery. A refurbishment took place that gave the pub a more clean, smart and modern look without losing the classic character that people loved about the pub. The two snug like rooms at the front of the pub are still present and correct, as is the big back room with the full size snooker table – one of the few still left in Sheffield pubs – along with the lounge. There is also now a fairly unique smokers room downstairs – an undercroft area with sofas and tables, which extends out into a small beer garden area at the rear. Whatever type of pub you love, there is probably a room for you! Meanwhile at the bar, managers Tom & Becky Ashfield and their team present a selection of craft beers across all the formats – cask real ales, keg, bottle and can; mainly from Thornbridge but complimented by interesting guests – always kept to a high standard. You can be alerted to exciting new beers appearing on the bar by following the pub on Twitter – @HallamshireHaus. Bar snacks are available in the form of pork pies, sausage rolls and scotch eggs. On the entertainment front, there is a monthly blues club, regular quiz nights and other special events. Otherwise it is just great beer served in a nice chilled out pub. Join us for the award presentation evening, we’ll be there from about 8pm on Tuesday 9th February. The Hallamshire House is open Monday to Wednesday 4pm to 11:30pm, Thursday noon to 11:30pm, Friday & Saturday noon to 12:30am and Sunday noon to 11:30pm. Website: www.myhallamshire.co.uk.  

The Three Tuns on Silver Street Head is one of Sheffield’s classic traditional pubs, thanks to it’s triangular shape and the feeling of being on the bow of a ship for those occupying the seats in the window where the point of the triangle is! Despite being a classic Sheffield pub, its location tucked away off Paradise Square has also led some to describe it as a ‘hidden gem’, which in the past has relied on an after work crowd from the nearby HSBC bank building and the various local solicitors offices, however it is now getting better known and much more popular. Although refurbished to feel modern and comfortable, it also retains an old fashioned feel to the design and is simply somewhere you can sit in a relaxed and civilised atmosphere. The atmosphere of the pub is helped by the staff – Manager Kate Major is a younger version of what some old timers would describe as ‘a proper pub landlady’ and her team offers friendly and efficient service at the bar. Being part of the Reet Ale Pubs business, the beer range features a selection of cask ales from Blue Bee Brewery plus guests, these are spread across 6 handpumps. A real cider from the Westons range is also available. Food is available at meal times on weekdays and all day on Saturdays, the pub only has a very small kitchen so the offering has been restricted to a selection of hot and cold sandwiches along with some hot meal options on the specials board, usually a curry or casserole dish. This is the second time the Three Tuns has won a Pub of the Month award – voted for by our members – since Reet Ale Pubs took the lease from Punch Taverns, this one reflects the hard work by Kate and her team to not only maintain standards but grow the popularity of this iconic little pub of Sheffield. We’ll be presenting the certificate at the Three Tuns on the evening of Tuesday 12th January, why not join us from 8pm and enjoy a few beers, it could be a bit of a party!