Category: Awards

The winner of this year’s Sheffield North Pub of the Year is The Commercial in Chapeltown.

The pub itself dates back to 1890 when the area was becoming a sought after suburb. It was originally built by Strouts Brewery of Neepsend, a long standing brewery in Sheffield. Currently the pub is owned by Paul Menzies and wife Kate. They have Paul Harrison as Bar manager, assisted by Karen Layton and Sarah Fretwell.

The venue is affectionately known as “The Commie,” with visitors coming from Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster and Leeds to sample its charms. The bar is well stock with 8 cask ales and a cider on handpump, and as the pub is so popular, these change regularly with the beers coming from brewers both locally and nationally. It is also home to keg beers, and a large number of Whiskies. They are also home to Sheffield Distillery which produces gin and vodka onsite.

The pub has 3 rooms, a spacious drinking/eating area, a small snug which is ideal for meetings or conversation, and a games room with a pool table and sports TV. As a community pub, they host regular live folk sessions and beer festivals.

Food is provided by Sarah, including the legendary “Chip Butty” nights where you can find a variety of toppings for them. We are presenting their award following our branch meeting on Tuesday 3 June. The meeting starts at 8pm, followed by the award at 9pm.

Buses 2 and 2a pass the pubs front door or the 83 and 86 serve Chapeltown centre (followed by a short walk up Station Road). There is also a regular train service at Chapeltown station, between Sheffield and Barnsley, with a path through from the north end of the platforms towards the pub.

The winner of this year’s award for Pub of the Year for Sheffield South is Heeley-based Brothers Arms. Originally named Ye Olde Shakespeare Inn, which can still be seen in embossed letters on the front of the pub, it was taken over in 2014 by 5 members of well-known local ukelele legends the Everley Pregnant Brothers. 11 years on and it is still run by the same 5 people, with one of them, Richard Bailes, acting as Manager.

As well as a good range of well-kept real ales the judging panel for the award particularly liked the community focus within the pub. Regular quiz nights, music nights, and art events cover a range of interests, providing a great meeting point for local customers. And of course there’s a few prints on the walls from local artist, and one of the original five “Brothers”,  Pete Mckee.

Visitors from further afield are also encouraged with the Brothers Arms being part of the “Heeley Triangle”, along with the Sheaf View and White Lion. The three pubs are starting to promote themselves collectively, and we can certainly confirm it’s a great pub crawl for real ale fans.

As a nod to the past the pub has some new artwork about to adorn their walls. As well as a number of old photos of the pub, there’s a list of all the landlords who have run the pub for the last 200 years, along with the name of the reigning monarch during their tenure. Originally put together by the Fox family who ran the pub through the 50’s and 60’s, it has been brought bang up to date, and a new version printed ready to hang on the wall.

Our presentation takes place on Tuesday 13th May, during the half time break in the quiz, so why not pop along to lend your support and maybe join the quiz, which starts at 7.30. See you there!

GETTING THERE: 106 Well Rd, Heeley, Sheffield S8 9TZ

Buses 10, 10a, 20, 24, 25, 42, 43, 44, X17 to London Road (by Ponsfords)

Buses 18, 18a, 73 to Spencer Road / Richards Road (near Heeley City Farm).

Bus timetables, maps and live tracking visit travelsouthyorkshire.com or bustimes.org.

A careful restoration of the original Ind Coope 1930s interior gave this two roomed pub a conservation award in 2002 and acknowledgement by CAMRA as one of Britain’s pubs with a three star pub interior of exceptional national historic importance. The bar lies between the tiled lounge, a small corridor drinking area and the cosy well-upholstered snug. The owners, Brian and Ruth Johnson, have been on the Sheffield pub scene for many years – although not necessarily high profile – and after about 10 years of the pub being leased to Thornbridge Brewery, Brian is back running the pub with a team of staff. The Bath is a simple drinkers pub with friendly service and is somewhere to sit with a nice pint of local ale and enjoy conversation or perhaps a game of darts. It also has some community focus with occasional music events and the smaller of the two rooms being available to hire for meetings etc. 

The Bath is one of the more atmospheric of Sheffield’s pubs. They always offer a wide range of excellent well-kept real ales from both local and further afield breweries as well as several keg beers.

Join us from 8pm on Thursday 29th May as we present the well earned certificate.

The Oxbow Micropub opened its doors in January 2020, taking over what was once a kitchen showroom. It was founded by a group of friends who had long dreamed of running their own pub. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, they successfully navigated those early years and are now open every day – thanks in no small part to a brilliant team who help make the Oxbow such a welcoming place to enjoy a drink.

The Oxbow offers a relaxed and friendly environment where everyone is welcome. It features three cask lines and seven keg lines (often including a cider), along with a varied selection of bottled and canned beers and ciders. The beer is sourced from both local breweries and further afield, ensuring there’s something to suit every taste.

The interior is cosy, and there’s also an outdoor seating area. The canopy roof was damaged during the storm in early 2025 but is due to be repaired soon. Please note the pub is a cashless venue.

There are regular tap takeovers and specialist beer events, alongside visiting food vans and a pub quiz every other Wednesday.

The pub is easy to reach via Stagecoach bus 52 or First bus X5, both of which stop nearby. If you’re travelling on the 52, do allow a bit of extra time as the pub is at the very end of the route.

We’re looking forward to presenting the award on Tuesday 10th June at around 8.15pm – please do come along and join the celebration!

On the night the Oxbow will be offering 15% off their normal drinks prices (excluding cans) and Smith’s fish & chip van will be coming along and serving outside. Note the bar shuts at 9pm due to its residential location so get down early!

The “District” bit of Sheffield & District branch is the part in Derbyshire which includes Killamarsh, Ridgeway and a big chunk of the Peak District National Park, predominantly the Hope Valley, out as far as Millers Dale and Edale. As with the Yorkshire pubs in Sheffield, a number of judges go out and score the two pubs that came out top in the members vote to pick an overall winner, which gets put forward into the North Derbyshire entry round of the national competition. Our District winner is the Old Hall Hotel in Hope. The venue combines a pub, restaurant, tea room and bed & breakfast accommodation with the bar offering a range of cask ales plus an extensive selection of scotch single malt whiskies.

Our festival secretary Jess Cawley, reports on his visit:

Join us for the award presentation on the evening of Tuesday 29 July. Regular trains run from Sheffield to Hope and bus 272 also goes there.