Alex L.
Yelp
I expected more from a collaboration of this calibre. Walking in to the bar it still has an unfinished quality to the décor. I understand that they are going for that industrial chic look popularised in the late '90s with NYC loft spaces, so bare concrete and exposed wiring are the order of the day, but the floor still has remnants of the old carpet adhesive which makes it feel a little unclean. Upon walking in you're faced with a large open space between the bar and kitchen as the tables and chairs are predominantly situated around the outside and this makes it feel a little cold and unwelcoming.
The main space is dominated by the bar, with it's European keg beer dispense equipment: a monolithic statue to industrial plumbing in black and red. This is at a slightly inconvenient height, given that it sits entirely between the eye line of customers and staff, so crouching or tip-toes is the order of the day, unless you can grab a space at the ends of the bar. It does look fantastic, though. With 14-15 kegged beers/ciders on offer, it is a selection worthy of note, and there is a "craft" beer here to suit most palates. Personally, I'm much more of a real ale drinker, so my eye is always on the hand pulls. With a range of 4 Purity beers and 3 guest ales, there's plenty here, but with them having been the same seven beers for the last 3 months, it's disappointing that there hasn't been a wider selection. Be aware that they insist on pulling every ale through a sparkler and if, like me, you prefer it without, you my get a disapproving look as though you don't know what you're talking about, when you ask for the sparkler to be removed.
The food offering is good, and I enjoyed the dunkel glazed chicken. The menu as a whole has that kind of gastropub feel (and pricing), which isn't unexpected. I've heard differing reports about portion sizes, but on my visit, there was food aplenty: so much that I'm glad I didn't additionally opt for a starter.
The other thing I've noticed on visits, is that the staff seem to use a smartphone app for the ordering process, etc. This has the unfortunate effect of making it look repeatedly like they're just playing on their phones and ignoring customers, especially so, when you're trying in vain to catch their attention.
All in all, not a bad first draft and it's early doors yet. There is, in my opinion, room for improvement so lets see what happens over the next few months (and years).