Arcadia Ale House — Restaurant in Leeds

(Used to be a) Great place for a good pint - (was) an oasis in Headingley (anyone trying to find a decent place to drink in LS6 will understand) and the foods not bad either. Update as per April 2022 - still a great place to drink. Civilised table service has remained post covid (now no longer..) Update August 2022 - big change has been outside seating - - introduced in July. Popular and (very welcome) a no smoking (see latest updates....) area unlike most pubs. Always a good choice of cask beer. Update November 2022 - still a popular place. The table service from covid times has gone, but there has always been a civilised queue at the bar here. Great choice of ever changing cask beers. Update January 2023 as above, carry on. Updated July 2023 - sadly a change for the worse. The unique nature of this excellent Headingley pub has fundamentally changed. Smoking allowed on the outside seating, large group rules relaxed. Probably better to drink in a Meanwood bar from now on. They say no Otley Run groups but the signs on the door certainly don't say so. Used to be a good bet. Updated October 2023 - sadly succumbed to the Headingley sickness of the Otley Run. Can't recommend you to drink here anymore. What was a busy little bar is crowded out with fly by night revellers thronged round the door. A once pleasant oasis in the Headingley pit of drinking establishments has gone native. Best advice is head down to Meanwood where there is an excellent choice of bars. Even venture a bit further up the A660 to Adel - try Foundation, it's a very welcome addition...

Update: a few months on and I have to say that my initial reaction to the changes at Arcadia seem to have been misplaced. While they do let runners in they don't seem to encourage them and it's not listed on any "run list" I've seen. Yes it gets busy but not ridiculously so. The addition of simple but good food (nice pizzas and loaded fries) is a welcome addition. Adding sky sports, but only one screen per room, also works well.

All in all I have to say the changes made are an overall improvement to an already good pub.

I stand corrected :-)

Original review below for context: Sadly Arcadia has decided to ditch it's USP and now seems to welcome the Otley Runners on a Saturday. It will become another generic bar on the run, packed on Saturday and Sunday. "What's your cheapest lager?" "Got any fruit cider?" "Can we have some shots?" I understand why they've done it but I am saddened that they couldn't stick to what they were brilliant at, great & quality beer you could enjoy with a nice load of conversation. To be clear, I am a fan of the run, the energy and fun it brings to the area makes Headingley special but there was a place for alternatives and Arcadia was one of the last ones. Sad to...

If in a group of 6 or less, don't bother. Or, in a group of 6 or more don't bother. The 2 Americans who run this now off my calling list of pubs, are so covid aware/scared, that they shouldn't in my opinion be in a customer focused business. On entering the man was more intent on how many of us there would be of us (2 to start with). We said 4 poss 6 and sat at a 4 seater table with a small table nearby. Was told other tables out of bounds due to covid. Told we cldnt visit the bar, table service only. Woman behind bar then wanted a definitive answer as to how many coming. Reiterated we didn't know, 4, maybe 6. She then rudely said she'd have to trust us. I replied "I hope you do.". We waited service and when none, I asked for drinks. She said no service today as not happy at my "have to trust us". However, she "valued our custom and we are welcome to ret another day." Unbuevable. If you want to experience a proper pub without the Spanish inquisition, then avoid arcadia. It's certainly gone down hill in my opinion. For better beer, better atmosphere and 100% cust experience improvement, visit head of steam round the corner. Won't be back. Nor will others judging from its largely...