Whitelock's Ale House — Restaurant in Leeds

As a citizen of Leeds I have been to Whitelocks many times but the last time I had food there was many years ago. At that time there was a curtain across the dining area and the atmosphere was quiet.

I had booked a table primarily to show my wife the great decor of the pub, which she had never visited before. The table was booked for 4.30pm on a saturday.

It's a shame then that our experience was so negative. The dining area is now open and just an extension of the bar area. Sat right next to a small panelled divider, this was made clear to us almost immediately when a group of men sat around a tiny adjoining table; one of them basically sat right next to my wife and into our space. This meant we had to move our table about a foot away in the opposite direction for my wife to comfortably eat. We later asked to be moved because of this.

Our other main problem was the sheer noise in the pub. Whitelocks now have piped music playing in the pub. This manages to be loud enough that all the other punters feel the need to raise their own voices to speak over it but to still quiet enough that the music itself is therefore impossible to identify. It could've been Brahms or Black Sabbath, I have absolutely no idea. It served no purpose except a negative one.

Plus, as I said, it meant that an already small and intimate pub had it's background volume raised to ear-splitting levels. I'm not joking: my wife is deaf in one ear and we practically sat in virtual silence for the whole two-course meal, surrounded by shouting punters and ill-defined music. I had booked the table for an hour and a quarter and we left after 40 minutes. I don't think I've ever eaten a meal in such an atmosphere before, and I've eaten in north african souks. It was like being at a kid's birthday party.

It's hard to make this sound like the pub hasn't insulted me personally or that other aspects of the meal were poorly dealt with. The rest of our experience - wait-staff, food etc - were absolutely fine and I'd be happy to return to Whitelocks as just a beer-drinking customer in the future. But by contrast, and finding ourselves in Town early prior to the meal, we stopped in for one pint at another alley-pub further up Briggate to Whitelocks. I would say that the age-range of the clientele was exactly the same as that in Whitelocks, yet there was a quieter atmosphere, no music playing, a good food menu and good service. Not dead, but quiet and a good atmosphere for a decent sit-down meal. Whitelocks could...

Visited the venue on Saturday 24th May armed with my 20% discount card due to being a 5 points brewery investor. The digital investor card clearly states “scan the QR code”. After saving the code onto my phone I clearly had the only requested proof that I needed. Bought a round of drinks with no problem. When I went to the bar for a second round the discount was refused. Why? When questioned if I had the initial email (which should not be required according to the description within the terms, see the attached photo). I obviously said no. When stood in the middle of the pub, how could I possibly produce the (unnecessary) email that was sent to me in July last year? (almost 47 weeks ago). It is amazing how far this company will go to avoid honouring their contractual obligations. This is not the first time I have had an issue and my next step will be to inform trading standards and submit a review to Trustpilot regarding 5 Points dubious practices in order to warn any potential future investors. EDIT SINCE REPLY: Please get your facts correct first, before insinuating lies. Both me and my partner were present and simply went shopping. The people in the group were authorised in my abscence to use the discount as we were ALL in the same group. SIMPLE! The rules do not state ANYWHERE that I personally have to go to the bar each time. Had you waited before being rude to my friends, I'm sure they would have called me to re-attend as I was only minutes away. Also, if I choose to send my partner, my sister or anyone else for that matter, to the bar, (mobility issues, not that is any of your business), then I will. The fact still remains that you refused my right to a discount therefore I dispute your inaccurate version of events and the review still...

This was my first experience in a pub as an adult, and it exceeded expectations. The pub itself was smaller, and lower than I anticipated but this is not a drawback - rather, it accentuated the cozy, intimate nature of the establishment. That warm acoustic of ambient conversation was something I noted; a very comforting, and deeply human atmosphere.

I love that this pub is pure brass and wood; one can tell this place is old school, and has been privy to 300 years of conversations, laughter and great moments.

Whitelock's introduced me to how beer should be served. I've never really been a fan of beer (or so I thought!) but upon first smell and taste of that pint of Old Peculier, it began to make sense - toffee, dried fruits, molasses, and roasted malt. It was a proper cellared and pulled ale. I'm now a convert to real ale. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I had four pints of this black gold!

The food was authentic, hearty pub grub. Tomato and pepper soup with bread and quality butter. Rich, tender beef and ale pie with sautéed veg, thick chips served with a gravy boat. To finish, a sticky toffee pudding with ice cream. Every dish was delicious, rustic in presentation and filling. The Sunday roast is absolutely delicious.

The staff were welcoming and amiable- I could not have asked for better service. My booking instructions were followed, and they were attentive but never intrusive. Absolutely nothing more they could have done.

I cannot fault this place. Truly. The ambience is great, the beers are brilliant and cared for, the food is delicious, and the staff are fantastic. This has set a benchmark; a Damascene experience for me. A real Yorkshire...