Friends of Ham

A friend in need’s a friend indeed, a friend with weed is better (so the song goes). And a friend with ham is even better still.

Rocking up to Friends of Ham I’m still amazed at how this slimline bar has taken the city of Leeds by storm. It’s tiny upstairs belies the belly below, a cosy atmospheric cellar finished with comfy sofas and the now famous shuttle board.

A homemade mantra emanates throughout this dimly lit haven, from the scribbled menus that hang on the walls on plain brown paper to the tables decorated with candles in make-do-and-mend holders. Well scrawled signs dangle from the shelving behind the bar cheekily outlining the offers of the day. This is a place of well crafted tender loving care.

On one visit a handmade poster describes the ham of the week, and another pithily penned notice alerts me to the takeaway beer cans, perfect for taking onboard the trains that lurch out of the nearby station.

It delights us Leeds folk that we can claim to have two of the UK’s best quality bars amongst the city walls (well within the city’s inner ring road at least). Between North Bar and Friends of Ham we might be forgiven for being a bit smug about our position on the beer map.

A friendly bar with ham, good beer , excellent service, great ambience and a convenient location. That really is a friend in times of need.

Friendly drinks

Train beer

Daily ham

Birds & bees

FletchtheMonkey

Mark is better known as @fletchthemonkey and started writing about beer in 2009. When not content with spending all day on the internet working in digital for an multichannel retailer, Mark waxes lyrical at digitalmediamonkey.co.uk and types up match reports for Leeds Guide magazine.

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