Hello,
suffice to say I have been a trifle unclear on what the name of this section of my living actually is. I asked both Lucienne and Chris at the Shakespeares as well as the folks at the Crow and Bar Stewards, what they thought the "scene" thought the area of all three was called. In the end two different answers were supplied, hence the oddness of the title. This uncertainty luckily deprives nothing from my second, third and forth homes in fab sunny Sheffield...
As you all know I have been drinking in Shakespeares on Gibraltar Street regularly since 2011. This was, a few days before the Robin Hood at little Matlock closed, the day the Shakespeares reopened, after Red House Jeff left and William bought it. I met the lovely Tash about two years later and have been going in Shakespeares at least four times a month ever since, including for my fortieth birthday party, with a wonderful cake from Ally. I admit I met someone from the poetry group up at the Cross Keys in there once, and Andy the DJ on the same night, probably about 2009, and I did once pop in with Abz around 1994, but since 2011 it has become one of my and my friends favourite pubs, selling some of the most amazing halves and pints and thirds of excellent ale in cask from the past, keg, bottle, and can, along with a wonderful selection of gins, whiskies and wines, served by some of the finest bar staff I have ever met. This makes me very pleased that it is the longest visited of the three excellent venues on the trail....
Across the road is the Bar Stewards micro pub and bottle bar. Although I missed their opening night I soon went in when the bar was on the left, which may have been in November or so 2016. After many original one off opening nights to sample their original choice of cask ales from the barrel, the bar was soon changed over a month and now appears facing you as you enter with boards advertising both the cask as well as the keg guests, along with their regular cider and lagers, and which points you to their two fridges containing a frankly mahoosive slab of wonderful IPAs, pale ales, sours, stouts, lagers, DIPAs and other items of wonderment. As a regular drinker in there for a good few years am very happy to find that my third home, complete with excellent bajis and samosas, is the next feature on this wonderful trio of excellent pubs.
The last venue to feature is the newly opened Crow Inn on Scotland street - here is a link to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheCrowInn/ which is one of many sites sharing information on keg and cask ales for you to choose from. Crucially they also serve Kevins pies, which I may have indulged in at the Closed Shop when I used to go in when it was run by Andy Stephens. Sadly, the earlier versions featured misplacement of an apostrophe, but regular readers will know that I am also involved in a lack of knowledge in the same respect so I think I may never have mentioned it....
The pub is owned by Wendy who used to own the Harlequin (I think...) and work at Shakespeares, and is run by Chris Bamford and David from the Rutland and Adam from Dronfiled - since that is where everyone knows he comes from....
There are five real ale handpumps selling a range including Abbeydale Daily Bread plus many locally produced and further afield guests, and it also has ten keg lines, along with a barrel load of excellent cans and bottles in the fridge, to add to an excellent gin rum and whisky list. I admit I went in the former Crown Inn a number of times in the naughties but have never bothered with Sleep as a venue before. I now find myself ordering a range of excellent cask and keg drinks and cans, whilst sitting in the small but wonderfully formed beer garden, often with friends, often in bright sunshine, or being inside enjoying the artwork on the walls in the two seating areas.
Am pleased to say that three of my favourite Sheffield pubs have been joined in a double named, shape featuring caravan of excellent trade in an area currently changing and improving very well indeed. I know that some people I know well have never visited the Crow so I would strongly insist that you do, and then, hopefully, also attend the other two parts of the triangle, Bar Stewards and Shakespeares, thus enjoying three excellent Sheffield boozers in one go.
Cheers!!
Wee Beefy
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