Pub of the week

THE HARLEQUIN, SHEFFIELD

Poor old Harlequin, penniless, unlucky in love, and to add to his woes, today this theatrical character has vanished. Except he hasn’t – for, in quite another guise, he’s alive, very well and very popular indeed in Sheffield.

He is remembered in the name of one of the city’s most popular pubs, and his jolly image is right up there on the inn sign. When this area was alive with all sorts of industrial works, you’d have been drinking in the Manchester, but when it was saved from the wrecker’s ball, it changed its name. No-one, however, seems to know why it became the Harlequin.

There is just one main bar, but there are good-sized spaces both to either side and in front of it. And that bar has so many hand-pull pumps on it that they almost take up the look of a barricade. While the emphasis is firmly on local brewers, they do keep an experienced eye on what is going on in the world of beer, for some excellent Divination (from Bermondsey in London) sits very happily next to some Old Moor from Barnsley’s famed Acorn Brewery.

The menu is wide-ranging, always changing, and portions are plentiful. A simple order of fries overflows the bowl. Even the bar snacks are tempting – who could resist a slice of home-baked cake? Seating is on banquette forms or captain’s chairs, and, should you be inclined, there are board games and books on hand to divert you.

There is nothing pretentious or fancy-pants at all for the customers.

It’s a good old-fashioned pub and what you see is what you get, which is great service and top-rate value for money.

■ The Harlequin, 108 Nursery Street, Sheffield S3 8GG. Tel: 07794 156916.