Fat Cat

Super own-brewed beers and guests in friendly, bustling town local, plenty of bottled beers too, remarkably cheap tasty food; brewery visits

It's the smashing choice of up to ten real ales that draw customers to this busy and friendly town local. As well as their own-brewed Kelham Island Bitter, Pale Rider, and Easy Rider, there's Timothy Taylors Landlord, and guests from breweries such as Milk Street, Millstone, Rudgate, Saltaire, Spire, and Tigertops, all well kept on handpump. Also, draught and bottled belgian beers, Weston's cider and country wines. The two small downstairs rooms have brewery-related prints on the walls, coal fires, simple wooden tables and cushioned seats around the walls, and jugs, bottles and some advertising mirrors; cards and dominoes and maybe the pub cat wandering around. The upstairs room has a TV for sport. The Brewery Visitor Centre (you can book brewery trips (0114) 249 4804) has framed beer mats, pump clips and prints on the walls. There are picnic-sets in a fairylit back courtyard.

Extremely cheap bar food includes sandwiches, soup, ploughman's, leek and sweet potato, pork or chicken casseroles, popular steak pie, chick pea and pepper stew, mushroom and tomato pasta with melted mozzarella, and puddings like jam roly-poly and apple crumble; Monday evening curries and Sunday roast.