Harrogate bars 'best in Britain'

Two Harrogate bars feature in the Daily Mail's latest top 100 best bars in the UK list.
Highly rated by a national newspaper - The Harrogate Tap.Highly rated by a national newspaper - The Harrogate Tap.
Highly rated by a national newspaper - The Harrogate Tap.

Writing on the Mail online, the Events section's food writer Tom Parker Bowles and wine expert Olly Smith travelled the UK looking for its cosiest pubs with lots of well-kept cask ales, good pies and wooden beams.

As well as picking out North Yorkshire gem The Craven Arms in Appletreewick, the two writers also chose two of Harrogate finest's bars.

One of the best bars in Britain - Simon and Sharon Colgan outside the Blues Bar in Harrogate.One of the best bars in Britain - Simon and Sharon Colgan outside the Blues Bar in Harrogate.
One of the best bars in Britain - Simon and Sharon Colgan outside the Blues Bar in Harrogate.
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Parker Bowles, son of of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Smith, a regular on on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen show, both raved about The Blues Bar and The Harrogate Tap.

At number 74, they spotlighted The Harrogate Tap at the railway station, praising it for its "discreet grandeur of the panelling, curvy leather banquets and huge range of world beers."

The drink they highlighted was Roosters Baby-Faced Assassin.

At number 78, they spotlighted The Blues Bar pm Montpellier Hill just down from Bettys, describing it as "more of a music venue, it’s the warmth of this compact place, together with the decent drinks, that gets my vote."

The drink they highlighted was Roosters Highway 51.

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Meanwhile at 77 was The Craven Arms in Appletreewick which received the following accolade ay the Mailonline: "Once seen, the heather-thatched cruck (curved timber) barn behind the pub, built in 2006, is never forgotten.

"As for the pub itself, gas lighting, real fires and a cellar for cask-conditioning all make it worth the trip to Wharfedale.

They were drinking Theakstons Old Peculier.