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Fanny's Ale And Cider House, Saltaire

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user reviews of Fanny's Ale And Cider House, Saltaire

please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.

Friday lunchtime visit to this traditional main road ale house while visiting Saltaire village and mill.

A busy place by 1pm it was half full. Soft rock music playing, that didn't deter chatter or the couple of blokes that were reading.

The decoration is of old photos of the local area, vintage metal signs and breweriana. The lounge is also gas lit.

7 ales on the hand pumps, I had a Saltaire South Island Pale @ 3.5%.

Cracking place that I feel I haven't given enough attention to as I made a flying visit here.
lezford - 17 Jul 2016 17:51
My first ever time in Fanny's (pub intended) before going to the annual beer festival at Saltaire Brewery.

As you walk in, it looks really small but after a walk upstairs to the toilets, I was amazed how big it was.

Beer quality was absolutely bang on and the prices really reasonable - £2.60 a pint. Mildly amusing when the Morris Dancers came in jingling away following their exploits in the Saltaire festival.

Apparently it used to be the old police station. A definite must when in Saltaire.
realalerules1983 - 13 Sep 2015 13:05
I really wanted to like this place for the great beers on but the barlady was unreceptive and played music so out of keeping with the place. Beers range from stout to gold. Love to go back but not to listen to that dreadful "music".
Steamer1 - 7 Apr 2015 22:16
Great ale house, smells
Better than it used to
parmantom - 25 Mar 2014 06:23
Enjoyed a couple of good beers in here after the short walk (uphill) from the station. Yorkshire ales take top spot and with the "alehouse" decor and nice little drinking areas this is a pub I could have stayed in longer - in fact I went across the road to The Victoria (GBG2014) to find it up for let and with a very indifferent foreign lady behind the bar but worse the beer was off! Wish I'd stayed in Fanny's.
mcroyal - 24 Mar 2014 10:06
Great pub. Makes me want to move to Saltaire. Knowledgeable and enthusiastic barman, friendly punters, fantastic labyrinthine pub with a great selection of local ales, plus good foreign lagers and as a bonus Sierra Nevada pale ale was on draught at, admittedly the going rate, of a just under a fiver a pint. But the ales were well priced and the place is just, well, magic. 10/10 without question.
dry_riser_inlet - 25 Aug 2013 22:15
Visited 27 June 2013. Mid afternoon. Bought a pint and stood at the bar. Pub not busy so barmaid went to the doorway and started smoking., most smoke coming into the pub. Finished pint as quick as I could.
pencred - 29 Jun 2013 01:25
A must visit pub for real ale fans, just a few minutes walk up from Saltaire train station and more stimulating than the Hockney exhibition.
tophops - 11 Mar 2013 16:10
Absolutely stonking alehouse! I love this place! Great beer, and there's always something different on! A must visit whenever in Saltaire! The place is deceptively big compared to what it looks like from the outside! A great haunt for the more 'mature' as this place is not for the 'kids'; a bit of a rock edge to the place. It is always busy with a great crowd filling all the little nooks and crannies! As I say, one of my favourite watering holes around and highly recommend!
BuddhaBelly - 10 Mar 2013 21:37
Proper Pub - ale choice and quality is fine - difficult to get a seat in the better downstairs bit, if you venture upstairs the smell gets more potent and you feel like you may have timewarped back to being trapped in old pool table cellar of the 1970's
parmantom - 24 Nov 2012 07:39
Beltin' place - smells of beer and sweat ! Wide range of real ales and ciders and lagers - mixed clientelle. A proper boozer.
whites68 - 16 Sep 2012 20:44
Fantastic atmospheric pub! Inviting from the outside and a real treat when you venture inside, great selection of ales for all types and full of nic nacs and hidden rooms great for exploring! This place is really full of character and you would really struggle to find a better atmosphere on a week night. Well worth a visit and definitely worth the rating it has thus far received!
coiner - 5 Apr 2012 00:17
I'm so glad I found this pub, a really friendly crowd and excellent selection of beer, many from local breweries. Quickly found myself in the midst of an ale drinking frenzy. Many thanks to the locals for making feel at home.
ratfan - 31 Mar 2012 19:48
Awesome boozer!
urbanhell - 25 Sep 2011 19:47
Ha been past on numerous occasions on my travels, but have never had the time to pop in. Took the train from Leeds today with son in tow for the visit, and was not un-happy with our day out.
The choice of beer was excellent, the staff were very helpful, and the atmosphere was brilliant.
I shall be back.........
Blackadder - 9 Apr 2011 19:39
a proper establishment - totally excellent - my first visit - friendly helpful staff with similar service, the Dent Kamikaze was in great shape - I'll be back. particularly with prices like these (that's compared to where I live in N Oxon)
andrewp119 - 20 Feb 2011 17:20
Fanny's is pretty legendary in the area. Strange pub (or cider house) in many ways, just a series of dark alcoves and alleyway thin rooms, but the ambience is excellent. Always dark and candlelit, good mix of locals, and great beer, if ever you are in Saltaire Fanny's is the must visit venue. You wont miss it, as there are normally as many people spilling out into the road outside as inside.

Slight warning, the prices are'nt 'wetherspoons' for such rustic surroundings, but it's well worth it!
Seve1974 - 24 Aug 2010 20:06
Middle class? I guess that depends which "class" you consider yourself.

Having lived in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Saltaire, I haven't found a pub better than Fanny's, and I wouldn't call myself a real ale drinker! The pub itself is small, but it only gets really busy on Friday evenings with people coming in after work, or in the summer when the pavement can get pretty crammed.

I think the staff are excellent, considering how much space there is to work with behind the bar, and how often customers can be.. "particular" about how their pints look/taste/smell/cost.

Also, it's probably the cheapest pub in Saltaire!
tamsyndrome - 17 Aug 2010 13:35
Pubs don't come much better than this. An 'alternative' pub with goth bar staff and great beer. Hard to get served though. One room seeems to have no electicity.
westyorkshire - 23 Jul 2010 15:10
Built on an old beer shop (and a police station prior to that judging by the lamp as well), this is a funny old pub with a tiny square bar in the middle and seating in a variety of nooks and crannies, as well as an upstairs area with tables, chairs and sofas. I'm told this pub is nearly always busy, which doesn't come as a great surprise although I wasn't neccesarily bowled over by the selection (guest ales had run out largely by my sunday afternoon visit, leaving just standard fare on offer) but I'd certainly return if in Saltaire again.
ChrisP87 - 16 Jun 2010 11:09
I sometimes call into this pub on the way to visit my parents around 7pm on a Friday and it is always packed at that time. For anyone visiting after a gap the extension into the next building (such that Fanny's now wraps round a take away restaurant) comes as a bit of a surprise. The pub is now rather large. But as others have said, the bar is still small and squeezing round once one has a drink to get to the quieter pastures behind can be a struggle. But I've always found the service to be quick (four staff crammed into the tiny bar area).

Most importantly: the beer is good and changing. I wish I could have tried the 6% Kelham Island pale ale (and the 11% beer next to it) this Friday but thought it might sap my small remaining will power for the Baildon Boundary Run the next day.
drtimthornton - 29 Mar 2010 12:26
Some great beers. Always busy yet never seem to have too much trouble finding seats. Only fly in the ointment is the endless wait to be served due to the minute size of the bar.
Bagsy - 9 Feb 2010 14:12
Early on a winter's Friday evening, the place was full to busting, but we managed to find a seat at the back in the rabbit warren of rooms. The beer was excellent, the venue "vibrant". Total contrast to the larger but sparsely populated Victoria over the road.
JBGatelad - 6 Dec 2009 14:55
Excellent on the Ale selection, and different Euro Lagers and ciders. Food: pork scratchings and nuts only. This is a beer house. Unfortunately the bar is far too small and it usually takes ages to get served most evenings, plus the crowd standing on the street gets ridiculous - i'm amazed the Filth haven't nicked 'em. Its a bit pretentious, professionally distressed and painted nicotine stains. If the same business model was transferred to the Victoria across the road, it would be the perfect boozer.
nogginthenogg - 20 Aug 2009 10:43
Nice boozer this, popped in on a quietish Saturday afternoon and had a pit of Dry as the Desert, very light in colour but nicely hopped. Will certainly be making a trip back and this place makes me further persuaded to move to this area from Leeds.
LeedsStew - 2 Aug 2009 11:25
Really nice boozer with a good range of ales. Very 'woody' and cosy inside. I'm not easily offended but I couldn't see any reason for the picture up in the corner of the room. Somebody like to explain? Is it something to do do with the name of the pub?
mph - 15 Apr 2009 14:57
Great pub, great beer - gets really busy at weekends, but knocking through to next door has helped a lot.
yorkshirechris - 13 Apr 2009 22:43
what a rad venue!... good cider selection, relaxed crowd, a whole lot of charm and well worth a visit. if only they played more music... acoustic gigs would enhance the 'radness' markedly but even recorded stuff would make Fanny's a resounding 10/10.
beneetski - 27 Jan 2009 15:31
Not sure what bradwan meant about being a middle class pub, they let me in have never checked my social standing before serving me.

Used to be a cracking pub, spoilt a little now in my opinion by 'professional drinkers', calling in to tick the pub off a list rather than to enjoy the cracking ale they sell. Perhaps that is what you meant by middle class? If you can get past the sippers stood blocking the door, and grab a table it's well worth a visit. In fact they should introduce a rule to boot out idiots who sit at tables and take over 30 mins to drink a pint in all pubs.

The new toilets upstairs are a bit out of keeping too. Well actually they'd be out of keeping anywhere bar Peter Stringfellow's Marbella flat. Certainly out of character with Fannys.

If you are within 5 miles of the place you really should call in.
InterPorkPies - 19 Jan 2009 16:49
Fanny's is a local legend and well worth a visit. Good points - lots of real ales and other oddities, real fires, and a genuine dog-under-table proper pub kind of feel. This is the sort of place where a pub lunch consists of pork scratchings. Bad points? Well, the pub has been extended twice but the bar is itself is tiny, so getting served can be a chore. The staff can be grumpy but that's probably explained by my previous point. Really, if you find yourself in Shipley or Saltaire, there's no excuse for not visiting Fanny's at last once.
Ginsoakedboy - 4 Jan 2009 22:58
Excellent pub with a huge range of real ales, which is a rarity anywhere, nowadays. Definitely worth a visit (and so much better than the soulless pubs in London), and next time I'm back in Saltaire, I'll be spending a night or two in here!
tfidonnie - 8 Dec 2008 12:56
Atmospheric pub with a superb choice of real ales. Absolutely highly recommended.
Evoflash - 27 Aug 2008 10:36
It is, by far and away, the most middle class pub in Bradford. The beer is always a credit to the cellarman, and the staff are good.

The extension is open, but the bar is the same, and just as clean, so you would not notice a difference, until you go looking for the toilets: which are now upstairs, and which don't smell, yet.

It is, like the class that use it, friendly to casual visitors of the correct kind. Having said all that it is also the most cliquish pubs I know.
bradwan - 3 Jul 2008 23:01
Superb beer and cider. A small den of a pub that is a real gem.
PaulShaneTributeAct - 13 Jun 2008 14:46
Classic. Gorgeous specialist real ale pub with mixed custom and a great buzz, even midweek. Compares with places like the Robin Hood in Staithes or the 3 Pigeons; just amazed it's not better known. Beer was superb.
mtaylor40 - 21 Mar 2008 21:55
a fantastic pub thats got some great beers the atmosphere was very good even through the day when it was a bit quiet prices very reasonable for a real ale pub the theakstons old peculiar was excellent well worth a visit .
tench1230 - 1 Jan 2008 08:36
good place, nice staff, good beer and great cider!
anonymous - 5 Sep 2007 13:07
i go to this pub approximately every 4 months, and this pub is changing, the crowd that got in here at one time, came from all walks of life. these days the pub is packed with middle class trendies, that gripe apart the beer is still very good, and its still a pub, i will have a trip to in a few more months.
birstallblue - 25 Jun 2007 07:46
Superb beer and range. Delightful building, good location and piano made this a top choice for when I've been in Saltaire.
thedts - 5 Sep 2006 03:32
I've often whiled away a few hours with colleages, sitting upstairs at this fine establishment. The beer is great, I love the wide selection and we've never had a "bad" pint. There's a handy car park next door if you've the driver...
AngeK - 31 Jan 2006 17:13
Always a favourite and worth travelling a long way to visit. If you like real ale this is the place to go!
TuesdayClub - 24 Oct 2005 13:20
Always packed to the rafters with pretentious real ale types who only pretend they know what they are on about. Big turn off!
Tootsie_Malloy - 25 Sep 2004 04:34
6 real ales and always has two milds. Probably the best beer in Bradford, and I have much bitter experience. Very small downstairs but with a bigger, bar less, room upstairs.
Glyn Watkins - 26 Jul 2004 19:01
Popular, former shop, selling a changing range of quality real ales.
John - 5 Sep 2003 13:45

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