The Sheffield Tap

By markontour, June 15, 2016

It's not often that I'm pleased when my train or plane is delayed (and I write this while languishing in Luxembourg thanks to a re-routed flight), but had the 16.57 from St Pancras arrived on schedule then I would never have experienced The Sheffield Tap and life would be the lesser.

Nestled conveniently alongside Platform 1 in Steel City, The Tap feels as old as the Edwardian station itself, but it has only been operating as a pub for a few years according to the barman. A quick perusal of the interweb confirms, however, that it did once house 'sumptuous dining rooms', so the palpable sense of hundreds of thousands of passengers having passed through before is not imaginary.

That's as it should be. Still wood-pannelled and red-leatherette-seated, the modern Tap is a comfy, welcoming place. The onsite micro-brewery provides a thirst-inducing range of beers and on the evening I stopped by for a pint there was even an impromptu concert by a visiting male voice choir, at least until the landlord shushed them down citing the lack of a live-music licence.

Station and airport bars are normally depressing, loneliness inducing places, and I count myself as something of a connessieur of the genre. But the Sheffield Tap is not only worth missing a train or two for, it's worth a trip in and of itself.