Cap & Collar, Saltaire

I was pottering around the excellent Saltaire Arts Trail and someone thrust a flyer into my hand encouraging me to visit the Cap & Collar. Never one to turn down the prospect of a good pint, off I trotted, finally finding this minute bar up a side street off the main road. I should have just followed the folk music fluttering on the air, for at one end of said tiny bar were a bunch of bearded types strumming away rather melodically.

Owner Phil Garvey, an ex-solictor (hence the name – ‘Cap’ being the poorest client, ‘Collar’ the wealthiest) had a long-held dream of opening a pub of some sort, stumbled across this former sweet shop and the rest is history. He didn’t have a fortune to spend on interior design – it’s pretty minimal, but the bookshelf wallpaper is cute, and I like the cardboard stag’s heads and the droll framed drawings by someone who calls himself @beerdoodles.

Anyway, the beer. Local brews feature; four handpulls might include Saltaire Brewery’s Citra Pale Ale, Wishbone Blonde and Collarbone and from further afield, Kent’s Cavedweller. Another two are available (including Punk IPA) from kegs which are visible behind glass at the back of the bar and there’s an impressive selection of bottles and cans from around the world; I like the sound of Delirium Tremens from Belgium and Little Fluffy Clouds by Wylam in Northumberland. Anyone for a glass of Peter, Pale and Mary from Copenhagen?

There’s no food – unless you count a good pork pie, chilli nuts and crisps. Some would say a cheeky pint of Blonde and a pie is a perfectly balanced diet. On this day, so did I.