The Bailie Bar – A cosy snug
A lovely locals pub perfect for the season.
It’s that time of year. The air’s cooler, the mist denser and days shorter. Which makes The Bailie Bar in Stockbridge the perfect place to hunker down in. A corner pub sunk into the lower ground floor, its low ceiling and darkened ambience create the perfect environment as autumn afternoons draw into evenings.
As you enter through the corner doors, you are immediately confronted by a large central bar which dominates the main room. Stools surround the bar, with just enough space to squeeze some high tables up against the walls. Even the presence of two bright tellies can’t puncture the sheer cosiness of the place.
There are a couple of casks on. Nothing that pushes the boundaries, but I don’t mind if the quality is good enough. The Timothy Taylor’s Landlord is perfectly serviceable though not exceptional. But it aids in soaking up the fairly boisterous atmosphere, with the pub pretty much at capacity on this grey Sunday afternoon.
A pub has stood on this site since at least the 1870s, when it was known as The Grand. A century later, its name was changed by new owners, purportedly after a play that was out at the time. There is another room, too. It’s a lot quieter and more spacious, and seems to be reserved for those wishing to eat. I learn online that this section was created in the 1980s by the purchase of the neighbouring basements.
The pub’s charm is a little diminished by a neon sign, which declares the pub is “like your local should be”. A pub should show this rather than tell its customers what to think. But this is a minor quibble which probably says more about my distaste for tacky, platitudinous neon signs than it does about my opinion of the place. It won’t stop me coming back before the season’s over.
Don’t say I don’t keep my promises. I was suggested Bailie Bar by reader
in a comment underneath one of my previous reviews. I said I would get to it. Yes, that was almost a year ago, but still – promise fulfilled.Where is it?
Where next?
Just over the street is The Stockbridge Tap, which serves a good selection of real ale and surprised me on my first visit.
The chaser
It was announced this week that a new law meaning hospitality workers can keep their own tips has finally come in. It was first suggested eight years (and four prime ministers) ago, after it came to light that some large chains were withholding tips from their staff.
Tipping is not really a practice in pubs in this country, though you do occasionally see a tip jar on the bar – or, more likely, a customer will buy the bar staff a drink if they get good service.
I am no fan of tipping in general. Not because I’m stingy, but because it’s a silly, unequal system. Why tip the service staff but not the chef? Why only in restaurants and not shops, the Post Office or schools? I wrote about this back in 2015. Have a read here.