Nation occupies this prime location opposite the Cathedral and the Electric Press.
Nation of Shopkeepers has a poster with a list of its endearing qualities. One such quality listed is beards. That’s a great one-word description of this place, which is well known as the central hipster meeting place in Leeds. If you wear a hat indoors then you’ll fit right in here.
Beards are not the only endearing quality, though. Check out our list of tags below… the range of amenities this place offers is unrivalled! There’s a massive (and beautiful) beer garden at the back, free wifi, sofas (that sink right down to the ground), and all kinds of events including club nights, live music and a quiz.
The bar area. It’s hard to tell what’s going on with the art in this image.
The beer is not bad. There’s a small but decent selection of guest ales, and a few crafty favourites in the fridge (3 Goose Islands, some Flying Dogs and a couple of Anchors) as well as both kinds of Modelo and some other European ones. The staff aren’t exactly beer experts, though, so expect to have to ask for a glass with your craft beer and get a customary eye-roll.
The amazing and beautiful beer garden.
Food is excellent. They’ve tried to combine English pub food with an American BBQ-joint theme, including burgers, pulled pork and fried chicken. They have roasts on a Sunday and amazingly they even serve breakfast (although they don’t open until noon)…
The décor is ultra-pretentious but actually quite pleasant. Expect various not-necessarily-related artworks including a neon pig and a row of CRT televisions, as well as a big cinema screen showing looped art films. Tables are mostly huge so on a busy night expect to be sitting with people you don’t know.
Basically, here’s the thing about Nation of Shopkeepers. It’s a pub with amazing amenities and decent beer in a great location, but if you’re not up on the latest fashions you may feel a little bit out of place.
Tags: beer garden, breakfast, coffee, dance floor, food, free wifi, live music, quiz, sofas, sunday roasts
We're on a quest to review every pub and bar in Leeds city centre. After 199 reviews we've finally caught up and now we're waiting for more to open!
The bar is geared towards young people undoubtedly, everything there is slightly alternative. I disagree with the 2 1/2 star rating for atmosphere, indeed it’s quite bizarre when you’ve given two Wetherspoons pubs higher scores for atmosphere. The bar has slightly last-generation drink options which almost makes it semi-interesting. There is a fair enough mix of ales, tapped lagers and bottled beers. The place is comfy and gets quite atmospheric in the evenings.