It Bar

Here we are, the dreaded ³⁄₅ score. The ultimate ‘sit on the fence’ in the reviewing world.
I like It Bar, I do. I like the size, the layout, the location, the décor, how airy it feels, and I like the branding, and I’ve had a couple of good nights that have involved a trip in here. I’d been wanting to try the food for a while and yesterday, before a Bosnian Rainbows gig, my friend Eddi and I nipped in for a beer and a burger, like you do.
We started off with a couple of pints of Estrella, served in a Carling branded glass which ticked off one of my pet peeve list, but the beer tasted fine and I suppose that’s what matters???
Given that I was hankering for an all day breakfast but couldn’t find one at 4:30pm, I had the all day breakfast burger — quite interesting that they use a sausage meat patty which worked quite well, although it was a touch dry for my liking. The fries were alright — I say alright because I can’t decide if they were made in house or bought in and cooked up — for burgers in the £7−10 price bracket, I want to know that the fries are made entirely on site. The bread buns are pretty standard and nothing special — to be honest I don’t eat bread all that much as it bores me, but I’ve had some fantastic burgers lately served in all manner of interesting buns and I found the buns to be a let down, as did Eddi (brioche wins, always brioche). He had the Filthy Pig, a mix of half pork, half beef made with succulent slow cooked meat. I think he was expecting the meat to be minced in to a patty but that didn’t put him off — he inhaled it before I’d even finished half my fries, not even stopped to scoop off the mustard, which he usually doesn’t like.
I’d go back and eat again because there were a number of things on the menu that were appealing, the Gumbo especially, but on this visit it filled a stomach gap without particularly jumping out and announcing itself
I almost bumped this up to a ⁴⁄₅ because they were playing a great collection of Robert Johnson, and our window seat combined with this gave it a ‘sitting on my porch watching the world go by’ feel.

Popped in a couple of days ago with a mate from work for a midweek lunch and catchup.
I’d been wanting to call in for a while and I was glad I did! We were greeted warmly by the friendly bartender and invited to pick any table we wanted. Great start!
The décor here is a lovely blend of southern hospitality and quirky kitsch. I loved the rustic look of the chairs and tables. They have great taste in music too, playing tracks from some of my faves like The XX, Lykke Li and The Tuneyards :)
We had a 2−4−1 voucher downloaded from Facebook and decided both to get the cajun chicken wrap. We had a bit of a wait for our food which should not have really taken as long as it did, considering we were two of five people in the place (this explains the 4-​star score, sadly) but when it arrived, it was very nice indeed! It came with a side of yummy southern fries in these cute little buckets — presentation is certainly something the It Bar does well
It’s super close to my work and with such reasonable prices I wouldn’t rule out popping in again.

Me and my fella came here after work for drinks and some food and I was pleasantly surprised! Drinks prices are average for Leeds I would say, but I’d say you get more than average for the money for the food. I went for the ‘Bowl o’ Soul’, which was around £7.95 and consisted of a large fried chicken breast, goujons and chicken strips, with chips and homemade coleslaw. My fella had the sloppy joe burger, which was a beef burger smothered in homemade chilli. I’ve got to say we were both impressed with the food and the service, the chilli was immense and the chicken and slaw were so tasty. We’be got our loyalty cards so will definitely be going bsck!

It’s not my favourite thing to downgrade an indie, much less a newbie, but sadly this has to be the case for It Bar. It’s not like I won’t ever go back, not least as I want to explore the burgers for a second round, but this review is balanced with the food experience and the drinks. Given we were wooed by the enthusiasm of the staff, the chap and I nipped back a few Fridays ago for a tipple. The cocktail focus had our interest piqued, especially as the staff seemed so passionate, and we’d already appreciated the range on offer — everything from Carling to cocktails, and some intriguing beers in between.
So, we approached the bar on a rather quiet Friday evening, and asked for a recommendation. (It was quiet everywhere, but here especially. Probably as it’s so new!) The chap talked up most of the drinks, and finished by declaring the Old Fashioneds the «best in Leeds». Now that’s a statement… So, it had to be those. I’m a huge fan of the Old Fashioned, and so was excited to try a superior version, especially since it doesn’t seem an overly common tipple here in Leeds! (Or perhaps I don’t ask for it enough?)
So, a solid five-​ten minutes later, the excited bar man delivered us our drinks, and keenly asked us to let him know what he thought. He explained it was his own recipe, as it were, and that this is how he drinks them all the time. The glasses contained a long drink, red in colour, and were quite different to what I expected. I’m sad to say, it was one of the worst I’ve had — it tasted like a weak bourbon mixed with fruit juice. I hate to complain, and far be it from me to prevent progress and new things, but I’m certain anyone who desires an Old Fashioned would want it to be as it should be. The expectation of something else could be why we didn’t enjoy it (I left half of mine) as it’s quite possible had this drink been labelled something else, I’d have found it more palatable. (If you understand my drift — expectations.) But the best in Leeds? Not even.
So, top marks for effort and enthusiasm from the staff, but minus several for not delivering sadly. I’d still say give them a go, as it’s likely that the other cocktails are worth a punt, but if you like your Old Fashioneds strong, with muddled sugar (not gomme), bitters and an orange garnish, just make sure you specify it that way! As mentioned in the previous review, there’s an extensive burger list too, to check out, so let me know what you think if you pop along.