Nightlife in Barnsley

By and large, your best bet in terms of nightlife options in Barnsley is a good pub. Nevertheless, there are a couple of bars we can tell you about. The Old No 7 is an Acorn Brewery tap with the best selection of beers and ciders in Barnsley. It’s an ale-lovers idea of heaven, there’s regular live music, and the atmosphere is always lively, warm and welcoming. If you’re planning on heading down on a Wednesday, don’t forget to don your clever clogs as its quiz night. And if you have a few too many then don’t worry, our Barnsley Central M1 J37 hotel is less than a five-minute stumble away.

Behind door number two is the Arcade Alehouse, which – you guessed it – you’ll find in The Victorian Arcade. It’s hardly the biggest alehouse in Barnsley, not by a long shot, but it does have one of the best selections of beers. Plus, the staff are very friendly, there’s more seating than you might expect, the prices are good, and it draws a good crowd of local ale enthusiasts. With all those boxes ticked it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Arcade Alehouse has won a raft of awards, and was named Barnsley CAMRA Pub of the Year for the past two years running.

When it comes to pubs, it’s not hard to find a popular option in the town centre. Ask at one of our Barnsley hotels and they’ll probably point you in the direction of The Joseph Bramah or The Garrison, two excellent options if you’re looking for somewhere central and convenient to go for a refreshing beverage.

However, if you don’t mind making your way out of town, then there are three scenic options that the locals try to keep a secret. They’re all within a twenty-minute drive of our Barnsley (Dearne Valley) hotel and well worth hunting down. The furthest away is The Old Post Office, but it’s arguably the pick of the bunch – that’s largely because it does the best steaks in Barnsley, and you cut the size you want! That’s right; the whole barrel or fillet of meat is brought to your table uncooked, you use a knife to mark how much you want, they weigh it, you pay per ounce, and you get veg, chips, onion rings and mushrooms thrown in for good measure.

The Old Post Office has probably already won you over, but we’re not done talking about them just yet. They also have a steak league, you simply have to eat more than whoever’s top. Then, when the league’s over, if you’ve won, you can come back and eat the same amount of steak absolutely free.

The Crown & Anchor in Barugh Green is just an excellent pub. There are no gimmicks, it just does everything very, very well. The ale selection is among the best in Barnsley and has a proclivity for local breweries. In the fridges, you’ll find bottled beers from around the world. The cocktail menu is far more sophisticated than the rustic scenery might suggest. Plus, the pub’s on its way to earning gin palace status thanks to its top-class selection of more than 30 gins. Food-wise, you can (and by ‘can’ we mean ‘will’) try one of their award-winning pies. They also do a mean steak, the trio of duck is a triumph, and their Barnsley chop is one of the best in the business. And to top it all off, the pub might be old but it’s nicely decorated and, while it’s packed full of rustic features, it still manages to be lovely, light and airy.

If, for some reason, that doesn’t take your fancy, then you can always make your way down the road to The Royal. It’s a 19th-century coaching inn. From the outside it looks like your typical pub. On the inside it does too. There’s very little to suggest that you’ll find the best tapas in South Yorkshire here on Barnsley Road. But, you will. There’s more than 70 dishes on the tapas menu. Honestly, where else can you wash down a plate of patatas bravas with a pint of Timothy Taylor’s?

Micropubs, bars and rustic inns are all well and good for a casual drink, but what if you want to go dancing until the early hours fueled by nothing more than ‘floor fillers and dastardly drinks deals? That’s right; we’re going clubbing.

Volt is a relatively new addition to Barnsley’s nightlife, but it’s fast become one of the most popular options on Wellington Street. They have lasers, a serious sound system, and a regular silent disco. The drinks deals are dangerous and its open until 4am six days a week. Alternatively, if you’d rather a slightly more trashy, arguably more fun night out then you can always head next door to Club Purism.

Last of all, we’ll give a mention to Ché Bar & Coco on Peel Street. If you like cocktails the size of your head, lit up dancefloors, and lively locals across not one but two floors then this might be the club for you. It’s open until late on Fridays and Saturdays, and when all is said and done our Barnsley Central M1 J37 hotel is less than a ten minute stumble away.