Pub of the Week: The New Clarence

The last time someone gave it another go – earlier this year – they gave it up as a bad job after two months.
There’s no real reason why the pub can’t work. Yes it’s a large, single-room boozer in a quiet part of town, but other pubs nearby do OK, and the New Theatre is just yards away, and a few new restaurants and cafes have opened nearby recently.
So why do I think the New Clarence’s time might finally have come? Well, for the very good reasoning that the good folk who have been responsible for the stewardship of the magnificent Whalebone pub have taken it on. If anyone can make it work it’s those that have managed to make a small, tired pub on a back street in an industrial estate a firm favourite of any cultured drinker in the city.
Landlord Jamie Reading has been looking to replicate his success at the Whalebone with a city centre venue for a while, so he’s installed long-term manager Jess Baskill in the Clarence, done up the kitchen, brought in real ales, ciders, pickled eggs and decent music. All they need is a tempting menu of food. Which arrived last week.
Of course they’re doing theatre drink deals, of course they’re doing doorstep sarnies for office workers and of course they’re doing proper Sunday lunches for the middle of Hull is troublingly bereft of those at the moment.
Will all go well from now on at the New Clarence? Of course it will. I have never been more confident.
77-79 Charles Street, Hull, HU2 8DE. Tel: 01482 320327.

About The Author

Dave Lee

Dave Lee is TV producer and film-maker who also writes on food & drink, travel and culture for various publications. He is a regular contributor on BBC Radio 4 and the Yorkshire Post. Worryingly, he believes that the finest food on earth is the pattie butty.

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