Published 28th Jun 2024, 08:00 BST

It adorns a façade of early Victorian brick, almost russet coloured. But inside, the palette is somewhat more akin to the fur of the bear. It’s brown. Brown bars.

Brown tables, wallpaper in a William Morris pattern that is brown, with gold and green.

Brown leather on nearly all the stools (except for one, which defies convention, by daring to be green) and a brown patterned carpet.

When you walk in that front door, you have a choice – either turn left, or right. There’s no difference on either side.

The bars run central to the layout, and the loos to the rear are reached by a corridor which has some amazing tiles, laid over a century ago, judging by appearances.

Since this part of the city was heavily blitzed during WWII, it’s a miracle that the Brown Bear evaded the attentions of the Luftwaffe.

On the walls, there are plenty of fascinating photographs of how the area once looked, and there’s also a fair collection of theatrical memorabilia, the only lasting reminders of some of the popular local entertainment venues of their day – The Hippodrome Theatre and the Empire Palace of Varieties.

The place is far from gloomy, it’s nice and comfy, a trip down memory lane, and set in a curiously confident time warp.

There’s no food here, just bar snacks, and you’d be wise to keep your phone in your pocket, and refrain from taking or making calls, for there are signs which read: “Use of mobiles, laptops and other digital devices is NOT ALLOWED”. Their capital letters, not mine.

This is a place where people natter, read the paper, speculate on the fortunes of their respective Sheffield football teams.

It’ll tell you the sort of character who enjoys the space when you see one gentleman with his betting-slip pencil neatly tucked behind his ear. It’s absolutely spotless.

The beers, ciders and lagers are all Sam Smiths. This old brown bear isn’t ferocious at all, he’s a rather cuddly chap – but he won’t stand for any new-fangled nonsense.

Welcome 4/5

Atmosphere 5/5

Drinks choice 2/5

Prices 5/5

The Brown Bear, 109 Norfolk Street, Sheffield City Centre. SE1 2JE. Tel: 0114 272 7744

The Brown Bear, Sheffield: The traditional Yorkshire pub which won’t stand for any new-fangled nonsense

Comment Guidelines