Hull – Furley and Co

I would have been unlikely to have gone into this cross between a cafe, restaurant and bar if it hadn’t been listed in the Good Beer Guide. But, it’s in, so therefore, so was I (in the pub I mean, I’m not in the Good Beer Guide).

What a lovely thing to see on the bar when entering a pub…..

They had one of my favourite beers on (Turning Point’s Lucid Dream Cookie Cream Stout), but I’d had it the previous evening in the Head of Steam, and as variety is the spice of life (other than with Greggs, I don’t need variety there, I’m happy with chicken bakes every time) I asked if they had any other dark beers. They did, the Ridge Way by Raven Hill, a brand which likes to promote outdoor walking, so how ideal. Incidentally, the staff member was knowledgeable and seemed really keen to offer assistance. Oh, and, the beer selection was brilliant, they’d actually made some effort selecting some interesting and decent craft beers rather than rely on generic options.

And as to my normal TripAdvisor reviews, even I’m bemused by a review this place got last week:

“Craft beer menu has decreased steadily over the last few months and tonight was told they don’t do cocktails any more.”

And of course a 1/5 rating. If this place is a 1/5 rated place for its craft beer, goodness only knows what it’d have to do to get a five star rating.

I was also quite amused to read a review the pub had responded to with “thanks for your comments and hope you have now calmed down”. The reviewer had seemed to be absolutely livid that the pub didn’t offer table service.

The Ridge Way is an oatmeal stout which I haven’t had before, and it was excellent, although that head is a little too large and I can’t recall (or more precisely, I forgot to check) whether that was a lined glass so I won’t overly criticise here in case it is. Rich and smooth, with a creamy taste, it was very drinkable. Prices are a little higher than other pubs in the area, but not dramatically so.

I had accidentally ordered a sausage roll and I hadn’t quite expected them to do this much with the presentation of it. Above average and I was give the choice of having it heated up, which I did, although that did make it slightly greasy (but I’ll give them that, pastry does do that as I’ve discovered many times from reheating Greggs chicken bakes that somehow made it home without being eaten). Anyway, it went well with the oatmeal stout and full marks for the presentation.

It was mostly busier than this when I visited, but I hadn’t taken a photo as there were children sitting in those seats.

More of the internal decor, which was all on-trend, modern and contemporary.

Another plus point is that the pub had decided to put a history of the buildings on their menu, a feature which I always admire. In short, Furley & Co is a name of a previous freight business which operated here before it closed in 1971, with the building then being used as the first Calor Gas showroom in the city. The building was also once the home to Newton Bros, founded by Sir Alfred James Newton, who was also the first chairman of Harrods and also the Lord Mayor of London in 1899.

And this is yet another pub that I think absolutely deserves to be in the Good Beer Guide, there’s an element of class to it without it being too upmarket. And I don’t really do upmarket. Although if Greggs opened a Posh Greggs outlet, I expect that I’d be right in there. One more thing, this pub currently have Yorkshire Pudding Wraps, with choices including oven roasted chicken and sausage & red onion. Now, that’s the classy type of food that I can get right behind.