leicester pubs: the best craft beer bars in leicester

Welcome to the Drink in the Sights Guide to the best bars and pubs in Leicester. Here you'll find everything you need for a great Leicester pub crawl and where to find craft beer and ales in Leicester. You wont struggle to find a proper good old fashioned pub in Leicester and all the ones in this guide are an easy walk from the train station. Leicester is very much Everards territory so expect to find lots of their ales, including Tiger, which is their most recognisable, in pretty much every bar in the city. The other brewery it's well worth looking out for in Leicester is Black Country Ales who own a couple of excellent bars in the city and produce a few decent beers. I hope you find this introduction to the best pubs in Leicester useful. I want to just quickly mention The West End Brewery which absolutely would be on the list if I had remembered to take some photo's of it and it was slightly closer to the city centre. right lets get on with this guide to the best bars in Leicester. 

Leicester Pubs

The Blue Boar

I don't think many guides to the best bars in Leicester are going to start anywhere other than the Blue Boar. Despite opening in 2016 this has all the feel of a proper old school micro pub which has been around forever, it's just beautiful. The Blue Boar isn't just a pretty face though. There's 12 beers on tap, four regulars and eight alternating, and one of the regulars is Rocky from Shiny Brewing so you know there will always be at least one gluten free option. I'm also a big fan of having little jars next to taps so you can see what you want at a glance, although if you don't know the excellent barman is more than happy to help out.

The Blue Boar is covered in brewery related memorabilia, beer tap badges and artwork, and I'm absolutely convinced their glasses contain more than a pint, not a lot more, but a bit more, and that has to be a bonus.  This really is just the perfect little micro pub and an absolute must visit for any beer drinker looking for the best Leicester pubs. At the time of writing The Blue Boar is also Leicester CAMRA pub of the year so it's not just me who thinks it's pretty good. The top place for craft beers in Leicester.

The Salmon

The Salmon is the first Black Country Brewery pub on this list, and it's an absolute stunner. Even from the outside you can see this is going to be a proper drinking pub, and once you get in you'll know for sure. You just have to love pubs that put old beer pump clips around the walls. You wont be short of beer options in The Salmon with 12 on tap including three from Black Country Brewery, all of which are worth trying, and a decent selection from around the rest of the country including Titanic brewery. As if that wasn't enough to choose from you'll also find a healthy selection of bottles in the fridge.

You won't find a comfier pub either with its leather sofas and homely feel, plus I love the stained glass panels around the wooden bar. The barman very much knows his stuff too, and drinking with a celiac we often test their knowledge. Everything about The Salmon just tells you this is one of the best pubs in Leicester. This really is a pub with a proper authentic feel, and it should given that the building has been there since 1854. Just one other quick note to say they occasionally put beer festivals on at The Salmon so keep an eye out for that. A must on any Leicester pub crawl.

The Two Tailed Lion

Despite only opening in 2018 The Two Tailed Lion is already one of my favourite Leicester pubs, but then I like any pub which has its own pint glasses!! I also love any pub that has 15 beers on tap including a very impressive 5 gluten free options on my last visit. There's wood everywhere, as there should be in a good pub and I really like the clear roof at the far end of the building with lots of potted plants, it just makes you feel like you're still just about outside. The seats are really comfy and everything about the bar just seems slick and well thought out. 

On top of the huge array of beers on tap there's even more options in bottles and cans to work your way through and you get the impression the bar staff know each any every one of them. This is certainly one of the best Leicester bars and just as a side note the taps in the gents are really weirdly positioned, I know it's an odd thing to comment on but after a few pints you do start to wonder if you're seeing straight. A greta place for craft beer in Leicester.

The Parcel Yard

The Parcel Yard is the closest pub to Leicester train station and if you're not careful you'll walk straight past it, I did the first time!! It's a Steamin' Billy pub so you can have one of their own beers or one of the other eight on tap. Despite the rather humble entrance The Parcel Yard is huge and beautiful in equal measure. Where do we start? There's the random farm equipment dotted here, there and everywhere, the seriously cool lighting in champagne bottles handing from the ceiling along with antler chandeliers, the gorgeous artwork, the bookcase wallpaper, and a huge darts room in the back. 

On top of all that there's also a partial glass roof which I just love especially on a summers day. Cool as the lighting in the pub is it's still nice to have extra natural light coming through too. If you want even more natural light though there is a small beer garden. There's few better pubs you can visit if you're waiting for a train or a connection than this one, and beyond any doubt it's the starting point for most Leicester pub crawls. As a nice extra note they also have screens showing you the latest train times, just to make sure you don't miss yours. This has to be one of the best Leicester pubs.

The Globe

The Globe has been serving ales to the people of Leicester since 1720 so it certainly has some pedigree and you wont find many better looking pubs on the planet. For a start the bar is in the center of the pub, and I love that, but it's so rare these days. The whole pub is absolutely gorgeous, and it's huge. There's little snug areas dotted around everywhere with wonderful atmospheric lighting, wooden boarding's, incredibly comfy leather seats with cushions, as if you need cushions on seats like these, beer and brewery related artwork on the walls, and little globes all over the place, which as a travel website owner I have to enjoy.

On top of everything else this is an Everards pub so all four ales on tap are nice and local. I feel like I have to add here that the bar staff were among the friendliest and most energetic I've seen in a pub for a while and they really make you feel like you're welcome in the bar. While there is an outdoor seating area at The Globe this is a pub you really have to sit inside, it's just that good looking. Beyond any doubt The Globe in one of the best Leicester bars.

Leicester Bars

The Kings Head

The Kings Head is the second Black Country Ales pub on my best pubs in Leicester list, and it's another excellent one. There's the usual three Black Country Ales beers on tap (BFG, Fireside and Pig on the Wall) all of which are decent, and nine other ales available, so you will be spoilt for choice. Plus on top of all that there's a few bottles tucked away in the bars fridges for you to sample. I love the interior of The Kings Head mainly because I have a thing for oak beam roofs and this has a lovely one. 

Beyond that though it has all the usual proper pub feel you'd expect from a Black Country Ales pub. The pub has also won CAMRA Leicester pub of the year in the past, periodically does beer festivals, and has a really nice quaint little beer garden so there really is a lot to like here. This really is one of the best Leicester pubs.

The Rutland And Derby Arms

There's not many pubs you have to stand quite a long way back from to fit in a photo but the Rutland and Derby is certainly one. You'll find four beers on tap here, two of which will be Everard's, but you'll also find one of the best beer gardens in Leicester, and a pretty good looking interior with wooden floorboards and bar, plus the staff are all really friendly and helpful. Certainly on a summers day this is one of the not to miss Leicester bars.

The Old Horse

So here we are at another Everard's pub not too far from the station. You'll find two Everard's beers on tap, one of which will inevitably be Tiger, we are in the home of the Leicester Tigers after all. You'll also find a couple of guest ales on and a few in the fridge. While the Old Horse has an impressive and spacious interior with among other things a stuffed fox walking along the lovely wood beam ceiling, the real treat is Leicester's biggest beer garden featuring rugby posts and for one reason or another a pirate theme. There's also a play area at the back so you can let the kids amuse themselves while you have a cheeky half or five. You won't find a better place to enjoy a sunny afternoon in Leicester.

Bruxelles

Sometimes a bar is just so beautiful you can't leave it out of a list like this and Bruxelles is that pub in Leicester. As the name implies this absolute stunner of a bar specialises in Belgium craft beers so if you like a strong pint you're in for a treat here. There's a small seating area outside but ignore that, order a drink, sit down and just gaze as the ceiling with its magnificent chandelier. I know I talk a lot in these guides about loving the traditional ye olde pub look, but you know what's even better? When it looks like you're having a beer in a palace. 

Sir Robert Peel

As an Everard's pub you'll find the usual three Everard's beers on tap and three others that change regularly. You'll also find a few bottles including one gluten free option. It's another proper old traditional Leicester pub with wooden floorboards and comfy leather seats. If you're wondering where you've heard the name Sir Robert Peel before he was prime minister  of the UK for a spell in the 19th century, I'm not 100% sure what he has to do with Leicester other than having a very nice pub named after him though.

The Marquis Wellington

The final Everard's pub on this list has one of the most beautiful exteriors you'll ever see on a pub, it really does look truly royal. The Marquis Wellington has been going for over 200 years now and it's easy to see why it's so popular with its three Everard's beers and couple of guest ales on tap. The interior is nearly as grandiose as the exterior, but I really love the beer garden with its rows of little wooden shacks you can sit under all night long on a summers evening. This is one of the oldest, but still one of the best Leicester pubs. 

The Ale Wagon

The Ale Wagon is another proper old Leicester pub that isn't far from the train station and you wont find a more traditional old locals pub anywhere. The pub is owned by the Hoskins family, who are local brewers, and it's been in their very capable hands for well over 100 years now. There's an excellent selection of 10 predominantly local beers on tap behind the small wooden bar. While The Ale Wagon is far from the biggest pub in Leicester it's certainly got a real authentic feel you just don't find very often in city center pubs these days. This really is a stalwart of the Leicester pubs scene. There's not better place to end a Leicester pub crawl than The Ale Wagon.

I hope you found my guide to the best bars in Leicester useful. I hope you enjoy your Leicester pub crawl there really are some great craft beer Leicester pubs. While you're in the area you can also visit some of the stunning bars of Nottingham which are only 20 minutes away by train, or some of the excellent Derby pubs 30 minutes away.