Bar Room Bar

I have to admit, when it comes to a weekend, I’m not so much of a Call Lane girl. This street has gone through waves of popularity, with the types of folk who frequent it changing over the years, but there’s always been a constant party hard vibe come Friday night. It’s no bad thing, certainly not when I’m looking for a raucous night, but I find myself ever more leaning toward a spot of conversation over a decent drink. It’s been a while since I danced on a bar, or necked shots of jäger.
Regardless, one element that has become a thing over the last few years along Call Lane is its identity as somewhere to grab a bite early evening, what with Normans, Arts Café, Neon Cactus, and BRB offering up ace grub, and newly Oporto and Reds. And since I came by to the BRB relaunch, I was reminded of their excellent pizza-​long has it been the case that they serve up the good stuff, but a reminder was necessary, as I’d long forgotten.
So, having been given a tiny slither at said relaunch, I new I had to come back for the real McCoy. And I’m glad I did, as it was nicely quiet, and perfect to be in and out within the hour.
The staff were excellent, I have to say. My first question was whether they have wifi, and the second was how long a pizza might take –I had work to do, and to be out in an hour. They do have wifi, and the pizza would take five minutes. Perfect. I took a seat, and the chap took my order immediately, later coming back with the password. Sadly, I couldn’t fathom how to access the wifi, but my pizza did arrive swiftly.
I opted for the 12″ chicken tikka, with a side salad, all with a decent bit of chat from the chap serving me. The pizzas are thin crust, and smothered with goodness. Toppings were not in the least bit stingy, and there was a plethora of tomatoes, cheese, peppers, tikka chicken, and yoghurt sauce to flavour the dough. Each pizza is cooked fresh in front of you, and this one was pretty much perfection. My side salad was a gargantuan bowl, with leaves mixed with yet more tomatoes, onions and other healthy bits and the powerhouse of fresh salad and fresh pizza combined was just what I needed.
Even rushing this bad boy didn’t spoil the taste, and my only sadness was that I had to leave a little, as I’d become full. Total cost, with a half of orange and lemonade, came to about £13. Not bad at all. Essentially, I shouldn’t imagine I’ll be stopping by for a drink come Saturday night, but I’ll definitely be back for a bite. With the fresh honest food, great friendly staff, and a pleasant atmosphere combined, it’s well worth popping in.

BRB is one of the highlights of the Call Lane area in my book — it succeeds in being such a popular venue because it is upmarket enough to only attract nice people, but not that trendy or pricey that it is full of yippies.
It’s basically the Leodensian worker’s haven, and is therefore usually rammed every weekend from 5PM onwards — you’ll often see groups who go straight from work on a Friday, with the clichéd ‘loosened tie’ look to be found in abundance.
The dress code on a weekend is rather strict, so if you don’t want to get turned away make sure you’re smart and go in a mixed group (although, once inside, it’s reassuring to know that the bouncers don’t let any old Joe in). The décor inside is splendid — really classy while managing to stay on the good side of pretentious, and the 2−4−1 cocktails on a Thursday are legendary. I’ve never got here early enough to eat, but apparently the calzone is the pick of the pizzas.
All in all, a good stop off if you fancy a posh-​ish night.

Handily placed next to Oporto if you’re doing a crawl, bar room bar — or brb as it’s more affectionately known — offers a similar drinking experience which comes with both positives and negatives.
It’s a nice place to drink, there’s artwork from local artists up on the wall which give the place a funky feel but apart from that the décor lacks the character which other city centre bars — think A Nation of Shopkeepers or North Bar — do.
What it does offer though, is delicious pizzas. And they’re two-​for-​one on Tuesdays. As well as pizzas, they do delicious cocktails. Not on Tuesdays unfortunately, when I go for my pizza (two pizzas, I’m fat), but on Thursdays.
They do a good offer post-​work, if you’re on the 9 to 5. A bottle of wine/​pitcher of beer and a ‘grazing’ board of treats for £15. Sounds good to me. If only I had a job. And some friends.

Another Leeds Unilocal review for the native Californian!
I get the impression from the Leeds natives that if you work in Leeds, you should know about 2 for 1 cocktails at BRB. If you don’t already, you do now! Their cocktail list is pretty extensive which makes choosing the next beverage after you’ve consumed 5 cocktails that more challenging.
I’m knocking off two stars to account for the fact it took longer than expected to order and receive drinks despite the number of bartenders which would explain why ordering drinks in bulk was a necessity. Be warned, there were just as many «misses» (e.g., caipirinha) as their were «hits» (e.g., Dark and Stormy).
BRB is a fun place to start your Thursday after work drinking! I’ve heard from a Leeds native that the Crispy Duck pizza is also a fan favorite.