The Library

Absolute shite. Crap overpriced food. Poor service. Rude slow staff. Not worth the effort or the money. Do yourself a favour and go anywhere else.

Now in my final year of uni I visit this place 5 – 6 times a DAY! Yes A DAY! So okay, I confess. They have an offer where you buy a cup for £11.88 and you can get unlimited refills of COFFEE A DAY! (Its gone to my head) They have Free WiFi, Plug sockets EVERYWHERE (With integrated USB). I guess they just really understand their audience being next to the uni.
Ace staff who are really chatty and some decent fodder! From the mac-​n-​cheeesssseeeee (Coffee really kicks in at this time of day) to a burger you get a selection of spicy to super spicy sauces and always a great bunch in!

I love the Library Pub. It’s my favourite place to drink, chill, meet people, and spend time with my friends in Leeds. I’ve been to England three times and keep coming back to this place. The food is very afforadable and so are the drinks. I’ve been to a couple comedy shows on a Thursday night and some rock gigs on the weekend and I always find it a fun and lively venue. The staff are friendly and you get served right away. If the the Library had a revolving bookcase hidden door then it would be exceptional: D

I stepped out to make a phone call and the doorman wouldn’t let me back in.
I have been here a numerous amount of times to listen to bands and never had a problem.
Was it because I was on my own? Did I look like a trouble caused? I don’t know.
I didn’t get to my mates band play.
Not very impressed at all.

All right… I’m grizzled enough to remember this place when it really was a library. And that probably makes me about 500 years older than the pub’s typical customer. But this is studentland, so you’d expect young uns there to let their hair down. Me? I’ve not much hair left — but I still liked the place. I daresay it’s noisier than the days when books lined the walls and when I called in it was a Friday night and bands were playing upstairs. The place was buzzing. The beer seemed cheap too. So, what’s not to like?

Well, I’m still a fan, in spite of ever steadily growing further away from the regular customers. (In age, mainly.) Essentially, this review might be a whole other story had I popped in for a pint at random, but when there’s a purpose I’m all over it. The purpose on this occasion was to visit the upstairs gig room (once again) for another night of epic rock. The debut performance for Pteroglyph was on such a night, with support from II II II and another band whose name escapes me. And of course, it felt like just the place for such a wall of sound.
The gig was grand, although not necessarily indicative of the events in general as it was organised independently, but I’ve not been to a bad live music event here yet. (I mean, I’ve not been to tons, but it still holds true.) There’s a bar at the back of the space upstairs so you’ve no need to go down for your next beer, and all the staff I’ve encountered are spot on. P. s. Those into your heavy metal should absolutely check out the aforementioned bands-​new, exciting, ex-​Mishkin –what more need I say?
Of course, venturing downstairs post gig means bumping into plenty of student types, which (depending on how the behaviour is going) can be fine, or somewhat of a trial. On this occasion it was grand, no ridiculous behaviour, just plenty of fun and frolics. We even picked up some kind of discarded fancy dress prop — Otley Run spoils. Always fun. The only irritation was having eggs thrown at us from across the road, whilst stood outside, but this is hardly to do with The Library. (And when I say at us, I mean, everyone outside– I was not singled out as far as I’m aware!)
As for drinks, I’m sure you know the score. It’s a scream pub, there are bog standard lagers, plenty of bud in bottles. Red Stripe in cans. Bulmers on tap with weird cordials if you want it flavoured like ‘strawberry’ cider, or what ever. Pool tables, check. Sports screens, check. Little snug tuck aways for a quieter experience, check. Basically, my advice is to go on a gig night, and you’ll have a grand old time.

This was one of my fav pubs to hang out in/​share a meal while I was studying abroad. They have shows sometimes upstairs and the crowd isn’t too douchy. I loved getting their chili con carne and then sharing a slice of cake with a mate! Also I remember their rates weren’t bad for cocktails and pitchers. Miss it!

«No mum, I’m in the Library. No, honestly, I am…»
No doubt this is the ‘hilarious’ situation imagined by whoever named this pub, and that just about sums up the level of originality we’re working with here. Had this been a cosy little pub lined with books the joke might have worked, but as it is this is standard Scream pub fare, offering little more than cheap food and booze and an almost exclusively student clientele. There is also a small room upstairs that hosts live music nights, which although pleasantly intimate suffers from terrible acoustics that make any gig there a rather lacklustre affair.

The Library has the sort of name that makes you think of an old fashioned pub with bookshelves for walls. In reality, this is a very commercialised student-​focused Scream pub with very little character.
I used to go here at lunchtime while at college round the corner and and it was never the most welcoming of pubs, despite often being full of students. The décor has always been outdated, and the pool tables, game machines and jukeboxes all feel rather gimmicky.
The food is the usual Scream fare, which is good enough for pub grub, and the drinks are cheap (even cheaper if you have a Yellow Card — well worth paying £1 for), but the atmosphere always seems rather cold to me, day or night. Could be a lot better.

I just loved conversations about going to The Library with my mum, obviously this has happened to quite a few of you where your mum has been happy to hear you’re at The Library on a Saturday. Aww bless. Little does your mum know you’re actually scoffing your face with pounds of burger meat and washing it down with a dirt cheap pint. Lovely.
As part of the Scream chain, The Library has a hearty menu full of traditional meals and burgers, i recommend the Scream burger with shoestring fries, delish! Can’t beat that for only a fiver. If you’re not peckish then the bar has a lot going for it with cheap deals and a wide range of beers and ciders. The atmosphere is also really nice for a few pints or ten. Its perfect for those of you who want a ‘quicky down pub’ or those of you with a big night ahead.
The room upstairs is available for hire and I’ve known people to hold up and coming club-​nights there. This venue is really good as it promotes local talent but at the same time brings in established talent such as comedienne Josie Long.