The Reform

Beer? Check. Cocktails? Check. Classic rock anthems to sign yourself hoarse along to? Check, check and double check.
The Reform is a great place to spend a night with reasonable prices, great music and friendly, banterful staff. (Yes alright, I made up a word but honestly, they really re full of banter!)
Oh, they’re also open till 6am once a month. Plenty of time for merriment & mischief!

I’m hesitant to throw 4 stars at a place after one visit. But then i think if it had that much of an effect the once it probably can again.
So we’re walking up the street, a few cocktails along aiming for another bar in town. The bouncer shouts at us as we pass, «hey come in here!» We look, i shout back «why?» he says, «cos i’ll give you free shots!» Well thought we thats a turn up for the books. So we let this rare bouncer take us to the bar. To the front of the queue mind, «these guys (& gals) are getting free shots!»
He doesn’t specify the cheapest or anything like that, he just smiles, says have a good night and off he goes. So we get a range of types of shot, all free and order our drinks.
We find a pair of sofas to sit on, despite it being well into a busy saturday night and we realise that the music is bloody brilliant. Pure cheese for the most part but with some classic rock thrown in for fun.
So so far we’ve great staff, good music. Well as it happens even without the shots being free it seems Reform is fairly cheap (at least in terms of its neighbours), all the more so if you happen to hold a regulars card.
So three for three on the good bar tally for me. Just one night maybe, but one night made awesome by a completely accidental visit.

The chap who has been serving here forever, well deserves recognition for being awesome. I’ll start with that.
Second to this come props to the DJ of last Friday night, for his excellent range of old school tunes. Mister Saturday was good too, but not as addictively awesome as the chap the night before. Much dancing, mirth and merriment was had, in spite of the handsy patrons.
The sign says «No Dad Dancing», which I’m sure we flouted on more than one occasion, but no one punishes you for this. So it’s cool. Open until 6am for all those late night lovers, wanting to scrape up the last remnants of the weekend, and drink yet more booze come 4am.
Basically, I can’t say more than has been said, but I remain a firm fan. You might come into contact with a few reprobates at this sort of hour, but surprisingly few considering. And I don’t know about you, but I can handle a few rowdy ‘uns, for the sake of some fabulous dancing.

£11.50 for a single vodka coke and a bottle of cider. No more needs to be said about this excuse for a bar. Zero stars.

Good beer and cocktails, batman used to work at hard rock café before it closed down and makes a good cocktail if you like em, they have a members card which saves you 20%off a round, pays for it’s self straight away, can also be used at verve and call lane social.

Sometimes the night is always too young. We need to party, I said we need to party. Midnight or 2am just doesn’t cut it. My disco shoes are vamped up to maximum level, the adrenaline is pumping and I want to stay out. Breathe now and relax! Well lucky enough in Leeds that’s not that much of an issue and it certainly isn’t at the rather funky and welcoming The Reform.
Just on the North East area of the city and on Merrion Lane sits the place to go if you don’t want to stop when others do. With nice leather sofas and unpretentious crowd it’s a place I do go back to quite often. For me it’s a beer and lager extravaganza. I’m not the world’s biggest beer drinker but from time to time it’s a refreshing change and even more refreshing when you have some quirky choices to pick from. If I’m feeling brave, I’ll go for a bottle of Belgium and Delirium. It’s a golden ale so is quite hearty and be warned at 9% you don’t really want to be knocking these back like a pint of standard 4% beer. Well if you do make sure you’ve stocked up on some serious pain relief and magic hangover remedies.
It’s a cool hang-​out and pretty chilled out, so you don’t feel the need to be dressed up to the nines or face frosty door staff on reception. The crowd is mixed and generally is oozes a good time vibe where people are out to have fun not necessarily make a social impact. With the added bonus it’s open till 4am at the weekend and sometimes even 6am, back of the net! Keep the party rolling for as long as your feet (and head) will let you.

Reform is a late bar. That is esentially all that distinguishes it from ‘any other bar’. It ain’t cheap, it ain’t particularly quirky, and the music teeters precariously on the edge of souly-​funkiness and just being naff. I don’t find it dislikeable, but I have never said, «OOOOH! I know, let’s go to Reform!!!»
Merion Street is a funny little road of bars, at night they look almost stylish, but by day, they look quite the opposite. Is it just me that says that everytime they’re in that area.
Sadly, I think the problem lies in the fact that the Verve and Mojo are just… errm…better. They have more soul. Whether this is down to Reform’s evident recent refurb, I am unsure. It’s not a bad place, if you’re looking to be out till the wee small hours, but I have never managed to settle down for an evening, it’s more of a pit-​stop bar to me.

The name ‘Reform’ suggest something different, new, and better. This bar, despite the name, fails to stand out from the crowd in anyway.
Like most of the bars at this end of town, drinks are expensive and the atmosphere is usually good, but it has no character when compared to Verve or Mojo. The décor tries to be special, but ends up rather ordinary, and, although it’s fine selection of beers would be impressive anywhere else, in this area of town, it’s par for the course.
On the plus side, it has some comfy sofas, and doesn’t usually get as busy as places like Mojo, which can be refreshing if you’re not into having your personal space invaded.
Until about 3AM, however, when it can become full of revellers fresh from the clubs that take advantage of it’s late opening hours to further pound their livers and ruin the atmosphere.

This bar holds the somewhat questionable distinction of being the latest bar in Leeds, opening until 6am on the last Saturday of every month, so my only experiences of it have involved crawling in, shame-​faced and post-​club, to squeeze in one last pint before bed. As such, my impressions of it are no doubt very different from what one might experience on, say, 6pm on a Wednesday night, and I get the feeling from the décor that there’s even an attempt to be classy being made somewhere along the line. Stop by in the early hours, however, and you’ll find a meat market that’s only slightly more upmarket than Oceana in terms of its clientele, and a room full of people who obviously haven’t managed to pull at the club making a last-​gasp attempt. Drinks ain’t cheap, but that doesn’t seem to stop the punters piling through the doors after other establishments have shut theirs.

My favourite bar in Leeds. If you’re not familiar with Leeds and you are heading here for a night out, I would certainly suggest this as a stop off point. I’ve always found the staff to be pretty friendly and I love the wallpaper — sad I know, but good décor is a big selling point for me!

The Reform rocks, I love visiting midweek for a couple and a dance without all the hassle of going to a nightclub, paying to get in, jacket in the cloackroom, blah blah blah. It is small, trendy with a unique vibe. The sort of place to take a few friends to and ask them to play a song or two ont he cimputerized playlist behind the bar. Beers from around the World too, but expect to pay for this quality, the Reform isn’t the cheapest place in Leeds

The Reform is one of my favourite bars and I didn’t even know it existed until recently. It’s always a great laugh and is a great place to meet people. It’s a really trendy bar but is dark and mysterious and full of leather sofas! There is a dancefloor and it stays open til around 3am.