Pub 62, Day 24 – The Sheaf Island

By Andy

Heading down Eccy Road, we had earmarked the Nursery Tavern as our next stop. However, along the way we stumbled upon a place we didn't even know existed: the Pointing Dog.

Discovering a new pub is always a double-edged sword here at Pubquest HQ. On the one hand, it's a new location to visit, new beers to try and new memories to create. On the other, it's an extra pint for our already overworked livers, and yet another blog to add to our ever-burgeoning in-tray.

Immediately though, we sensed a get-out clause: the pub/bar conundrum was rearing its ugly head again. We've only signed up to visit every pub in Sheffield, not every single place that serves alcohol, so bars and social clubs are not on our agenda.

Instantly arousing our suspicions was the presence of a bouncer. In my experience, pubs that enlist bouncers are either extremely rough pubs or not pubs at all. On the basis of its postcode alone, the Pointing Dog clearly doesn't fall into the former category.

Prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt, we flashed our IDs and stepped into the entrance hall. However, that was as far as we got. Sitting there, in pride of place, was a sign-in book. To enter the establishment, you were required to be either a member or a guest. Both of these options involved leaving a variety of details, including your address and date of birth.

The Great British pub, an abbreviation of public house, is open to all. It keeps no register of clients, nor does it make distinctions between regulars and travellers passing through. Pub landlords know their customers not by email address or postcode, but by hobbies and favourite drink. Pub customers are not categorised or filtered, but a representative sample of the great unwashed public.

The Pointing Dog's double-pronged system of bouncers and sign-in books smacked more of keeping people out, rather than welcoming whoever crossed the threshold.

Sensing we were about to leave, the bouncer tried to entice us.

“We get all the celebs in here y'know,” he announced, proudly.

“Oh yeah, who do you get?” I asked.

“That Asian lad from Emmerdale was in once.”

New rule: if you don't even know the name of the person in question, you cannot brag about it as a celebrity encounter. I didn't even bother feigning interest.

Realising he was losing not only our custom but our interest, he doubled down:

“And we had the Great Britain Diving Team in the other week.”

“Oh yeah, Tom Daley?” I enquired, genuinely curious.

“No, the other ones,” he replied.

Brilliant. The other ones. The anonymous ones, the ones who literally nobody can name. Needless to say, we left the Pointing Dog, never to return.

Frustratingly, our shenanigans at the Pointing Dog meant we missed last orders at the Nursery Tavern. Undeterred, we continued down Eccy Road towards town – a route well-trodden by tipsy Sheffielders for generations.

Eventually, we arrived at The Sheaf Island. One of Sheffield's more recent Spoons, it opened in 2010 on the site of the old Wards Brewery. Although the closure of Sheffield's last major brewery in 1999 was a sad chapter for the city, at least there is a touch of continuity with a pub now standing in the brewery's place.

Thanks to its previous life, The Sheaf Island is cavernous – we're not quite boring enough to get a tape measure out, but it must be Sheffield's biggest pub. Despite this, at peak times it can still be a struggle to find a table – a sure sign of its popularity.

The pub's more central location meant it was open later than the Nursery Tavern, so we opted for two pints of Diamond Black Stout to round out the night. Perhaps this was a mistake – it was a little heavy to finish the evening on – but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

When it comes to assigning a Pubquest Rating, Wetherspoons always pose a dilemma: I can never quite decide if I love them or hate them. Their selection of beers is laudable, yet the food they serve conducts all manner of cardinal sins. Manufactured, microwaved, devoid of all nutrition: it's a good job they throw in a terrific pint to wash it all down.

The Sheaf is certainly one of the superior Spoons though – modern, trendy and well-located, it puts seedier specimens like The Swim Inn and The Bankers Draft to shame.

Pub: The Sheaf Island (Wards Brewery, Ecclesall Road, S11 8HW)

Rating: 7/10

Pint: Diamond Black Stout

Brewery: Chantry Brewery (Rotherham)

NEXT UP: Free drinks! At The Hermitage...