Where The Grove Inn is, and its 1839 origins

The pub stands on Back Row, a street whose name tells you most of what you need: it sits off the main thoroughfare rather than on a polished city-centre frontage. The building's history is traced back to 1839, which makes it one of the older pub sites in Leeds and explains the Victorian proportions of the interior. It is a local music pub that happens to be historic, not a museum piece with a bar attached.

The recent chapter matters to visitors because it shapes what you see inside. A fire closed the pub from November 2023, and after investment by Stonegate Group and a full restoration it reopened on 30 May 2024 with new windows and ceilings and Victorian features brought back to life. If you have read older descriptions of a shabby back-street boozer, treat them as out of date and judge the room for yourself.

Getting there: Back Row on foot, by bus or by train

Back Row sits close enough to Leeds city centre that the sensible approach is on foot from the shopping and business core, which makes it easy to combine with a pint before or after something else in town. Buses across the centre put you within a short walk, and the main railway station is a walkable distance for most people rather than a taxi job. Check the walking route on a map app before setting out, because back streets here bend and Don't always follow the grid you expect.

Two practical points for the last few minutes. First, the street is not one you stumble across on a standard shopping loop, so have the address ready on your phone instead of relying on passing trade. Second, if mobility is a concern, plan the shortest route from the main road and ask the pub directly about step-free access and doorstep conditions, since listed old buildings rarely have level entrances.

What's inside: the restored Victorian room

The room is the reason to come if you like old pubs. The restoration kept Victorian charm and features rather than gutting the place into a modern bar, and the new windows and ceilings mean the space is lighter and sounder than the pre-fire version. Expect a proper drinking room with period bones, not a themed interior with explanatory panels.

Because it functions as a music venue as well as a pub, the layout flexes: on a gig night the focus shifts to the performance area, while on a quiet afternoon you get the same room for conversation. How much seating is available on a busy night varies with the bill, so if sitting matters, ring ahead and ask what the arrangement is for the date you have in mind. That single call saves the most common disappointment here.

The music: folk, and the names linked to the stage

The Grove is described as the longest-running folk club in town, and that reputation is the pub's real draw. It has also hosted Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, which tells you the room has form beyond the local folk circuit. Come for the music if you want an intimate, unpolished listen; come for a quiet pint if you Don't.

What you cannot assume is a fixed weekly line-up. The pub's own listings show folk and other music nights, including a folk festival slot, but dates come and go and a page can sit online after the event. Look at the current events page for what is actually scheduled, and phone the pub if you are travelling specifically for a particular act.

When to go: gig nights versus a quiet pint

Think of The Grove as two different pubs depending on the hour. On a music night, expect a fuller room, a listening crowd and less space at the bar, which is exactly what a folk club should feel like. On a non-gig afternoon or early evening, you get the room, the beer and the Victorian detail without competing for a seat. Pick your version deliberately rather than hoping for both at once.

The reopening in 2024 was a community event as much as a business one, and its regulars treat the place as a local music hub rather than a destination venue. That is the honest trade-off: you get character and programming instead of glossy service and a city-centre location. If you want a polished Saturday-night bar with table service, this isn't it; if you want a proper old pub with music in the corner, it is.

Drinking and eating here

Real ale is the stated focus, and the pub has pitched itself squarely at drinkers who care about that rather than at a food-led crowd. What is on the pumps rotates, so ask at the bar what is pouring rather than travelling with a specific beer in mind. A CAMRA Good Beer Guide listing would be nice to claim, but nothing here supports one, so judge on the glass in front of you.

Food is the part to check before you go. The available coverage says nothing reliable about a menu, kitchen hours, Sunday lunch or prices, and guessing is how people end up disappointed on a Sunday. Ring The Grove on the number published on its own site, or check the pub's website before travelling, and have a backup plan for eating nearby. Treat The Grove as a drinking and music stop with food as a bonus if it is confirmed.

Practical points before you set out

Opening hours change with the season and the gig diary, so ring ahead rather than trusting a listing you found months ago. The one opening fact published by the pub itself is a Monday start at 11am running until midnight, which is a useful anchor but not a full week's timetable.

On booking, children, dogs, card payments and Sunday lunch, nothing in the available coverage is firm enough to promise on the pub's behalf. Ask when you ring, and ask specifically, because a folk club night and a quiet Tuesday can have different answers about children and seating. For a ticketed or busy music night, booking or arriving early is the safer assumption until you are told otherwise.

What's nearby if The Grove is packed

If the room is full on a music night, Leeds has good old-pub alternatives within reach of the centre. Whitelock's Ale House is the other Victorian drinking room worth knowing, with its own character and its own crowds, so check its hours before walking over. For a wider shortlist, see our guide to the best pubs in Leeds.

For beer-led trips, Kirkstall Brewery gives you a different kind of visit, and the Adelphi sits in the same part of town as another heritage-pub option if you are pub-crawling rather than gig-going.

If you want modern beer and food in one stop instead, North Brewing Co runs taprooms with street-food partners, which is a different night out entirely. It suits a group that wants choice and space over Victorian detail.

What The Grove Inn is not

This is not a sightseeing stop with an entry fee, a gift shop or a guided tour, and it shouldn't be slotted into a day of attractions as if it were one. There are no tickets to buy and no collection to see; the visit is a drink and, if you time it right, some music. That is the whole offer, and it is a good one if it is what you want.

Who enjoys it most: drinkers who like old rooms and real ale, folk and acoustic music fans, and anyone who prefers a local pub to a city-centre chain. Who should skip it: groups wanting a full meal with guaranteed Sunday lunch, visitors needing step-free access they haven't checked, and anyone who wants their evening planned to the minute.

Should you build a trip around The Grove Inn?

Build an evening around it, not a day. If there is music on and you like folk in a Victorian room, The Grove Inn earns the trip; if there isn't, it is a good pint stop to pair with other pubs nearby rather than a destination in itself — Whitelock's Ale House, Leeds is the obvious partner for a Victorian-room crawl.

Before you set out, confirm three things with the pub: what is on that night, whether the kitchen is running, and whether the room suits your group. Those answers decide whether The Grove is the main event or a happy accident on the way to somewhere else.