Don't get me wrong I think this pub has "atmosphere" but ...

I went there last night to meet a friend at 7pm to be encountered by ...

Front bar - too loud music, screaming kids running around (are they allowed in a pub at 7pm?) a fierce looking dog (are animals allowed in bars also at 7pm?), slow surly service waited 10 mins to be served even though not a lot at the bar - the bar man obviously looked part-time and was more interested in the hilarity another bar man (the owner?) was generating my wearing a 70s wig rather then serving the customers - when I did eventually get my pint served in a dirty glass - no matter what part of the glass rim I turned it was unsavoury - I retreated from the drunken noise, children and animals to the "lounge" next door only to be confronted by the vague smell of vomit, crowded with jostling rude student types who had no manners at all and pushed you out of the way if you tried to stand at the bar, I had time to survey the decor - tatty wallpaper, really dirty tatty largely worn carpet and tables ... and the really worrying notice of "no baseball caps to be worn in the pub" so must get a lot of chav types in - I could go on ...

Is it that this place has had a change of managent and not for the better - or is it general apathy - they know this "bohemian" pub will draw its "unique" crowd anyway and I guess at the reasonable prices of £1.70 for a pint of lager they dont have to bother improving the place and will attract the "cheaper" punter ... ho hum just having a moan ...

I think your trippin, it's still the best pub in sheffield and the stuff your talkin about man..... ?

The lescar is a great pub, do remember it was new years day yesterday, and the state of the place would have beeen down to the busy New years eve.

This place will never go down hill!!!!

Originally posted by Patrick2000
Don't get me wrong I think this pub has "atmosphere" but ...

I went there last night to meet a friend at 7pm to be encountered by ...

...a fierce looking dog (are animals allowed in bars also at 7pm?),
Yes they are, and if you mean that Rottweiler, he's ded nice :)



Originally posted by Patrick2000
... and the really worrying notice of "no baseball caps to be worn in the pub" so must get a lot of chav types in - I could go on ...
No, they have an extended licence which involves them being able to identify customers who may have made a nusiance of themselves on departure. The 'no baseball caps' rule is so that the cameras can see people's faces, and therefore applies to all pubs with a late licence :suspect:


Edit: The 'spit and sawdust' atmosphere they are aiming for is no excuse for how they keep their beer though :gag:

Lescar has been my local since 1983, I've seen several incarnations of management, and in my opinion the present manager (Duncan) has let the pub go downhill.

He lost control of the place ages ago And he knows it. So now he's running around like a chicken with it's arse on fire trying to scutch a bit back.

Too late, Duncs.

And regarding the extended license Strix mentions above - friends told me earlier tonight (mon) that they tried to get into the Lescar last night (I would normally have been with them) (Sun) at 22:10 hrs only to be greeted by Duncan on the door saying that no one would be allowed in because he was closing early. He gave the reason that the locals 'had been at it for two days and it was a bit sluggish inside and he needed to clear them out' or words to that effect. The mates of mine that where trying to get in are also 'Locals'

Duncan - you are losing the plot mate :gag:

Seriously.

Originally posted by Patrick2000 I retreated from the drunken noise, children and animals to the "lounge" next door only to be confronted by the vague smell of vomit, crowded with jostling rude student types who had no manners at all and pushed you out of the way if you tried to stand at the bar

I know you've said 'student types' but I'd just like to say that the students are mostly away at this point, having left before christmas and term/exams not starting til about Jan22nd. They get alot of blame for things as it is.

I was there that night - I think the 70s wig actually belonged to my mate...


Service was slow, but i think that is understandable on NYD, was unaware of any screaming kids, liked the dog.

Didn't find the 'student' type crowd rude at all, just a little bit dazed and confused which was also unsurprising.

Originally posted by Draggletail
And regarding the extended license Strix mentions above - friends told me earlier tonight (mon) that they tried to get into the Lescar last night (I would normally have been with them) (Sun) at 22:10 hrs only to be greeted by Duncan on the door saying that no one would be allowed in because he was closing early. He gave the reason that the locals 'had been at it for two days and it was a bit sluggish inside and he needed to clear them out' or words to that effect. The mates of mine that where trying to get in are also 'Locals'

Duncan - you are losing the plot mate :gag:

Seriously.

To be fair I did ask at the bar on Friday what times they were open til on new years day and the barmaid showed me - on the wall they had a poster saying only until half ten, apparently to give the staff and customers a break after the new years eve binge. So they had clearly stated a few days before that they would be closing early on Sunday.

Dunno about it going downhill as I've only been drinking there a few years but I still like the place :)

I was also in The Lescar that night, and I think you've got some of your facts a bit twisted.

Firstly, if you receive a dirty beer glass, why not just ask the staff for a clean one? A fairly simple solution really.

And as for the back room, what on earth are you talking about? Smell of vomit? Neither I, nor anyone I spoke to that night noticed any such stench. By "student types" I'm guessing that you're referring to young people (students tend to frequent the Porter Cottage rather than the Lescar IMO), but I didn't really notice anyone standing at the bar, let alone any "jostling", pushing or rudeness of any kind.

I think the answer here might be for you to just change your attitude when going out for a drink - you sound like Alan Partridge.

The Lescar is, and always has been a dirty little griefhole, filled with soap dodgers and chavs.
Why on earth woul anyone wish to drink in there when you have the nearby Banner Cross, Porter Cottage, hell, even the psalter tavern is a better establishment.

What u trippin 'bout you deluded mofo? Leslie Car is quite obviously the greatest pub in the universe. Seriously, if you're after a boozer with absolutely no activity going on at all, you could always go to The Union, although the stasis-like plodding atmosphere will make you think that the barkeep has laced your ale with ritalin.
The Lescar succeeds because it caters to such a diverse bunch of regulars, whether they be young families, students, locals, bohos (and the bohemian comment...I mean, it is on Sharrow Vale Road, AKA the Bohemian Village of Hallamshire, so that shouldn't be a surprise) and other weirdos who just feel welcome there. Helen and Duncan are very friendly and open to new ideas, and have variously let people put on bands, regular comedy and jazz performances, novel quizzes, art shows and DJ nights, and even new media experiments. Where else can claim to have such a wide variety of stuff going on?
Also, you've got to expect people to be a bit boisterous on New Year's day. I'm sure that if you had confronted the 'students' about their rudeness they would have apologised. Most of the youngsters today will have been on the blue gravel and pigeon dust at some kind of futuristic warehouse rave the night before, and you can't blame the kids for growing up in a Britain where the PM came into office to the fanfare of D:Ream's disco biscuit stormer "Things Can Only Get Better". Don't blame them: it's society's fault.
I put it to to you that The Lescar is going uphill (due to some kind of weird techtonic reverse subsidence on Cowlishaw).

Originally posted by kathythebean
To be fair I did ask at the bar on Friday what times they were open til on new years day and the barmaid showed me - on the wall they had a poster saying only until half ten, apparently to give the staff and customers a break after the new years eve binge. So they had clearly stated a few days before that they would be closing early on Sunday.


I must admit non of us had noticed that the closing was time was posted up as 10:30 Kathythebean.

That still doesn't excuse been refused entry at 10:10 though. It would still give time to have a quick 'un :) And twenty mins drinking up time on top of that.

Sorry dude, but I stand by my comment, the place is a filth-pit, you need to wipe your feet when you are LEAVING.

Yes I agree Draggletail :)

Your son is gorgeous!

They closed the bar at 9.30 in the end- Duncan said it was because there were so many people in a bit of a state he thought they were better off stopping serving.

Originally posted by mjlacey21
They closed the bar at 9.30 in the end- Duncan said it was because there were so many people in a bit of a state he thought they were better off stopping serving.

:hihi:

We were going to go down at about 8 but realised there would be loads of people just monging out, probably with no sleep from the night before, so we stayed tucked up inside with a crate of beer and the new years day telly.

They definately did me a favour closing! Although I did finally meet Andy78!

Originally posted by mjlacey21
They closed the bar at 9.30 in the end- Duncan said it was because there were so many people in a bit of a state he thought they were better off stopping serving.

Such a terrible shame: when the many spoil it for the few. :rolleyes:

You don't think that he maybe wanted to go home and just used it as an excuse then...?

I didn't see any casualties

Originally posted by mjlacey21
They definately did me a favour closing! Although I did finally meet Andy78!

Hurray! :clap: Andy is a star!

Originally posted by mjlacey21
They closed the bar at 9.30 in the end- Duncan said it was because there were so many people in a bit of a state he thought they were better off stopping serving.

This is partly what I meant earlier when I said that Duncan has no control. He just lets people carry on drinking till they are well past it rather than suggesting they go home and have a breather.

Then he has to close the pub because of it :loopy:

The words 'Bad management' come to mind......

By the way Defstef, the Jazz and Comedy club nights pre date Duncan and Helens management by several years, although I agree he is open to new Ideas for the use of the back room.

I would also like to say I haven't got a total downer on the place - certainly nothing against the 'Bohos' that's for sure, but I did start to 'vote with my feet' about three years ago, and in that time I've seen the tap room empty of most of the 'part of the woodwork' regulars. They mostly drink at the same pub as me these days ;)
Kathythebean - thanks for your kind comments about our son :)

Originally posted by kathythebean
Hurray! :clap: Andy is a star! :blush:

Kathy is also a little miracle and a blo*dy good friend! :clap:

It was a pleasure to finally meet Marie (mjlacey). I always like meeting new chatterboxes. :)

When I got there at 9, Duncan said that a lot of wasted people were trying to get into the pub so he'd decided it was best to shut up early.

I'm just glad that silly season is over and the Christmas crowd will disappear. It's nice to know that the pub will be full of people I know again. :)

Incidentally, the faint smell of vomit has something to do with the carpet in front of the middle bar. Apparently it's loads of beer that's been trampled in to it. I've been informed that they'll be replacing it soon.

Naps, I take it you don't drink in the Lescar much, especially as you think it's full of chavs. :confused:

I personally love the Lescar because it's one of the few pubs around that area that has an atmosphere. Most other pubs around there seem very soulless.

Was my local for years . I felt it started to slide when Paul left.
Went back in recently as i was back down that end of town only to find that most of the folks i used to know had moved to another boozer.

Suppose that happens in pubs all over though.

I agree with some of the comments made regarding the Lescar, in that it may not be everyone's cup of tea, and to be fair I cannot say it is mine every night of the week.

However, it is the old adage horses for courses, in that if you dont like it, you dont have to go in.

As I mentioned it may not be my absolute favourite, but when I have been in, I have never had a problem and enjoyed the "bohemian" mixture of people in the place.

Summer in the beer garden is a treat generally, and it is well placed. Dogs, kids being in a pub does not bother me as long as they are safe and not attacking the drinking patrons!

Lots of choice in Ecclesall and beyond within walking distance for every taste, as for students being in the pub and being rude, if a pub is not boisterious and full of energy I dont know what makes a good un'

Originally posted by Patrick2000

Front bar - too loud music, screaming kids running around (are they allowed in a pub at 7pm?) a fierce looking dog (are animals allowed in bars also at 7pm?), slow surly service waited 10 mins to be served even though not a lot at the bar - the bar man obviously looked part-time and was more interested in the hilarity another bar man (the owner?) was generating my wearing a 70s wig rather then serving the customers - when I did eventually get my pint served in a dirty glass - no matter what part of the glass rim I turned it was unsavoury - I retreated from the drunken noise, children and animals to the "lounge" next door only to be confronted by the vague smell of vomit, crowded with jostling rude student types who had no manners at all and pushed you out of the way if you tried to stand at the bar, I had time to survey the decor - tatty wallpaper, really dirty tatty largely worn carpet and tables ... and the really worrying notice of "no baseball caps to be worn in the pub" so must get a lot of chav types in - I could go on ...

[/B] Thats what we know and love

I usually like Lescar type pubs locals,bit of character live acts ect.


But when i last went in it stunk of vomit (as has already been mentioned) and I am sorry but to me it looked just plain scruffy and dirty.

I used to know Paul who used to manage it (ex west street) and he was a VERY good manager.

Im sorry but in my view there is just no excuse for not keeping a place clean.

I also suspect it is probably not the easiest of places to manage.

I will not be going back in a hurry.

i agree with defstef. helen and duncan work really hard to provide a really varied programme of entertainment - giving lots of folk their first chance to promote a dj event, play live etc. though some of the front room locals could be described as "tasty", the pub works well due to the 3 rooms - meaning that folks generally live and let live. If the front room is dominated by the louder locals fair enough - there are still two rooms left with loadsa space.
i've always found the barstaff to be friendly and hard-working too..
(and it has one the best, sunniest beer garden in the summer - along with the rutland arms and interval bar gardens)

I don't mind the Lescar - the beer garden is great in summer... it could just do with a bit of a refurb don't you think? It just feels a bit tatty round the edges..