The Yard

Great pub to watch the football in, good atmosphere, good beer, good food. Easy to find, and within easy walking distance of the station. Situated on the river so its nice to have a beer out in the sun during the summer. Has just been regenerated around there so its no longer such a grotty place. Very comfortable and friendly.

The Yard is accessible via a bridge going over the river. It can therefore seem a little set-back from any passing trade in that respect.

Generally, the place is tidy and well-lit, and being relatively new it has something a lot of other places in Stafford don’t have. Space. The bar is fairly large and there is plenty of seating around so you probably won’t be left standing around either. Prices are quite competitive and they do serve cocktails (Which made me happy).

Another thing I noticed was that it was quite warm inside, even when pretty empty, despite being brass monkey’s outside. But having only been here the once, I can’t say whether it gets hugely busy or not.

It ticked all of my boxes for a good pub and I’ll certainly return.
A deserved 4-stars!

The Yard hasn’t been in Stafford very long, probably a couple of years.. It’s a big pub, with high tables and bar stools in part, tables and chairs in another part, and booths in the back section.

There’s a decent quiz machine and smoking area which is usually under cover.

The drinks are reasonably priced, and theres apple and cherry sours test tube shots on weekend nights for a quid each (trying to drink 7 at once is not advised - altho it’s a fun challenge).

The only couple of problems I’ve experienced here are the temperature which can shoot up or plummet suddenly depending on how many people are in, and also the music is sometimes too loud to talk comfortably on weekend evenings (to be expected I guess). They usually serve drinks til 1am on a Friday and Saturday.

This place used to serve the most amazing pudding. Any chocoholic would fall in love right away. It was called the Borris Belt Buster…you got 2 huge double chocolate muffins (warm & melted in the middle) 2 sugar waffles, 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, and 2 scoops of chocolate ice cream, 4 flakes, and then maple, toffee and chocolate sauce all over it. Amazing. Pure amazing. Me and my friend always ordered it to share. We never managed to finish it…and we’d attempted it 3 times!

Well, thats the best thing about the Yard and I’m afraid to say that they changed the menu a few months ago and they got rid of it! Gutted. The other food is okay but nothing as memorable as what I just described.

Its not bad in the evenings either - drinks are reasonably
priced and the music isnt too bad.

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IM SO HAPPY TO TELL YOU ALL THAT THE BORRIS BELT BUSTER IS BACK!!!!
I went there again the other day for the chicken pasta alfredo (which is veeery tasty, and served with garlic bread & salad) and when I was looking at the menu I noticed that the most amazing pudding in Stafford is back! (hopefully for good)