Sandbar

Sandbar earns its stars i think for very different reasons to normal.
For horsforth, a town which for all of town streets efforts is still a sleepy little burb. Sandbar at least burns the midnight oils. Personally i think i’d sooner get in with one of the local publicans and have myself invited to lock ins but for the casual visitor looking for a night out. Sandbar will do the job.
The music is standard pop. The drinks are fairly standard too. This is not a gastro pub or a hipster café. Its a bar and you get what you pay for.
However, theres plenty of space. The crowd, though not my type, are all decent enough (its not rowdy). The staff are friendly and its right in the midst of town street, where you’ve likely ended up anyway.
Take some good folk with you and you’ll make a night of it i’m sure.

No.
No no no.
I hate this place.
It was Friday, it was full of so much fakery that I thought I was in a bad movie.
And the drinks were crap.
And the staff weren’t that much better.
And no.

Think Sandbar would be better if they did the place out and made more use of there outdoor facilities where some guys prefer to smoke could be a better place it has the potential I could like to see a change

Sand Bar seems like a place that might be better to go to in the daytime, and from a quick glance at past reviews it sounds like this is definitely the case.
I didn’t really have anything in particular against the place on my Friday evening (towards last orders time) visit, but it failed to impress (aside from the toilets, but we’ll come to that!) in any way.
My memory is a touch on the shaky side for this stage of the evening, but I remember being unimpressed by the drinks, which is never a good sign. And for a Friday night when the place is pretty packed out, the long and thin shape of the bar doesn’t lend well to making it a comfortable place to be. Of course, it’s more of a trendy bar than most the places around Horsforth, but I’d rather be in a more homely pub environment than a bar when I’m not out in a city centre.
Again though, despite the fairly negative review so far it was by no means terrible, and I bet it’d be a nice place to come and have some afternoon drinks, possibly even in the beer garden, which from a distance looked a decent size.
Finally though, the most memorable part of my experience came in the toilets. I’d been told about this beforehand, so I kind of knew what to expect, but I was still impressed by this. The men’s urinals are actually gargoyle faces, with the mouth being the opening. It’s a very odd but welcome experience, even if it doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the place!
So worth a visit just for the toilets!

I’ve been to Sandbar quite a few times with my Dad since it has opened. Each experience does vary with food being between ok to amazing, the temperature being between freezing and pleasant, the service being super efficient to mind numbingly slow.
therefore, I shall write about my experience yesterday.
I met up with Clare M for lunch and we were greeted by a friendly lady at the bar.
We wandered through the cartoon covered walls and mosaic bar to the tables at the back. Alas, half term meant that kids and mothers were everywhere. However, the layout of the place meant that it really didn’t matter. there is so much room for buggies and bounding children alike!
I had a goats cheese and roasted veg baguette that was massive and clare had a chicken salad. It was all really lovely and good background for a natter! Perhaps a little expensive for lunch (a sandwich being £6.95 with none of the extra side stuff that you get at Pooky and Grumps) and the bill took quite a while to arrive so that it meant I was late back for work.
They do however do a preorder lunch service, which sounds like a perfect solution to this! (I think pizza express started this)
I remember going here with my Dad and him actually taking me in to the gents as they have the coolest urinals. I even took a photo… however, i shall let you find out about them yourself!

Without a doubt THE WORST PUB /​CUSTOMER SERVICE /​PRICES in Leeds.
I live only a few hundred yards from this pub and I probably go only a few times a year simply because EVERY time I go the staff are rude, the food is terrible and the whole experience is massively over priced for what you get. Just been in there this evening to celebrate my friend having a baby and the bouncers and the bar staff were, quite frankly, AWFUL. The response I got when I complained was It’s nothing to do with me, I just work here. Pathetic. Honestly, PATHETIC. I’ve noticed this bar is often empty during the week and I hope it stays that way.
There are plenty more places to go in Horsforth, unless you want RUDE, INCOMPETENT AND ARROGANT STAFF.
Thanks kids,

I love this place! Its been around forever, and is a real one off. I’m a bit biased because I’m a fan of its sister bar Medusa across the road, so go for drinks here first, then for a meal over there. Sandbar does a mean lunch tho, the veggie lasagne is enough to make you give up meat for good! Its a cool hang out on weekend nights, very clubby and VERY busy an amazing place long may it reign!

After visiting Sandbar during the day for coffee and soft drinks I thought it was time I tried the food. What a mistake I made there, I wish I had stuck to coffee, soft drinks and cake!
The menu is quite impressive and every things sounds lovely, however I was soon to find out that you should not believe everything you read.
My chosen dish was a salad with mediterranean vegetables, I must say it did not look like is sounded. I was really disappointed with it, it cost about £7.00 and all it was was salad leaves, cous cous (mountains of the stuff) and some very slimy veg that felt like it had been cooked quite a while ago; add to this some very strong salad dressing and the combination in my mouth was not delightful at all. I even started to wonder if the dressing was only there to hide the taste of the mediterranean vegetables, I know this is a very cynical approach but I had to question why they had used so much dressing!
I’m sorry if anyone read my review before and went to Sandbar for a bite to eat as I now feel really terrible thinking that more people may have gone through the same experience I have.
I would like to add that the service was brilliant and the staff are very friendly indeed. If I had not been so British about the whole thing and complained I do feel that it would have been dealt with correctly.

Sandbar was the first of the so-​called ‘trendy’ bars to appear on Town Street, and has since grown bigger and bigger, so much so that it now encompasses outdoor space at the back of the building and uses it for an outdoor terrace, which, in itself is pleasant enough. The general décor of this place annoys me a little bit though — every inch of the place is so dark and wooden that you have to escape to the toilets (where the urinals are infact gargoyles) to get a feel for Sandbar’s character.
Essentially, it is one of the classier places on Town Street, but, in my experience, better during the day than in the evening. The food they serve is definitely above average (although you pay slightly above-​average prices, so it should be), while the gorgeous coffees have long been one of the most talked about aspects of Sandbar.
Unfortunately, in the evenings (and particularly on weekends), there is less fun to be had — service is slower (due to an increased capacity, but still…), and the place fills up with people dressed for a night on the town who haven’t realised that they’re still in Horsforth. The drinks are over-​priced and, in such a deep dark environment, it’s almost impossible to relax and enjoy yourself. Lighten up fellas.

Located at the bottom of Town Street in Horsforth, the Sandbar is a great little spot at any time of the week. The staff are great, friendly and welcoming and if you become a regular they like to remember you and look after you.
Our office staff have been going there since it opened and we love it, for lunch, for catering for our office lunches, for a few drinks on a Friday or for a saturday night out.
The décor is trendy, with a lovely gold /​bronze tiled bar at the back in the restaurant area and this modern look even extends to the toilets (although I can only speak for the ladies!) which are very luxurious looking.
This isn’t the place for mums who lunch or mums and tots. There aren’t any high chairs and there’s no baby change. It’s the place to go when you want a break from the little ones.
The coffees and hot chocolates are lovely here too, just in case you didn’t think to have one in a bar!
It’s also nice in summer as there is a small patio garden with tables and chairs at the back, and a few tables in the open window area on the pavement.