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J W Lees, the Manchester independent brewery, was one of the last bastions of the traditional smoke-filled beer-fumed pubs where your best hope for a good feed might be a pickled egg or a grim plate of lasagne. Now, in this café-style bar set amongst the bijou designer outlets in Godstall Lane, they have given Chester a venue as far removed from that unmourned tradition as a café laté from a bottle of Mackeson's.
This is a very appealing establishment, all dark wood floors and furniture with a splendid back-lit bar and stylish tables on the footpath outside. It is decidedly 'women-friendly' though there is nothing to discourage male customers. It also has a policy of barring under-25's in the evening which makes a refreshing change for those of us who wear our shirts tucked in and our heels less than 9 inches high.
The menu is superb, especially for light snacking, and very well presented. True, a fiver may seem a lot for a sandwich, but you're unlikely to begrudge it. Service is friendly and helpful. This is the first of a new breed of café-bar in the Walled City and we welcome it with unrestrained enthusiasm.
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