Best Bars & Coffee Shops in Harrogate

How we score

Every place has a score out of 10 that starts from public reviews and is adjusted for recognition stated on the venue's own site. Nobody can pay to move up, and featured listings are labelled. The directory lists every real pub, bar and café in town, not only the top rated, and each listing is written from the venue's own website. Where we could not read one, the listing says so.

Where to start

Hoodoo Brew, a gothic café at the House of Hoodoo on Cheltenham Parade, and Over & Above, a cocktail bar behind a bookcase on Cheltenham Crescent, sit at the top. Lago di Como on Beulah Street is an Italian bakery and coffee shop with handmade cakes and panini, and Vanilli's Artisan Ice Cream on Cold Bath Road serves ice cream, coffee, hot chocolate and milkshakes. The Little Ale House on Cheltenham Crescent is a craft beer venue with more than 1,100 Google reviews.

By type

For a pub, The Mucky Duck on Devonshire Place serves handmade pies, chops and Sunday roasts with cask ales and a beer garden, and Harrogate Brewing Co on Royal Parade pours its own ales, with live music and dogs welcome. Harrogate Tap is a freehouse in the original station building with 12 cask handpulls and 15 keg taps, and Tap and Tuk Tuk on Cheltenham Parade pairs Timothy Taylor's cask ales with a Pan-Asian menu. To watch the match, Balcony Sports Bar at Harrogate Cricket Ground shows Sky and TNT Sports.

Cocktail bars cluster on Cheltenham Crescent and The Ginnel: Elysian for classic and house cocktails, Chi-Chis Margarita Bar for tequila and late-night cocktails, and Montey's for regular live music. Pitcher & Piano on John Street does bottomless brunch. For wine, Ake & Humphris on Oxford Street pours by the glass and sells bottles to take home, and District Bar on Cold Bath Road is a micro bar with light bites. For beer, Cold Bath Brewing Co on Kings Road has a brewery taproom with Asian street food and a beer terrace, and 17 Miles on Cold Bath Road rotates Belgian and UK craft taps.

For coffee and cake, Folk Coffee House in Oatlands serves Dark Woods coffee, No35 on Cheltenham Crescent pours North Star coffee with dairy free milks, and Crema Coffee on Royal Parade serves all-day brunch. Brio Cafe on John Street makes focaccia paninis, and Farmhouse on Station Parade serves breakfast until 5pm. For afternoon tea, Mama Doreen's Emporium on Station Square serves themed afternoon teas, and Bettys Café Tea Rooms is on Parliament Street.

By area

Most bars are in the town centre, with a run of them on Cheltenham Crescent, including Hidden Lounge. In the Montpellier Quarter, The Ginnel has Chi-Chis, Montey's and Foundry Project, and Royal Parade has Harrogate Brewing Co and Crema. Cold Bath Road has 17 Miles, District Bar, Vanilli's and Tilly Peppers. In Oatlands, Folk, The Saints Coffee and Cortado are all on or near Leeds Road. High Harrogate has The Mucky Duck and The Devonshire Tap House on Devonshire Place, and Bilton has Ted's on the corner on King Edward's Drive.

Before you go

Several cafés here have no website we could read, so check their Google listing for opening times. Bars on Cheltenham Crescent and The Ginnel get busy on Friday and Saturday nights, so book if you are a group. Dog-friendly places say so on their listing.