retiredmartin

October 2026. Sheffield.

You know where Sheffield is. And you probably know where Shakespeare’s is by now, tucked halfway on the pub tourist route between Kelham Island and the Tap and the Rutland, not far from the Emergency Services Museum.

It’s not the best pub in Sheffield, but it might be the one I’d recommend to a visitor, if you can only do the one.

We took our Chicagoan visitors (not the Southworths) to the Shakey on their cultural tour in the Spring, when the front bar was a riot of large dogs, tattoos and Tenpole Tudor jackets.

Mrs RM certainly likes it. Our Thurday afternoon walk, intended to break the lethargy of continued travel, gets no further than West Bar.

“Would it be wrong to just want a pint in the Shakespeare ?” says the Incorrigable One.

If Mrs RM blogged about pub life, rather than obscure rail trips in Moldova, she’d tell you about the pub crawling lads whose pints were split symetrically between lager on the left and Guinness on the right. 3 of each.

It’s always interesting to see pub crawls visit Sheffield’s famous ale shrines (ugh) and swerve the real ale, like asking for the omelette in the curry house.

But these are gorgeous, multi-roomed buildings where groups of lads and old couples and lone tickers can feel comfortable, whatever they’re drinking.

And, in truth, the cask hasn’t always been the Shakey’s strong point.

So a shallow drinker like me will always go for the sour declaring “I’m Blue“, like in the Eiffel 65 song,

or the 8% stout that’s white (ish) !

Yes, it’s the weird collaboration beers for us, expertly matched with those Huligan Crush honey mustard pretzels as we ponder life, and death, and the A21.

I’d only bought a half of the 8% Weekend Project white stout, and it’s gone in 10 minutes, so I’m back at the bar where the nice young lady assures me that a pint is perfectly understandable as it’s so good and she nods sagely as I say “It’s not for me“.

By the time we finish with a pint of cask, a VERY GOOD Abbeydale Deception I’d just seen pulled, the Shakey is suddenly quiet.

But it won’t last long.