“IT IS A very sociable pub with a good atmosphere - we get a good mix of regulars and passing trade.”
Sitting at the junction of Otley Road and Bradford Road, The White Cross Hotel in Guiseley is a stop-off point for many, as general manager Greg Davies points out.
“We are on the roundabout so people pass here, whether on their way to Bradford, Leeds, Harrogate or Otley. We get quite a few people on foot too, who come in while out walking their dogs.”
The inn - our Telegraph & Argus Pub of the Week - is not far from Otley Chevin Forest Park. “Some people come in after they have been there for the afternoon - they will come for a drink or something to eat.”
Part of the Ember Inns stable, the pub’s menu has a wide variety of options including burgers, pasta dishes, fish and salads.
Pub classics feature fish and chips, steak and Guinness pie and gammon and chips. “Those are really popular choices,” says Greg.
Butternut squash risotto, katsu curry and mushroom halloumi burger are among the vegetarian and vegan options. There’s a special children’s and Sunday menu too.
“We get a lot of families coming in to eat - we are very family-friendly,” says Greg, who has worked in the hospitality industry for 20 years, at locations across the UK and Europe. He has been at the White Cross for the past eight years.
The pub and the area take their name from an Anglo-Saxon cross, probably made from limestone, which once stood in Guiseley as a boundary marker.
The building appears on a map dated 1893, but is believed to be older.
The hotel, which used to have the well-known Tetley’s huntsman sign on its front wall, was once used as a community meeting place and hosted inquests and auctioning of houses and other property. It was also the terminus for trams between 1915 and 1934, when the service ceased to run.
Not far from The Bradford Golf Club, the inn is a short drive from Leeds-Bradford Airport.
Today, a good selection of ales includes Leeds Brewery’s Leeds Pale and Timothy Taylor’s Landlord.
“We’ve also got Orangutan beer on sale at the moment- for every pint bought a donation goes to Paignton Zoo in Devon,” says Greg.
The inn was refurbished a year ago, resulting is an inviting, stylish interior with exposed wood complementing a green, grey and blue colour scheme. Outside, seating areas were enlarged and two timber chalets added, alongside more benches with parasols and festoon lighting.
“Customers really like the outdoor space - it was really well used last summer and has given us a boost after all the disruption of Covid. One area gets the sun in the afternoon and the other gets the late afternoon and evening sun,” says Greg.
The pub, which has 15 staff, hosts charity events throughout the year such as summer and Christmas fairs and race nights, in aid of Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
“We have a good team here, they are all very friendly and welcoming. It is a pub with a good atmosphere,” adds Greg.
*The White Cross Hotel, Otley Rd, Guiseley, Leeds LS20 8LY; emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/yorkshireandthehumber/the-white-cross-hotel-guiseley#/
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