St Leonards Tavern

No wonder this place has terrible Unilocal reviews. I was kicked out last night at 11pm because I asked to order a shot (after ordering and eating dinner and having very little to drink). The bartender forcibly refused, called me beligerent and then kicked me out because it was his «right.» Stay away– especially if you are a female American– apparently the manager doesn’t like our kind. Thanks for the hospitality– NOT!

If the St Leonards Tavern were a colour it would be beige.
Functional, sure, but overall just sort of. .. blah.
Much like a vampire, the Tav is has no soul.
The furniture is utilitarian, the walls are largely undecorated and the only feature to draw the eye are a trio of massive televisions showing 24hr sports.
Sadly, I don’t think the Tav knows quite what it wants to be — is it a sports bar? Is it an after-​work watering hole? Is it one of the North Shore’s few true late-​night haunts? It makes a half-​hearted attempt at all of these, and as a result fails to be any of them. Which is unfortunate, as it occupies some prime real estate right next to the train station.
The pluses — cheap drinks, open late — aren’t enough, in this reviewers opinion, to make up for the hollow experience that awaits punters therein, especially with some far better options available just down the road in neighbouring Crows Nest.

St Leonards Tavern (or the Slav Tav, as we dubbed it) marks something of a class divide in St Leonards. Situated opposite Gilroy’s Hotel, the clientele of this pub tend to be the workers on the two epic construction sites on Atchison Street. If you get a chance, swing by either one to check out the colossal holes in the ground. They’re mind-​blowing. I’m not sure why one bar seems to be more white collar and the other blue, but that’s just the way it is.
This is a reasonably cheap and cheerful little place and the décor is fairly modern. The staff are friendly and the TVs are always showing rugby. I wonder if they purchase rugby DVDs for the off-​season. The bistro food is fairly decent and they have a $ 10 meal deal on Mondays and Tuesdays, although you do have to purchase a beverage in addition, so bear that in mind if you were planning to just scrape by on your last ten spot. The steak is above average for pub food and the battered fish is of a similar quality, but the accompanying fries are over-​oiled.