On a crisp spring evening a few years back I pulled up to Rud’s on my newly acquired motorcycle to meet a group of guys from our local riding forum that I felt were my friends but had never actually met in person. Bikes lined the length of the surrounding sidewalks, both moto and peddle, while the crowd spilled out around the bikes to discuss them with new friends over beer. My group was easy to spot in the corner table and I hopped over the fence, as many people do, to pull up a chair. One of the boys got up instead and offered me his chair. Since he was not quite of age, I offered to buy that boy a beer when I went inside. He accepted. Turned out to be the damned love of my life. Such is Rud’s.
I’m sure there are many more stories like this to come out of Rudyard’s. Sure the place reeks of attitude, the bathrooms are more “modern art” than lavatory, darts are flying about and someone is bound to say something that will offend any delicate patrons…and that’s before the music starts.
The food will not wow but it will never disappoint, which is all you can ask of a true pub. Far more important is the fact that each pint is perfectly poured to the brim by a genuinely cool bartender who offers up all the basics on draft along with a couple of rotating specials like Real Ale’s Pheonixx, an explosion of bitter hoppyiness in your grateful mouth. I also mean it when I say the bartenders are genuinely cool. They know their beer and appreciate others who do. If they don’t like you, they probably won’t wait on you either, which makes you feel all the more special when they treat you like one of the family.
At the end of the day though, while we come to the pub for the beer, we stay for the crowd; and it is just that which makes Rud’s so truly special. You never know, you just might end up buying a pint for the love of your life.
Pros: a true pub
Cons: Not for the mixed-drink crowd
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