I'm not a student but a parent visiting on open day. It was OK and served real ales, which makes it unique so far in my limited experience of students' unions. Not sure I'd want to be in the company of a student who drinks ales regularly, other than to heartily shake them by the shoulders and implore them to pull themselves together. My burger was OK, chips were disappointing, but the loaded curly fies were like crack, and I would have jumped the counter to the kitchen to demand they make more had I been in any way athletic. There is no natural light, so the place is vampire and goth friendly, and the sofas and other furniture are sufficiently, and reassuringly, distressed to let you know that students these days still know how to rock. The light inside is so dim that i wouldn't be surprised to learn that staying any length of time within the bar gradually bleached skin tones from all who entered.
Price per person
£1–10
Food: 3
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 3

Update: now have some real ales on tap. The Mitigating Circumstances from Kirkstall is quite good. And the service has got better. Mixed service depending on the day. Turned up today for brunch, waited over 40 mins for my food to come out, order on the app and it says it would be 5 mins. Food came out 35 mins later than expected. Smaller portions than normal, bread instead of toast, no chance to ask for any sauces or butter. The waitress was apologetic and did get me another drink of coke for free, but that was it. It's not like it was busy either, only me inside and no one outside at the time. Cooks were just stood there so they must of just ignored my order. As for ale choices, it says real ale and real grub, but the ale choices are not as good as what they used to be. Currently only 2-3 'ales' on draft, and two of them are very recent additions, rest are just standard lagers. Old bar use to have a good choice of real ales on draft, bit disappointing now really.

If you studied at Leeds then prepare to be transported to nostalgia central. Even after its makeover, Old Bar is still recognisable and commands the same charm it did back when I frequented during my time studying at Leeds. My last visit was to grab a beer and a bite to eat while I waited to see a show on campus. The price of the food is more than reasonable, a bargain even. If you're ever on campus, don't miss out on visiting this gem. It's exactly what you'd expect for a university bar!

Stopped by for a night with the girls, the menu is affordable and the portions are hearty. I had the fish and chips, the fish was pretty good but the chips were not giving freshly made. However a girlfriend ordered curly chips and they were really good and so are their sweet potato fries. The service was pretty good too. It's usually really packed on game days though which can work if you want that crowd company for a game or may not if you want solitude.

Good beer and burger. Quite a lot of seating. Like the digital key they give you when you order. It flashed when you're foods ready. Some people might not like the idea that they have to go get it themselves, but if there's a few of you at a table it's not a problem of leaving your stuff unnatended. Again not the cheapest but it's always busy in term time.

My son took me to the Old Bar while I was visiting him at Leeds University. It has a nice traditional pub feel about it. A good selection of beer to choose from and good food at a reasonable price. It has been many years since I was a student, but if I was the Old Bar would definitely be a regular haunt!

Great bar snacks/ meals. Atmosphere is always always buzzing around Freshers, socials, and game nights. But the bar can also be a nice place to set up and work from the uni WiFi. If you need a place to meet friends or work on a group assignment, this might be your place! ... Try the potato snacks!

Great vibes, really cosy underground vibes. Loads and loads of seating, pool tables and proper pub food - the loaded fries are a must-order. Excellent pub quizzes every Thursday (beware of the crowd at 5pm!). Good for sociable or solitary studying during the earlier hours as well.

The best uni pub ever. Great selection of beers, alcohol, soft drinks. Good food, with many tasty vegetarian and vegan options. Can get chaotic sometimes, but you know you'll always end up there.
Price per person
£10–20
Food: 4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 5

Cosy atmosphere with a good selection of pub grub, and an ever-changing selection of local ales. Occupancy fluctuates wildly based on student attendance (and whether or not they are likely to be celebrating/lamenting an exam with a pint), or if there is some sport on.

A great student union pub. There is a great range of cheap and tasty food to choose from and a large selection of drinks at a good price. During term time it is a very lively place and a good spot for a drink.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Expensive drinks, delicious though. Place is huge. A little too big maybe considering not that busy. Place is well kept and interior looks grand and welcoming. Didabled toilets werent working at the time what a pity. Quite cold inside.

Really nice vibe! Lots of space indoors and outdoors! Got darts and pool... But way too expensive for a student bar! The cocktails taste so horrible so horrible that they should compensate anyone who drinks them lol

Good student bar. The atmosphere is very social. Good for meeting up with friends. They serve quite a few snacks both sweet and non. A good selection of drinks is available. They often project live sport events.

Probably the best pub in the area aside from town and Headingley. No idea what the other reviews mean about the food - I love it: affordable and tasty. Cracking selection of ale and really nice staff too.

Great place for student to meet new Friends it's currently going through a total refurbishment and will be open in September with a new Food menu and state of the art music system and also Big Screen TVs

Absolutely fun place to go with a bunch of friends! Fab staff and great service. Tidy and clean. Relaxing vibe and cool decor. Their drink such as beer and spirits are decent, foods are tasty as well!

Very okay for a students' bar. You see much life there as students are enjoying themselves in the close to sirene environment. However, there is minimal adherence to the COVID-19 protocols.

Old fashioned pub in the students' union. Really good veggie options if you fancy some junk food. Lots of sockets too. A good place to go if you need access to gender neutral toilets.

It's a nice uni bar. Though the staff should be better at seeing who's next. I shouldn't have to cut someone off who's been at the bar 10 seconds when I've been there 10 minutes.

I recommend coming her just to see a bunch of lads getting really angry and marching up to the kitchen so the footie could be turned back on. Nice student vibe, dirty glasses

My favourite student bar, the staff are friendly and its usually busy without being rammed. Reasonably priced bar meals. Worth checking out, particularly as a student.

Had the most disgusting hamburger and french fries there. Wouldn't recommend eating there. An alright place for a beer with friends but stay away from the hamburgers!

typical older style student bar, I am glad that it has kept its traditional roots and not become a typical modern cafe style bar, well done Leeds Uni, dont change it

Great bar. Super cheap cocktails well made. Sunday night quiz night. Well worth going to
Price per person
£20–30
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

The food is alright, not something which one could have on a daily basis! Fries had a lot of oil, almost dripping! The ambience and service was good however.

Pub quiz every Thursday never fails to deliver. Good prices, good food, also serve local beer from Kirkstall Brewery - always proud to see a local pint.

Decent pub, very handy for a couple of beers before gigs at the University. Reasonably priced, and they had Kirkstall Brewery stuff on tap …

Grate night out watching the darts at the British Transplant Games. Very good bar serving some lovely food at exalant prices. Loved my pizza

Always a good cheap student pub - pints from £2.80 and spirits with mixer from £2.50. Good selection of food - burgers, hotdogs and classics

So far so good the best student pub, good food and drinks, cheap and many events around the year. The best place to drink with your friends

Surprisingly snug remake of what used to the Tetley bar in my day. Less emphasis on beer, more on food, which was excellent and well priced

Excellent vibe, ambience and music. Great place for a hangout with friends. Great food for affordable prices. Good selection of beverages.

Good selection of drinks at a fair price, nice atmosphere, football on the big screen, and good food to boot. Will be returning for sure.

Good student bar. Not a huge fan of the overhaul done last year, but still great for lunch or if you want to watch big sports matches

Sweet place and a good selection of food and drink, perfect for students as should be obvious given its location on the UoL campus.

It's crazy that there's a pub in the student union! Makes me feel at home, had such a good evening and the prices were so so cheap!

Great atmosphere. It was quiz night when I visited. Mixed age range, although mostly young students. Had food. Wished I hadn't.

Good to have a drink and be sociable, good price on drinks, friendly staff. May have been better if there were outside heaters.

Cavernous bar spoilt on the night by significant lack of choice for cask beers usually a good range I hear. Keen pricing.

Nice atmosphere, stereotypical English pub. Sky sports on both screen is great but stay away from the burgers. Seriously.

Enjoyed my afternoon here for a Graduation, staff were amazing! Service fantastic, very clean and the larger was great!

Popped in for lunch with our son who is at the Uni. Very friendly girl served us. Food was good and reasonably priced.

Always love gigs at Stylus next to/under Old Bar. The bars great for a decent cheap beer an a cracking burger. …

Get a pint of beer for £3, really nice vibe, cosy pub with plenty of space. Really fun when they have live music

Noisey, loud music and full of students, all the prerequisites for a good student bar! Really good staff too.

Quiz night was awesome
Price per person
£1–10
Food: 4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 4

Went as part of the pub crawl, was a nice pub it just had quite high prices for Leeds for a double vodka

Nice college bar. Decent beer selection, good atmosphere. Decent good considering the price.

Cool university bar with good food. Burger are super amazing. Vegan food is not that great

Not the oldest bar I've been in. Shame most of the taps were off, so not a huge selection

Typical student bar. Cheap decent food and a good place to kill some time or watch sports

Convenient and cheap if you are at uni. Food is pretty much alright, but nothing amazing.

The students bar, I love it. Watching football here when there is football is crazy fun.

Reasonably priced student bar with a good selection of drinks and plenty of food options

Its alright. The coffee comes from a machine........ Everything else was perfect …

In a world of constant change it's nice that those at the Old Bar are subtler than most

Louis really brings the vibes
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

The best place for students and lecturers to relax. Large range of lager and cider

Great place to stop and regroup after a graduation ceremony. Rustic and relaxed.

Had a bite to eat between gigs and the veggie lasagna was absolutely spot on :)

Comically bad food. Average drinks. Lively atmosphere. Definitely worth a trip.

Vegan food available here! Good value for money and a very friendly atmosphere

Great pub quiz, reasonable priced food and drinks. Topped chips are a must :)

Good food at a good price. Need to time your visit well in termtime though!

Fab choice of drinks both alcoholic and non alcoholic. Food looked good too

Great vegetarian options, not too expensive. The veggie lasagne are amazing

Classic bar that's suitable for everyone! Food could be improved though...

Student venue but good space and reasonably priced. With multiple screens!

Nice student bar, decent prices and good small selection of veggie food.

Good bar at the union but a tad pricey versus other pubs around the area

Good atmosphere, good music taste, live sport and fairly prompt service

Really cheap alcohol but super busy when we went so there were no seats

Good range of beers/ales. Nice atmosphere. Pub quiz was a bit random?!

As always, excellent prices and great place to meet up with friends.

Expected it to be older, not disappointed just a minor misconception

Popped in after a gig at Stylus, cheap beer and friendly atmosphere

Nice atmosphere, good selection of drinks, and fairly quick service

Very nice staff!! Good drinks and decent food, very well priced!!

nice ambience especially during the premier League game telecast

Good atmosphere professional staff. Good reasonably priced beer

Brilliant! Friendly place, real ale and Real good times …

Nice priced and very convenient near the university buildings

Really nice staff on bar and well policed safe place …

Best bar ever! Has the best pub quiz and chips in Leeds ❤️

Wanted to play chess but some of the pieces were missing

Great for sports enthusiasts... Food and drinks are good

Very polite and professional staff and affordable beer.

Nice bar, decent prices, the quiz on Thursday is great!

Where I lived throughout uni,home is where the beer is!

Lovely people with great prices, too many goths tho

Great spot, really well priced for a student bar!

Nice place - the beer quality lower than expected

Cracking prices, cracking service, cracking bar x

It is nice if you need a time off or have a bite

Leeds classic, gotta get the potato stack …

Nice and cozy one. Located inside Uni of Leeds

Nice friendly staff with good student prices.

Great place,great staff well worth a visit

Everyone must try mitigating circumstances