The sweet smell of success - Yates’s Bars in the 21st century

The sweet smell of success - Yates’s Bars in the 21st century.

So you’re looking for a great night out, not too much pressure; somewhere to eat, drink, and dance. Oh, but at least two members of your mates hate dancing, so it has to have somewhere comfortable to sit, too. And don’t forget good value and great service.

There is a place, not far away, which does supply all of these things. Whether you’re a student, out with your family, or just trying to remember what it was like to be twenty, Yates’s Bars have something for you.

Now, any company trying to please everyone is going to struggle. Yates’s Bars, however, have somehow cornered the market with an easy going atmosphere which caters for mainstream requirements, and always gives their customers something extra.

Yates’s success relies on more than a touch of variety, crossed with a tendency to deliver exactly what customers expect. They state the offers, keep them simple, and everything does what it says on the tin. Each establishment works off a basic offer framework, with variations depending on location.

Take Yates’s Huddersfield in the heart of West Yorkshire for example. Open from 9.00 a.m. on weekdays, there’s a generous English breakfast, with vegetarian options for under a fiver. For the rest of the day, there’s the classic Yates's menu with everything from curry to burgers, with low calorie options, starters, and kids meals in between. All meals are under a tenner, and most are around £6 or less. The only eater who couldn’t find something good for dinner would be a vegan animal activist with an allergy to chips.

The good times start on a Tuesday here, with the Jelli Baby night giving customers certain drinks for £1, Wednesdays with all drinks for £1.95, and Thursdays delivering jugs of cocktails at 2 for 1. Friday and Saturday nights provide classic DJ formats and lots of drinks offers, and Sunday allows everyone to recover with a roast dinner for less than £5. Seriously, you can’t go wrong. There are even sports viewing nights, dependent on the season, so no one misses out, and every night is a late one, so no one has to head off to a club if they can’t be bothered.

What’s that, you say? Northern bars are the best? Well, of course they are, but that isn’t to say that the south misses out. At Yates’s Luton, Thursday night is the Pound Party, with a £1 entry fee and £1 per pint (on selected pints) until 12.30 a.m., providing a happy transition from pub to club, with all the beats from house to cheese and less cost to worry about.

Weekend clubbers can start out in the pub with Friday night providing a rocking DJ, selected drinks at £1.50 each, and Jagerbombs, a snip at £2. Yates’s Luton closes at 2.00 a.m. on a Friday and Saturday, so there isn’t the pressure to move on elsewhere halfway through the night.

The beauty of Yates’s bars and pubs, is that while each one is clearly related, and part of the same chain, with a recent up-to-date refurbishment (ditching the less popular Victoriana interiors for something rather more trendy), every establishment is a little different from the last. This gives customers a slick rendition of the familiar, while keeping them interested.

Well done, Yates’s.