The Robert Gillow in Lancaster

Lovely little bar with huge selection of Gin! Really close to the train station so ideal location. Lovely staff and great for people watching at the window

Great range of drinks - especially the local ales and a terrific range of gins. Freindly and knowledgeable staff and a fun and comfortable atmosphere. Worth searching this place out.

Our favourite, we come here every week after climbing. Always a great selection of quality cask and cider, and friendly staff. Highly recommend

Fantastic venue staff very friendly and helpful beers on tap excellent. Visited the pub on the Saturday and again on the Sunday. The manager turned on the tv in the upstairs seating area so we could watch the rugby World Cup games. The sound was off so not to disturb other patrons

Absolutely amazing staff, would recommend for a good drink with friends and family. Near to the train station so it's good for a first and last drink.

Great beer.Great atmosphere! .Very friendly barman who also rescued the husband with a phone charger 😆.

Visiting the grandson and his partner after a meal called in this pub for a drink. Excellent friendly service. Good choice of ales and drinks.

Lovely pint, great atmosphere and friendly staff behind the bar. Reasonably priced too, staff could look smarter but not an issue.

Loved this unpretentious pub in the heart of Lancaster. No airs and graces. Just excellent Hydes beers and warm friendly staff in a super relaxed environment. What’s not to like?

On our recent break in Lancaster my twin brother Stephen and I visited nearly all the pubs in this pretty town, one that we really enjoyed visiting was The Jailor's Barrel Pub ,a fantastic pub offering a warm welcome and serving great real ale's. Walking in and I knew I would enjoy my visit here, the interior is a mix of modern and traditional, wonderful decor and furnishings and plenty of seating options spread throughout this pub, all in all its a great pub to unwind in. We were here on a Sunday afternoon, we were greeted with a smile by a very pleasant member of the bar team, we ordered a pale ale each, these were served in excellent condition,we just kicked back,chilled out and soaked up the great vibe in this busy and popular pub. My pale ale was really good, a crisp, well balanced pale ale, hints of toffee and a delicious aroma and aftertaste with a slight bitter finish to it, a classic British pale ale, so tasty, so refreshing, it was just so good being in such a lovely pub enjoying a quality brew. We really enjoyed our pale ale's in here before we moved on and although our visit was only fleeting for a first time visit to The Jailor's Barrel Pub we were totally impressed and had a great time. The Jailor's Barrel Pub is easy to locate along Market Street Opening hours are ; Monday to Thursday, 4.30pm till 11pm. Friday to Sunday, Midday till Midnight. A wonderful pub in a fantastic location, most definitely well worth checking out if you're in the area or planning to visit Lancaster.

The Jailor's Barrel in Lancaster is a superb craft beer bar and is located in an area of Lancaster were there are some great bars and pubs. Located on Market street and a couple of minute's walk from Lancaster Castle'this is an excellent bar with a superb interior with great decor and furnishings and plenty of good seating options throughout the bars interior. We visited the Jailor's Barrel on a very wet night and it was just a nice feeling going to a nice warm bar to have a few beers.When here we had a superb cask ale'the ale that we had was Hydes brewery Original a very good beer that was brewed in Manchester that was perfectly served and for a beer of this quality really well priced. This is a superb bar and is well worth a visit and really easy to locate from China street bus stop it's a couple of minute's walk.(This is my first review of the Jailor's Barrel). Opening Hours. Monday-Thursday-16.30-00.00. Friday-Saturday-12.00-01.00. Sunday-12.00-23.00. Nearest Bus Stop. China street bus its.

Called in for drinks and snack. A real gem of a place with exposed old brick walls. Lots of comfortable leather armchairs and sofas, with numerous Gin and Beer options.

Nice little bar with a great range of craft beers from across the UK. Nice decor and friendly staff.

This Pub has recently had its name changed from Robert Gillow to Jailors Barrel. In this review I won't get into the debate on whether the name should of been changed or not but just stating it has been changed as it happened earlier this year and due to lockdiwns everyone may not know.  As you walk in the decor looks great abd the layout is great with tables being spaced out well.  This bar has loads of beers , ales , etc but I was particularly impressed that they had 42 gins. I ordered two double Warners honey gin that helps wildlife preservation of bees as they sent the business  sachets of wildflowers with the order as bees love them to help keep them going. It really was a beautiful gin , great flavours , presented very well and you could see the care in the presentation. Two double gins and meditarian tonics £20.70. It is pricey but was a wonderful gin. The drinks even came with paper straws with snall bees on.  Fantastic customer service throughout as we only had one drink but all the staff were very chatty , checked we were happy with the drinks and you could tell were happy to be there. Very homely feel during to the combination  decor and staff and so a very comfortable visit.  Two floors of tables but I prefer the downstairs space so we sat there. The toilets are upstairs. There was a small group of people that came in a dog and the staff sprung into action to get it some water so clearly dog. I do a food and drink blog on Facebook called off the eaten track - food abd drink reviewer if people want to check other reviews I have done

Always great service and range of drinks available wether it be real ale Hyde's brewery mostly,wines,spirits and lagers.Bar snacks .Clean toilets

Top quality service, top quality cider. What more needs to be said. From a cider drinking manner!!!!

First visit and wonderful beer, the Porter was excellent. Very sorry to know the current Covid pandemic is closing the pub and look forward to visiting as soon as Lancashire's lockdown ends.

Came here for a visit Saturday and I've got to say the service we received was second to none felt really looked after couldn't fault anything the beer is amazing to especially the stout we never was without a drink thank you for looking after us will be back soon

Love this place. So warm, friendly, jovial and quaint. Superbly kept beers and wines. Hugely recommended for a natural stopping off point from the station.

Went for a drink on Friday afternoon and a pleasant atmosphere, comfy seats and amazing selection of gins! Fairly priced and very enjoyable

Drinks with my husband. We come here every time we visit Lancaster. Great atmosphere. Fantastic choice of ales if you like that type of thing. They do a limited selection of food although we have never eaten here One of our favourites

Escaped the cold whilst visiting Lancaster and enjoyed a couple of drinks. For a cold, January Thursday afternoon the pub was very busy with many people enjoying meals. I had a pint of Lancaster Blonde beer from the local brewery. £1.85 per pint. Tasty, bitter and delicious. My wife chose the ice cold cools lager. Great service, clean tidy.

Been here umpteen times. Our favourite is scampi and chips. Great for a snack and a drink. The Porter is 50p cheaper than the Stonewell Tap, just thought I would add that this is not the dearest pub in town!

Wonderful friendly staff. Really Tasty food on Christmas menu. Reasonably priced drinks and very tasty mulled wine

Great place! walking distance of Lancaster train station - nice atmosphere with very friendly and informative bar staff i was served by Erin who great at recommending a variety of drinks to my taste from the large selection available. Explained 7

The Gillow is fun and I like drinking rum. They have a lot to try and Tom's a funny guy. When you order food you get many chips, which are tasty on your lips. It is very good, visit here you should!Forgive my terrible rhyme.

Friendly staff, good food and a great selection of drinks. The bar is a hub for many different groups from regular drinkers to regular board game nerds. Would highly recommend!

We arrived during the evening rush hour and ordered food and drinks for a large party, Tom was very friendly and hospitable, making sure we had everything we needed for our evening. Thanks for a lovely evening!

Lovey intimate pub that stocks a wide range of gins and whisky in particular and supports live music.

Highlight of our visit. A stunning little bar. Atmospheric, well kept and with highly welcoming and knowledgeable staff.

The Robert Gillow is a lovely old pub in downtown Lancaster with a nice selection of local and UK beer on tap plus an extensive selection of bottled beers from around the world. It also has a delicious selection of small plates for a very reasonable price. I recommend the sweet potato curry bites with the sweet chili sauce and the chips, either potato or sweet potato.

Enjoyed visiting a few friends, good amount of room to have a good chat, there is seating upstairs too. Great selection of beers and ales that are very tasty

Came across this little gem of a pub last week whilst visiting friends in Lancaster, nice simple food and very friendly staff, was very impressed with the young lady Erin whose knowledge of beers and variety of gins on offer were unsurpassed, will almost certainly be returning.

Good selection of gins, I had brockman’s gin after Erin recommended it, really good stuff! Felt well cared for in this place even though I was only here to pass the time before my train - definitely would recommend!

Great pub rob gillow himself is the main man trust me there is no better enjoy yourself when you go to gillow.

I have been into this bar many times and I love the atmosphere and the friendliness of the staff. Very knowledgeable about the wide selection of drinks and a great new tapas style menu. Looking forward to the weekend of music with the music festival

Nice, cozy atmosphere. Really nice, basic food but cooked well and out in time. Good selection of beers. Nice staff.

Went for a couple of drinks. Awful weather outside so was really nice to have warm cosy seats and relax in the window. Always has a good atmosphere.

Absolutely shocking services extremely rude staff and behaviour towards my fellow friends would not recommend for a quiet drink

Small but perfectly formed. Has a top selection of well looked after beers. Nice to sit and watch the world go by.

Not so many on draft but plenty in notyled and cans in the fridges. A decent place to stop off for a beer. They also do food and snacks.

I suggested that we had a drink here as it looked interesting and quirky, I noticed a sign in the window Camra cards welcome monday to friday 20p of the price of a pint. So we went in and Isaw Jaipur on so Iordered that and cath had a half of another beer ,Iasked did they except Camra cards ? she said only in the week ,we were in on a Sunday, I said fine how much is that please ? She said £6:65 for a pint and a half of beer, I paid it and sat down with my wife and noticed we were the only ones drinking beer .The other people were drinkinking wine whichih when we looked there was a sign sayinbuy two glasses get one free, So it was mainly a wine bar with Kraft ales on, so we had our drinks and left. But if you like wine this could be a good place to go and try , they also have nibbles on as well!

Highly recommend this little beauty! Great staff with a friendly, down to earth manager. A credit to the brewery! Great range on gins, just my thing, and a lovely menu to go with it. Basic, but good quality! Will most definitely be returning! :-)

Good choice of Gins, friendly staff and a nice relaxing atmosphere. Not many large groups in more couples later on.

My friend and I met for lunch at the Robert Gillow and were surprised at the choice of toasted sandwiches. We finally ordered a BLT toastie and a chicken with chilli toastie. The server also asked would we like to add soup or chips for an extra 99p. We ordered one portion of chips. The toasties, chips and two cappacino’s were lovely and we will definitely be returning. Next time for cake and coffee for £3.95.

Great range of bitters and gins. Lovely quirky pub, which has more seating upstairs that we hadn't realised was there until we visited the toilets.

Good pub, well looked after beer and generally busy. The only downside is that often there's nowhere to sit as it's quite small inside. Great choice of bottled beer, but often it's not chilled and stored at room temperature.

Lovely atmosphere, lovely wine and it’s great for people watching in the big windows, bar staff were ok. It’s a nice little place for a delicious glass of Sauvignon blanc after returning from the castle.

Have been into this pub numerous times and it has always been a fantastic atmosphere. I would recommend to anyone wanting a nice quality bar with a lovely atmosphere and friendly staff. Food is lovely and a wide range of drinks. Hopefully cocktails very soon as I have been told the menu is in the making. Music on a Friday night and open mike on the first Thursday of the month. Would highly recommend visiting

I went here with my friend the other night and the prices were quite reasonable , it was £12.40 for a small bottle of prosecco and a gin and tonic. The bottle of prosecco covers 1.5 glasses. There was live music playing which was nice, there is often live music which is good. It's always busy in this pub so a good atmosphere

We returned to this pub after a year. It's a nice, characterful pub, within easy striking distance of castle and shopping centre both, with 4-5 (local) ales on pump plus an extensive range of bottled ales from Europe and beyond (but not cheap). They also have 14+ gins and several rums to have a go at.

Visited the Robert Gillow twice now while visiting my son at University. Both occasions we had lunch, ok it’s not restaurant standard and in some ways it’s better for that but it’s still good traditional pub grub. Fantastic place, I’m sure it will be a regular stop over the next four years. Real traditional place and a great find.

Popped in for a quick one on the way home, first time visit. Small, cosy and popular bar with a good selection of bottled craft ales and lagers plus a variety of spirits. Worth a visit especially if you want to savour some different tipples.

Very friendly little pub close to the station, wonderful range of ales and very friendly staff. Only issue is that the loos are upstairs.

The trouble with living just a car's drive away from the historic city of Lancaster is that family and friends from out of town inevitably want to see the place when they are staying with us!

The Robert Gillow is a fantastic pub,great selection of craft beers and lots of different gins.Been here many times always enjoy coming to this pub when in Lancaster.Food is also excellent very friendly and polite staff. I highly recommend this pub.

(All Lancaster Pub reviews are from August - September 2018)

Great selection of gins, lovely staff and chilled out atmosphere. Cozy and welcoming, a great place to drink.

Popped in the other day for a pint but was sweet talked by Pete into trying some of their rums- lush!

I love this pub. It has been my local for two years now. Every time we go, I am made to feel welcome, the staff are knowledgeable, helpful and polite, and the food, albeit more of a 'light bite', is delicious. There are a wide variety of drinks from which to choose.

The Robert Gillow, through all of its many different faces and interiors, has always been the perfect place to relax and unwind at the end of the day. The staff are all really lovely and polite, and the drink selections are many and varied. Good coffee too. Always a pleasure to unwind in here whenever I am in Lancaster.

This pub has a great range of craft beers and gins to choose from. Visited on a Saturday tea time. It was busy but not much activity at the bar itself.

On the positive side there are a great variety of gins available here and the ‘gin slate’ where you get to taste several gins and recommended accompaniments is a great idea. On the negative side visited three times and they never had all of the accompaniments available - sort the ordering out !!!

Abbiamo scelto birre buonissime fra un’ampia selezione, abbiamo cenato con le poche cose previste dalla cucina (sandwich, soup of the day, pollo fritto) gustose e abbondanti. Prezzi adeguati e locale molto carino. Servizio gentile

Popped in for a couple of gins over 90 to choose from, very tasty.. just wish we had the chance to try them all.

Arrived 8.40..no problem for food order Nice staff and the veggie 'slate' excellent value! Wanted a quick snack and this hit the spot!

The Robert Gillow is perhaps my favourite drinking venue in Lancaster, it is recently renovated, with a great new bar and nice staff.

We Had haloumi platter and haloumi basket . Great little spread at a bargain price. Nice relaxed ambiance and although I couldn’t partake this time a massive drinks selection.

We spent a lovely afternoon in this pub. The drinks selection is vast, all served perfectly by friendly, attentive staff. Loved the 60s and 70s selection of rock music on low enough to be unobtrusive so we could have a good conversation. Will definitely be back soon

Nice friendly pub. Both staff and customers were friendly and chatty. Dogs are allowed in too. Cosy bar.

Fantastic pub. Great beer selection and the food is very good. I like the fact that they are dog friendly.

Popped in with mates on Sunday - friendly staff - superb beer choice on pump - a half century of craft ales bottled - traditional place - nice atmosphere - variety of seating including an upstairs - couldn't fault it - if return to Lancaster it will be top of the scooping venue list - I'll tell you what had a nice pint of a Swedish beer made with American hops - name escapes me but it went down a treat!

Having been discouraged from next doors Merchants pub we were made welcome in the Robert Gillow which was extremely busy. Bentley our lab soon found a space on the floor to rest. Drinks reasonably priced and the beer in very good condition.

Just been in The Robert Gillow for a drink and some lunch, nice atmosphere with really good background music. Both my wife and I had wine to drink which was fine. For eats I had the scampi basket which was plentiful and well cooked, my wife ordered the Croque Monsieur which unfortunately was not as it should be basically it was just a poor attempt at a ham and cheese toasty. My recollection of a Croque Monsieur is that the ham and cheese toastie has a bechamel sauce over it. Really disappointed and what was served should be advertised as ham and cheese toasty.

Nice meals and nice beers . Bit hard to get my legs around the beer barrel tables so moved to a normal one while eating .

This is a really nice cosy little place in the centre of Lancaster. We ate in the bar last Saturday and shared a bottle of red wine. The wine was reasonably priced at around £14 for a bottle of nice Shiraz. We ordered food and were impressed by the value for money. We had to return a side order of chips because they were a little overcooked. The owner couldn't do enough to make things right and quickly replaced, visiting our table twice later to check everything was ok, which it was - absolutely.

Visited on a couple of occasions whilst staying in Lancaster. A warm, friendly bar, with an excellent selection of beers. I was particularly impressed by the range of foreign bottled beers. Although I didn't eat the food being served looked good. Recommended!

We dropped in just after opening time. Good range of wine for me and an overwhelming beer and gin choice. Well worth a visit.

Small pub round corner from castle. Pleasant room with really polite lady behind bar. Good selection of local and foreign beers plus a good selection of gins.

After a day on a course myself and a group of work colleagues nipped in for a drink before catching the train home. We sat near the open fire to warm up and enjoy our lovely wine. Would definitely nip in again if ever passing

Had a sign in the window promoting a coffee and cake deal, so nipped in chocolate fudge cake was nice but would be nicer if served with cream. coffee was served in a beer glass. Bit unusual but well presented. Service was good barman nice and friendly. Would be 5 rating but cake deal was advertised at wrong price in the window.

Popped in monday afternoon to avoid the rain, unexpected surprise. Was quite quiet at the time the log fire a blaze the barman greeted us with a smile and invited us to sit at the table near so we could dry off. Drinks were cheap as it turns out its 50p off on mondays. Had a lovely chat with the owner who seems quite passionate about the place. Will be back again to try the food which looks quite simple but nice.

Went in on a Saturday lunch, warm, friendly atmosphere, fire twitching in the log burner. I had an amazing raspberry beer that I bet you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else in Lancaster. Had a great meal of cheesy nachos and a crispy chicken toasted sandwich. All fantastic, would definitely return again!

Went in for a quite drink on a Sunday, had a couple of lovely pints. Had a look at the menu and decided to stay for food. Cheesy nachos and chicken and chips...could not have been nicer. Staff were really friendly, will certainly be returning.

12.10pm looked through window and chairs and stools stacked on the tables checked the opening times on the door says opens at 10am on Saturdays walked in went up to the bar lass behind looked totally in interested got drinks 12.30 lass decides to take chairs off tables would not bother going in the Merchants is ten times better.

A lovely visit for myself and a visitor from China. We visited from 5 - 6pm, so not a busy time. Quiet and reasonably close to the train station (a 5 minute walk which was a key consideration). The barman was very helpful and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming. A nice place to go when all the cafes were shut. The visitor enjoyed her pint of a Lancaster Amber. The coffee wasn't fabulous but I know that's not the selling feature of this pub! It didn't matter because the visitor enjoyed herself and all of us liked the atmosphere. It would definitely be worth upping their game re the coffee. All the best cafes in Lancaster close at 4.30-5pm.

Went into this pub to shelter from the rain and so glad we did! Great range of beers, friendly, helpful staff and super ambiance. We ordered a sharing "slate" the pork pie one! Very tasty, decent pies, just the right amount for two to nibble on as a snack and nicely presented. Well done! A little oasis in the storm!!

Had been here a number of years ago and had been looking forward to this visit. The place was quiet when we arrived. I sat at a table whilst my husband went to the bar. There were several members of staff standing at the back chatting and completely ignored him. Obviously left. Found everyone in the other establishments we visited very welcoming.

A cracking little boozer. loads on offer. even the coffee is served in a half pint mug. the owner is a very nice feller. even employs a Grimsby lad. a must visit if your in town.

This is a lovely bar in an interesting building with an intriguing selection of beers from around the world- not cheap but different. Our stay was spoiled by the intrusive and annoying noise playing through the speakers.

Nice little bar. Lots of drinks options (especially beer drinkers!) Nice atmosphere. Would be a regular if I lived locally.

Popped in on a Saturday evening for food. Very attentive staff, great range of beers, cosy and clean. Food was so tasty, mezze style nibbles and very decent portions at a fair price.

Love this pub!!! Great choice of ales, great food and the coffee and cake are well worth the price. Staff are friendly and create a homely atmosphere. Highly recommended!!!

Huge coffee and cake for £3. Both were excellent. They use atkinsons coffee and the cake varies each time I have been but all have been very good .

The knowledgeable staff will guide you through the maze of different beers both in pumps and bottles and make sure you know what is best and where it has come from. Prices are fairly high for the bottles but they are specialist and you wont find them in other bars, and if you want them served Belgium style in the matching glass they will. The venue is good for a quiet chat with a special friend and to share a food platter, or for groups to meet and socialise perhaps before venturing on into Lancaster.

Great bar with excellent selection of drinks and beers. We didn't eat there but definitely one of the best places we visited in Lancaster for a nice drink.

Excellent bar with a chilled vibe. Plenty of seating areas available. Massive selection of beers on offer from around the world, was particularly a fan of the German beers on offer. Friendly knowledgeable staff behind the bar. Must visit!

We kwamen hier om wat te drinken, maar hebben uiteindelijk een grote selectie van de kaart besteld. Alles was top en even lekker. Echt een aanrader om lekker te borrelen.

Lovely pub after its recent refurbishment, but the state of the gents toilets on Saturday evening was disgusting. Smelt like they hadn't been cleaned for weeks. Been going to pubs for all my life and this is the first time I've felt the need to complain.

If you love real ale you'll love this pub! Staff cannot do enough for you. Very knowledgeable and a great range of ale from all over the world! Will be returning on our next visit to Lancaster!