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North Wales Live

North Wales taproom and restaurant serving tapas with a Welsh twist

A popular craft beer brewery business has recently opened up a restaurant and taproom in Mold. Polly's Social is located at the Daniel Owen precinct in the town centre. Owner of Polly's Brew Company, Sean Wheldon has lived in and around Mold his whole life. Sean launched the company aged 25, from his grandad's farm stable and the brewery was named after his horse, Polly. The craft beer company has come on leaps and bounds over the years, rapidly growing from humble beginnings of brewing on the farm to reinforcing their position as the highest rated brewery in Wales. They are also among the highest rated in the UK as a whole, and their beer has been sold in Marks and Spencer. The open plan taproom has become a destination taproom for their loyal legion of fans who have been chomping at the bit for a venue to enjoy Polly's closest to the source. The venue has a bold, shiny, modern, industrial look with televisions on the wall, which show off the Polly's brewing process. The tables are a mix between communal or more private seating for the anti-social, such as myself. Behind us, there was a huge logo of Polly's Social on the wall with framed art prints of Polly's craft design labels on the opposite side. Polly's Social has about twenty-three beers on tap, including five hand pulled options, as well as in-house roasted coffee and a line of spirits and wine. To try and pick one, out of a choice of twenty-three is really difficult. However, they do let you try a small sample. I don't think I have ever tasted a bad Polly's beer, so you can't really go wrong. My wife chose a half of one of their pale ale core beers. Floret, which is a delicious hazy juice bomb of a beer, bursting with peach, mango, and orange notes from its Citra and Simcoe hops. I ordered a half of Polly's Welsh Black Nitro Stout, which you can only get at the tap room. Stouts are back in fashion and this one didn't disappoint with a tang of rich coffee, dark chocolate, burnt toffee and even a bit of raisin. The nitrogen ensured a white creamy head on top of the glorious black stuff. The clientele was not what I was expecting at lunch time, with quite a lot of locals and elderly people eating, rather than the bearded tattoo stereotype of craft beer drinkers. The menu is split into three categories of grazing dishes, small plates or Sunday roasts. But does the food quality match the premium reputation of Polly's beer? Well, we were about to find out. As it was lunch time we decided to go for the light grazing dishes menu, where as you can choose any 3 for £18 between Wednesday to Saturday 12-3pm. The first dish we ordered arrived from the kitchen almost immediately. We started off proceedings with a starter of confit garlic focaccia, which we dipped into a dish of Welsh Blodyn Aur rapeseed oil with a balsamic glaze. The spongy bread was perfect for sharing with a soft and fluffy inside and its famous signature chew. The next dish to arrive on our table was a Polly's Beef Burger Slider. This mini burger may have been small but it was packed full with flavour due to the grain fed juicy beef patty. It was covered with a delicious house burger sauce along with sloppy melted cheese and crisp onions. It wasn't easy to share, but we managed to cut it in half and got stuck in. The burger was absolutely delicious and was too good to share to be honest. Next up, was 'Tatws Bravas', a Welsh version of the popular Spanish tapas dish. The lightly fried cubed potatoes were smothered in a sweet and smoked bravas sauce with a splash of aioli on the top. It was a bit messy to eat, but what's a bit of spill amongst friends? Last but not least was the IPA brine jerk chicken, which was a Polly's beer marinated boneless chicken thigh alongside some red cabbage slaw. The juicy and succulent chargrilled tinged meat packed a bit of heat, which meant a glug of Polly's beer after every bite. Glorious stuff. Other choices on the grazing menu included Polly's beef sausage, crab scones, salt and pepper corn ribs or house harsh browns. The small plates menu was fairly similar to the grazing dishes only with more choice and bigger. The Sunday roasts menu looked really interesting with choices such as modern apple glazed pork loin, grain fed sirloin or oyster mushroom wellington. Desserts included things like banana bread, rum pineapple, fudge stout brownies and house waffles for £8 each. We mooched over to pay the bill and vowed to return to try one of the other beers on the next visit. I am more than happy to report that the quality of the food at Polly's Social easily matches the premium quality and reputation of their fruity and juicy IPAs. And that is one very serious high bar to reach. Polly's Social - The Facts We ordered: IPA brine jerk chicken £6 Tatws Bravas £6 Polly's Beef Burger Slider £6 Confit garlic focaccia £5 Floret £2.30 Polly's Welsh Black Nitro Stout £2.50 Total: £27.80 Opening Times: Monday – Closed Tuesday 5pm – 10.30pm Wednesday and Thursday 11am – 10.30pm Friday 11am – 11.30pm Saturday 10.30am – 11.30pm Sunday 11.30am – 10.30pm Atmosphere: Cooler than a polar bear Car Parking: Public car park across the road £1.50 Disabled Access: Full disabled access Service: Beer-y happy to see you Overall: One of the most highly rated breweries in the UK, opens a tap room in Mold. Find It: Polly's Social New Unit 4, Daniel Owen Centre Mold CH7 1AP