The Baum – a cosy pub in the heart of Rochdale serving nostalgic, top-class pub grub

One of the best things about pubs is that they come in all different shapes and sizes – there are fancy gastropubs, sit and drink in silence pubs, historic pubs with fireplaces, modern pubs with plywood and craft beer, and then those pubs that just take you back to your younger years.

One such delightfully traditional pub is The Baum, where cosy nooks meet nostalgic dinners and great beers.

Rochdale town centre gets a bit of a bad rap (the high street is a repeating pattern of charity shop, betting shop, vape/phone repair shop) but it feels like a new dawn could be on the horizon.

Firstly, Rochdale Town Hall’s transformation is almost complete, with the magnificent Grade I-listed building set to reopen to the public in a few short weeks.

There are some brilliant restaurants opening up here too that are worth travelling to the very edges of the tram network for, like Bombay Brew (Indian street food and craft beers) and Vinesteins (melted cheese heaven).

And then there’s all Rochdale’s history that’s being carefully preserved, like the Toad Lane conservation area in which The Baum pub is located.

Up on this cobbled street, with its green tiled front, its stained glass windows and its old-fashioned ironwork, it looks straight out of a museum.

Inside, too, it feels unchanged, down to its vintage artwork and its wooden central bar.

On the menu you’ll find plenty of proudly northern nostalgia, like rag puddings, bangers and mash, and pot pies, but a little taste of the 21st century with an occasional katsu curry and a bit of hummus thrown in.

The Baum has also, like basically every food and drink establishment in the entire world, been infiltrated by small plates. There is no escaping small plates.

Theirs are three for £19 and include garlic and herb mushrooms with such a powerful hit of garlic you can feel it in your lungs, creamy hummus with flatbread, and really quite exceptional house-fried chicken on a generous smear of lemon and thyme aioli.

When the weather is being the most Manchester weather imaginable (sideways rain and a sky the colour of pewter), there’s no better fix than a cheese and onion pie.

The Baum’s comes in a neat cube that collapses into a gooey mess, with thick-cut school dinner chips on the side and, of course, baked beans.

And carrying on with our kid-friendly adult dinner, the humble fish finger sandwich has been kicked into a new gear with flaky battered fish balancing inside a warm ciabatta roll.

We’ve overdosed on carbs too much to even humour a pudding, but if you’ve left room you’ll find sticky toffee puddings, various tarts, and cheesecake.

With its cosy, old-fashioned interior and its well-executed menu, The Baum is sure to stand the test of time.

Read more

• Inside Rochdale Town Hall’s multi-million pound transformation before it opens to the public
• These north west gastropubs have just been named as some of the top 50 in the UK
• Manchester’s fanciest new restaurant hailed as ‘utterly bonkers’ and ‘terrific’ by national critic Jay Rayner

Featured image: The Manc Group