With over 300 pubs in York is it time to abandon Tru, Gallery and Ziggys for the more traditional joints of the city? The intrepid residents of Alcuin G Block set out to discover…
1. The Bay Horse (Marygate)
Ok, I have to admit, this wasn’t the best start. We ended up on the other side of town, in a pub that resembled something usually tacked onto a Travelodge and when we walked in everyone stared at us in a slightly eerie way. All your normal beers, but only a few real ales, the decor was bland and uninviting and the people looked like extras from Heartbeat. Not awful, but certainly not York’s finest!
2. The Minster Inn (Marygate)
This is more like it! This pub does feel slightly more like someone’s home, but that’s its charm. To the right, a great range of proper ales. To the left, a living room pub area which feels like it has been lifted from one of the upbeat scenes from Billy Elliot. It even comes equipped with victorian games and an outside toilet! Just don’t do what one of my friends did and say that you don’t really like Yorkshire. This is frowned upon!
3. The Bootham Tavern (Bootham)
I am not that good at directions. I did have a route planned for this pub crawl, but this is where it started to go off kilter when we just wandered in here. Not the worst place to stumble into though. Perfectly nice atmosphere, quite cheap drinks and a decent selection of beers on tap. However, it’s nothing that special. And when in York (land of the pubs) I demand something special. We valiantly marched on to…
4. The Exhibition (Bootham)
If you want the British version of Cheers this would be it. Locals, fire in the corner, square bar and Ted Danson. (I may have made one of those up). A few good ales and a happy chappy barman made this pub seem welcoming and traditional.
5. The Hole in the Wall (High Petergate)*
From what I can remember this pub feels like your typical York watering hole. Real stone walls, beams on the ceiling and friendly staff. But there is a horrible pattern occuring here. With only a few exceptions most York pubs have “a few good ales”. For a city dubbed the city of the pub with over 300 bars to its name, is it really good enough to only have 2 or 3 Yorkshire ales on tap?
6. Three Legged Mare (High Petergate)
A modern and airy pub with a wider than usual selection of beers on tap and a good atmosphere, this pub has managed to abandon the slightly cliched Ye Olde Pubbe decor, but kept the drinking house atmoshpere. The only worrying thing was the multiple men in tweed roaming around.
*I might as well admit at this point my abilities as a critic were getting hazy as my reviewer’s antennae were becoming slightly confused by the numerous pints I had been drinking. (We really shouldn’t have gone to The Courtyard and the Derry beforehand)!