please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
It's been several years since my first visit to Brigantes and I don't believe it was listed on here at the time. It was much busier than I remembered. But it still has a fine selection of ales. This time we also tried the food which was good. Service was attentive and friendly too. Ales on during our visit were Black Sheep Golden Sheep, Great Heck Chopper, York Nordic Fury, Elland 1872 Porter & Catch The Rainbow, Okells MPA, Brass Castle Vanaheim & Rams Head Bitter & Timothy Taylor Ram Tam. Cider was Orgasmic Sweet. The last time I came was before the York Tap opened and it is just about close enough to the station to allow for a fleeting visit whilst changing trains. But I'd stick at the station in the Tap if changing trains again. Nevertheless, Brigantes is worthy of a visit in its own right. Situated on the lively Micklegate strip, it can get quite busy at weekends.
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Always a good choice of well kept ales in this bar. 23 ciders and perries on this visit. Always a must in York and handy for the station.
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Café bar serving decent ales. Seems popular with large groups which can mean a bit of a wait to get served at times.
anonymous - 16 Feb 2015 21:05 |
A top pub in a city of top pubs.
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3rd pub of the day and for me this was by far the best.
I tried to get in here 3 months back on my last visit to York but ran out of time, I was not going to miss out this time around.
8 ales on the pumps and with a great choice in front of me I opted for a pint of Great Heck Brewery’s Navigator @ 3.9%
Again it was very busy in here and an orderly queue formed for the bar, the staff were extremely quick and getting served was no problem at all.
Massive range of bottled beers also on offer along with a few decent looking ciders. Breweriania all over the walls, church style bench seats, great beer and service what more does any ale drinker want ?
For me what more do I want in a bar / pub, nothing! Brigantes does it for me, this is an place and has to be on people tour map when drinking around York.
***Superb***
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Pleasant bar that ten years ago would have been a world beater! Beer i had was absolutely fine and staff were fine and other customers were fine and food looked fine. Fine.
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As others have posted, feels more like a wine bar than a pub. Can't fault the beer choice, however, as there are 10 on handpump. I had Taylor's Ram Tam and Thwaites Coiled Spring, both of which were excellent. I also had the good fortune to be in on Monday, which is pie night. For £10.95 I had a monstrous chicken and chorizo pie and a pint of Ram Tam - excellent value. A word too for the bar staff: all are young, enthusiastic and extremely welcoming. I especially admired the barman who, without prompting, went out to have a quiet word with a bunch of yahoos who were spoiling everyone else's night with what seemed to be a competition to produce the loudest and most irritating laugh in response to the most fatuous comments.
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Boring pub with little to no atmosphere fulfilling the ale drinker's dream of offering countless beers yet only a couple lagers.
Staff were indeed polite but with how quiet and stale an atmosphere there was, you'd be better off drinking indoors.
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Went in today, hung around for five minutes. No sign of any bar staff. Eventually walked out and went to Wetherspoons. This would not have happened in Ian Fozard's day. There are an increasing numbed of fabulous real ale pubs in York, and the Brigantes need to appreciate this.
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Still like this place having been soon after it opened. it seems to have grown into next door as well. Ale choice still good with a constantly updated blackboard. We ate there, not brilliant, but nothing detracts for the great beers.
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Proper real ale pub with a range of mostly local real ales - I counted 9 on tap that day. There is also a 'beer menu' blackboard above the bar to make help you make your choice (name/brewery/ABV% etc). Pub is decorated in a modern 'wine bar' style and the friendly service is excellent from apparently knowledgeable staff - I'm sure you could take a pint back to the bar if it wasn't 100% right, although the beers we sampled were excellent. There is also a selection of foreign bottled beers available although we didn't try these. Beers available on my visit included Bah Humbug (Ossett), Guzzler and IPA (York Brewery - brewed in the next street), Mary Christmas (Ilkley), Spicecracker (Treboom) and Buckeye (Rooster's).
Definitely worth a visit.
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Wine bar atmosphere, good ales, Leeds gold very good. Two friendly bar staff who knew the ales working on Saturday morning (03/11). Well worth the visit.
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I meant cheeks, not chins... Nice pint of Leeds Pale Ale (2.98�) and they had LaChouffe! (@ 4.95� reasonable)
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Very good selection on Belgium beers (even Kwak on draught). Girl behind the bar was very friendly, even though she had the Ukrainian colors on her chins. (we all know the score now...). Place was full that Tuesday evening.
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The beer is great and the staff are very nice. However as for the food...I have had the burgers here a couple of times and was quite shocked at how tiny they were - child size. I wouldn't mind it there had been a warning on the menu - e.g. if it had said "fun-size burger". However the price certainly wasn't fun-size. I think someone should show the owners a copy of the trade descriptions act. Like I say, great beer and staff, and I would have given it an '8' or a '9' if the food portion sizes were a little less...dishonest.
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Having visited the Old Bell in Harrogate in years gone by which is owned by the same company, I could see strong similarities in approach - namely a veritable arsenal of cask ale (mostly local and around 10 on pump), a range of more unusual imported draught/bottled beer, contemporary but not stark leaning in the interior design, a younger-orientated but not exclusively youthful clientele, and a smart, well-heeled sort of vibe. OH, and the food looked to be on the money too. So far, so good.
I was actually pretty comfortable with all this; the ale flowed freely and everything I sampled (please don't ask - I can't remember!) was found to be in great nick as the Beer Guide promised. The barmaid was chatty and knew how to pour proper pintage. The England vs France rugby match was on and there was a jolly camaraderie bubbling away on the back of that - and our unexpected win albeit by a whisker. I'd say it was a nice counterpoint to some of the more traditional boozers me and my two chums had visited during the weekend.
But things seemed to take a slight turn for the worse latterly; my mates seemed to get the hump with the place having apparently enjoyed it well enough before. Maybe it was just too much beer talking on our part and that was leading to fractiousness, but they definitely received the idea that they were somehow being looked down upon. One of us - possibly me I'm afraid - did take the liberty of letting off a modestly-audible belch while standing at the bar, and the response from the barmaid was shall we say terse, along the lines of "belches are banned". Hmm. I took this is good part as it's not something everyone wants to hear, but in a pub it is something of an occupational hazard to overhear wind of all kinds being passed! In any case, others I was with decided they felt Brigantes was a tad too snooty, and so in the dual interests of not causing a fuss and always wanting to try somewhere new, we supped up and moved along.
A shame, because essentially I don't think this is an inherently bad pub in any way, but maybe the smart students-about-town and we're-a-cut-above mentality can just take the shine off for some.
It's still a good score though from me if only for the beer quality and range.
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On form. Now 10 hand pumps, but all with good turnover! Agree staff superb, nothing appears to be a problem even when busy busy or the coffee machine is playing up...excellent.
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Market Town Taverns have indeed ben taken over - by Heron & Brearley who run Okells on the Isle of Man but also have pubs in England. We are told that nothing will change and the MD of MTT is staying on with the new owners.
Anyway,all that said Brigantes is a terrific pub with an excellent selectoin of beers (as has the whole of York!!). We ate here for the first time - try the Shank of Pork if it's available. Very efficient and helpful staff and cheery too! Lots of breweriana on the walls but its not a spit and sawdust boozer - it caters for both drinkers and diners in equal measure. Handy for the York Brewery round the corner. Well worth a visit.
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Now then...news today that the Market Town Tavern pubs are to be taken over by O'Kells of IOM. Probably no problem except that we might see O'Kells in the pubs! At the expense of what one might ask?
Black Sheep, no problem! but, say, interesting Yorkshire micros...mmm!
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I have visited the pub many times and if you like a decent pint, decent service and an overall top pub this is a must when visiting York.
Super York beers like Guzzler and Terrier supported by micro beers from all over Yorkshire. The Samba is always in good order and the others are just as nice !!
This place is well worth a visit....
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A good pub with good beer, if you find yourself on Micklegate then well worth popping in.
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Well deserving of its CAMRA York & Scarborough pub of the year 2011. Good beer, good atmosphere, good staff.
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It had Green Valley real cider when I visited - but at �3.95! Most expensive pint of cider I've ever had.
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Popped in the other day. Nicely served pint of real ale. Prices ok. In many a town this would stand up as a good pub however there are so many real ale pubs in York that it only just stands out from the crowd. Decor is ok but a bit sterile. Would go again but there are so many good pubs in York.
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Very little to add to Pablo's review below. This is a very pleasant boozer on Micklegate supporting a decent range of beers which on my visit included Leeds Pale, Black Sheep Bitter, TT Golden Best, Copper Dragon Black Gold and York Guzzler. Black Gold was a delicious dark pint and if ale's not your thing there's a large range of continental lagers. Seemed to be doing a good trade with the after work crowd which included a loud bunch of women drinking cider (groan). The room towards the back looked homely and appeared to have more character than the front, and pump climps adorn the walls alongside old style prints and brewery adverts.
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I would agree with the last reviews entirely. But it is now so popular (OK Summer!) that the knowledgable staff spend half their time clearing up...glasses, dishes etc...the place needs a "sweeper" so that there is always someone on't bar. The beer prices must justify such a person!
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Exceptionally good pub (which does feel like a pub, despite the title 'bar and brasserie') considering its location amidst other venues offering the delights of 'jagerbombs' and'trebles 4 singles'. Like the other Market Town Taverns pubs, Brigantes is a wooden-floored, music-free pub with a very firm emphasis on beer, sporting both a good bank of 8 handpulls and a good range of other options for non-ale drinkers, none of them from the usual suspects ie. Marston's Oyster Stout and Warsteiner lager in place of Guinness and Stella; it is essentially a pub to come to for a drink and a chat, as well as being good for a quick pint with a book before the 5 minute walk to York station.
As for the beer, like the other MTT pubs there is a bias towards Yorkshire, with York and Taylor's always represented (currently Taylor's Dark Mild) as well as guests from the likes of Leeds, Elland and Salamander. At present there are also representatives from Thwaites of Lancashire and Durham of County Durham. I've never had a bad pint here yet, as all seem to be exceptionally well-kept.
Finally, a word for the staff - uniformly pleasant and knowledgeable, they top up pints without asking, are able to advise for drinkers unfamilar with the offerings and to offer free tasters. They, on top of everything else, bump this up to a 10/10.
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Great pub from the small Market Town Taverns chain, who have several pubs in the Yorkshire area. Good range of local beers.
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Great range of beer, and in our experience the bar staff were friendly, attentive and knowledgeable. The decor too is pleasing.
The downside was the food. It was just okay, a little overpriced and took ages to come out to us.
Well worth a visit for a pint and a chat, but I wouldn't recommend going for dinner.
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If you are looking for a cafe/resteraunt with beer (rather than a good old drinking pub to spend an evening in) then this is probably it. 8 beers on mainly from local breweries such as Elland, Tim Taylor, Leeds and York plus a few non-local brews priced around the �2.50 mark.
Service still not very good.
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Great pub backing on to the York Brewery. We only went in there to kill time while wating for a brewery tour but I'm very glad we did. There was a lambic on which I had to try, having heard so much about lambic beers and it was good but nothing out of the ordinary. We had a sandwich which was excellent. Although there were several handpumps available and the "house" lager was a German import I recognised but can't for the life of me remember I opted for a bottled M�rzen for my second beer. On reading the label I found that it had been brewed in the U.S???
While we were there a couple walked in and the chap asked for John Smiff's. Having been told that wasn't available he asked for Tetley Smooth. Not being able to get that he asked for Carlsberg. He was given a taster of the house lager and declaring he didn't like it he left. He obviously didn't like beer you can taste.
When our time for the brewery tour was due the barman (landlord?) let us out the back straight into the brewery yard!
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Splendid spot for family groups or newspaper readers. Child and dog friendly (the dog gets a biscuit and a bowl of water!) Eight hand pulled with a regular in Black Sheep. Always a representative from Taylors (though not Landlord...too expensive it seems), and the splendid Leeds and York breweries.
Guests mainly from Yorkshire, though recent forays into Derbyshire have proved interesting.
I'm told that the food is always freshly prepared, so can be a bit slow but I've never had a poor lunch...served daily, and all day Saturday.
All in all, a great place.
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I thought I would hate this place, but far from it. Although modern it has a good pub feel with lots of booth & table seating. Good range of well kept beer. Food (or the meal I had anyway) was excellent. Very busy, full of all ages which must be a rarity these days. A pub where everyone can feel comfortable with a good lively atmosphere.
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A superb establishment, quality with a capital "Q" for traditional food, bitter [excellent Black Sheep] ambience and hospitality.
Both me and my mate were very impressed with the outcome.A great result unlike the York City game that was postponed due to their perennial problem; the waterlogged pitch.
Paul1 - 23 Mar 2010 22:20 |
Excellent food and beer, good atmosphere, reasonable prices. Feels more like a pub than a restaurant, staff very friendly.
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Good food reasonable prices. Good ales again at reasonable prices. Real good attempt at creating a old feel in a new place.
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Excellent food and ales. Well worth a visit. Congratulations on making a new bar such as this so good.
alexw - 17 Feb 2010 17:43 |
I can understand the good reviews - so why is it that every time I go there, the service is crap? The only bar person is always serving ten coffees!
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Absolutely exceptional pub, have been raving about to all who will listen ever since visiting yesterday evening!
Eight real ales on the handpumps, all kept and served impeccably. Also a wide range of imported lagers and beers. Service was exceptional, I cannot praise the young lady and gentleman at the bar enough, both were doing a wonderful job. I felt as welcome as if I had been a regular for years and the staff genuinely appeared to care about their products and customers.
I also had the pleasure of sampling the food and again, perfect. I would gladly have paid twice the money in a decent restaurant for what was presented to me, delicious!
Will definitely return next time I'm in York, not to be missed!
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Cask ale oasis on the Micklegate vomit-trail.
Must admit I was initially a little put off by the 'brasserie' moniker, fearing a Continental-style place, but the place is pubby enough, if not remarkably so.
However, this is made up for by the excellent rage of ales, with TT Golden best, Saltaire Raspberry Blonde, Tring Mansion, Tring Sidepocket, York Guzzler, Black Sheep Riggwelter, Leeds Yorkshire Gold and Hambleton Bitter. Also a wide range of Continental beers available. Guzzler excellent as ever, tried the Saltaire which I usually like but this one was a bit floral for me.
The pub is one room on split levels, unremarkable but pleasant, with the rear area probably more characterful, with its side-mounted lamps, booths, and rustic old brewery posters.
Food is also served and has a fine reputation, and I can vouch that it's deserved.
Really enjoyed it here and look forward to returning.
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Traveled there with our friends from Birmingham (hi Gill!) and found this place to be very lovely. 6 real ale pulls most of which were guests I believe (Leeds Brewery, York, Hesket, Hawkshead) but all of which were in good shape. The Hesket Imperial Russian Stout at 8.3 was nice...for a half, but we all were surprised to see the Belgian gem Kwak on draft and had a sampling! Friendly and helpful bar staff and very clean surroundings make for Brigantes a place well worth visting!
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A chain pub owned by Market Town Tavern but don't let that put you off as this pubco obviously knows how to do things properly & are proud to state that they have no beer tie. This building is a large, square single room on 2 levels. Plenty of beer memorabilia on the walls. Huge variety of European & world beers as well as about 8 handpumps. Very friendly & knowledgeable staff. I had a Hawkshead Jingle Fells & tried a bottle of Goose Island IPA from Chicago. Well worth a visit.
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Another visit yesterday to this fine bar with its excellent ales and we spent a bit of time here as there were a lot of different ales on the bar. After a taster of the Hesket Newmarket Russian Imperial Stout at 8.3% we opted for the Hawkshead Jingle Fells and Hesket Newmarket Haystacks. Saw they had Pauwel Kwak on draught at 8.4% and couldn't resist that, so decided to go for the Imperial Stout too! Lovely atmosphere, and the young lady looked up the meaning of gill in imperial measurements for us and our friends from Texas. Really is a great place to go.
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Always one I visit when in York and enjoyed Kelham Island Fairytale in New York, and Leeds Ale Mary this visit. Food menu always looks good, and although we didn't eat at this visit we will be back before we go home.
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Visited on October 17, 2009.
Back to back with the York Brewery.
Eight real ales on tap, two ciders.
A good selection of foreign beers including a number of German and Belgian on tap. All in all around thirty different beers and a very nice assortment.
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I was certainly looking forward to this bar from previous comments, it was ok, there was a good range of beers even though ours were not at their best. There were kids running around so it wasn't relaxed. I would visit again, but there are better pubs nearby.
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Great place. Wish i went in before. Good beer range, excellent menu but have not tried the food. Will be back.
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Went in for the first time yesterday and very impressed. Well kept cask ales plus a wide choice of continentals too.
The food menu looked good although we didn't eat.
Not a traditional pub but still worth a visit!
alexw - 25 Aug 2009 20:07 |
Perfect for a pint to drown your sorrows after losing money at York races. When I popped in recently, the beer range was excellent, the condition of the beer perfect and the service prompt and friendly.
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We planned a few drinks on a Friday afternoon in York and used this site to suss out old favourites and some new pubs. Started in Brigantes, but this was a mistake as we never got any further. Very pleasant although as someone else commented it's not a trad pub. Part of the small Market Town Taverns Group we had unknowingly visited a couple of their other pubs (in Northallerton and Wetherby) and had a good result there too. The food is good, the beer excellent including Daleside Blonde and a good Addlestones cider. Definitely a favourite.
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Oh dear. Having recommended this pub I was somewhat embarrassed by the quality of service and the attitude to customers. We ordered food - warning bells should have rung when the barperson considered a request for either bread or chips with mussels to be somewhat outlandish.
When the mussels arrived they had clearly decided to audition for the role of raisins at a fancy dress party, having apparently had no contact with the weissbier and garlic sauce that had been so prominently advertised, with an odour all their own. When questioned they were referred to the chef, and then we were reassured that they were "fresh". Putting the customer in the wrong is not a recipe for repeat business, so we left and moved elsewhere.
A great shame, because the other food, ambience and beer were up to their usual high standards.
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Standing out from the obviousness that marks out most of the rest of The Run, this puts the beer before the brawl. The sensaround of pumpclips from the past on the north wall is something to behold, and everything the current clips were attached to more than passed muster too. Be prepared to have to muscle past the usual Run crew to get there, but well worth it
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This is indeed more a of a brasserie than a classic York pub, which I think is most welcome when done well - which Brigantes certainly is.
Based on two levels, with an 'upstairs' bar level and a lower eating and drinking level. The lower level has some nice booths to slide into, which gives the place a little bit of pub-factor.
The range and quality of beer (real ale as well as some continental choices) was excellent, as was the service - the staff seem genuinely proud to be working here.
The atmosphere and ambience on a busy evening was relaxed, but with a definite vibe of chatter of enjoyment going on.
Didn't sample the food but noted its availability - would give it a try next time I'm there.
All in all, a super place and highly recommended for the discerning drinker and pub-goer.
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Great selection of ales, very reasonably priced.
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Something a bit different to the regular York pubs, but still a few decent real ales on, together with the continental lagers.
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The exterior wasn't all that promising, something of the Chelsea/Hampstead wine bar look about it. But a CAMRA endorsement on a board outside drew me in, and very glad that it did am I. Half a dozen ales on of which the major discovery for me was First Gold, all served by highly efficient and civil bar staff. This seems a pub for all seasons. Lacking in muzak it supports unstrained conversation, convivial enough for groups of socialites yet just as welcoming to those in search of a quiet corner to sit alone with either book, paper or fantasies. During my visit the lads bounded in, on a quest for hangovers and vomit and after noisily announcing their arrival they found all attempts at scandalizing the regulars failing dismally, only to depart fifteen minutes later. quieter, somewhat confused that they had been subdued by the civilised atmosphere and to presumably head off to The Priory. Good work.
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One of the Market Town Tavern small chain of pubs (10 I think). Converted from a shop so fairly rectangular in shape. Always has a great range of ever changing beers on tap, often involving Roosters, York and Leeds. Serves really great pub grub, it's a little more expensive than you'd expect, but when it arrives it's well worth it. Has been no smoking since it opened so everything is still looks very fresh, even though it's been open a few years now. Great place..
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Late review from November visit. Always on my list of pubs to go to for the beer, and the food is worth trying too. Enjoyed the Leeds, Fernandes and Wentworth beers. As the Wentworth was a Strawberry one, they gave me a taste of the foreign Timmermans strawberry beer and it knocked the Wentworth well into the shade.
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Excellent beer, excellent food and service. Quiet on a lunchtime - looks as though it can cope with busy times as well.
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Marvellous beer and delicious food. Been here several times when visiting York and the food has always been excellent. Also has a good choice of foreign bottled beers. A mixture of groups, couples and singles so anyone should feel relaxed due to the friendly atmos.
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Another fantastic York pub. More like a brasserie than the classic pub but with expertly kept beer. An oasis of civilisation on the lager swamp known as Micklegate. Service can be a bit slow but only because they take care when pulling a pint. The food was excellent as well. Quite possibly the BEST steak & ale pie I've ever had. I take that back. It was the best steak & ale pie I've ever had.
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Lost a couple of hours of my life yesterday awaiting the train choas to subside (it didn't!) enjoying several pints of superbly kept real ale and a nice sunday lunch. Lovely.
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Popped in here on my own for a swift one when visiting York on business trip. Felt comfortable despite being on my jack jones. 7 ales on as I recall including Leeds Best, a Castle Rock ale, York Terrier. I enjoyed a pint of Kelham Island Easy rider that was tip top. Intend to visit again at some point.
Slake - 13 Jun 2008 21:59 |
Excellent range of real ales, cider and bottled beers, however this pub is trying too hard - little atmosphere, sirly staff.
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I picked up a Christmas menu for this pub in my local in Birmingham, and as we were going for Christmas called in for a meal on 23rd. We were not disappointed by either the excellent food or the choice of real ales on offer, and enjoyed particularly the Leeds Midnight Bell. Excellent.
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You know you're onto a winner when the first thing you see on the door is a sign saying that hen/stag parties are not admitted - deserves 10/10 just for that. Even better is the looks on the faces of the knuckleheaded yahoos who discover that the place doesn't serve Becks or similar fizzy bottled crap. They even have a beer menu ... truly heaven on earth.
What the place *does* serve is a fantastic range of German and Belgian beers along with a good selection of hand-pulled real ales. No smoking throughout (although that doesn't really matter now) but clean, civilised and quiet, in stark contrast to the other hell-holes on Micklegate.
Serves food which is apparently very good - haven't tried it myself as I was rather preoccupied with the beers. Neither York or (especially) Micklegate deserve an establishment like this, but it truly deserves to succeed and I hope it does.
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Excellent range of well-kept beer, a taster of things to come when the smoking ban hits in July. Such a pleasure to walk in a place that smells clean - not disinfected clean, either, just CLEAN. Relaxed atmosphere on a Sunday lunchtime, just hope it can keep itself above the circuit grot-holes that surround it...
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Staff helpful & friendly. Food good quality and well presented, but a bit pricey. Would go again
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Love it! Beer in good nick. No smoking. Not tried the food yet but heard good reports. Not yer typical Micklegate pub thank goodness!
alanl - 28 Jan 2007 01:45 |
I look forward to all pubs having such a clean atmosphere. No smoking throughout-great. It's quite a busy pub so we reserved a table for 6 to have an evening meal a couple of nights after Christmas and we were not disappointed. The food was excellent. It serves a good range of changing ales and Belgium beers.
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A great selection of both home grown beers and Euro wheat beers. Nice atmosphere on the crappest of drinking streets in town.
My only concern, every business that has had the premises for the last 10 years has failed shortly after opening. Hopefully this place will last.
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Great pub. Helpfull staff, huge selection of beers and lagers and is totally non-smoking. Really nice place that's always kept clean.
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Slight correction, it's a Market Town Tavern. Market Taverns pubs are in London and Surrey.
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My only gripe about this pub is that it pretends not to be a pub at all, but a "bar and brasserie", like all the others in the Market Tavern chain. It's a pub!!
And what a pub. Clean air, a great range of beers, and reasonable (for York) prices. The helpful staff know what they're doing, too, which always helps. For choice alone this pub goes straight into York's top ten. Unmissable.
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A new bar / pub that is aimed at the real ale market. 6+ hand pulled on tap. Beers were nice, and surroundsings fairly pleasant. It had the feeling of an irish theme bar, because of dark wooden flooring, and chairs, tables etc. But nice. Decorated with beer labels all over the walls.
One to visit for the beers for sure, will be interesting to see how it stands test-of-time.
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