The Station Inn, Whitby

Another comprehensive review by PSM below. Friendly, but very boisterous on both our visits. The beer selection is good, but I'm not sure they have the turnover in Winter to support so many pumps. My beers were OK, but not outstanding. Not my personal favourite in town and Ms CAMRA really didn't take to it at all.

This is a very appealing, multiple room pub just over the road from Whitby station, with a nicely appointed interior that straddles the fine line between traditional and contemporary. Entering through a small front porch, you follow a passageway with rooms off to either side and the main bar area in an opened-out space to the rear. The first room you pass is a compact front public bar on the left, which offers some limited seating options around the perimeter and has access to a nice dark wood servery at the rear, with beer boards listing the full ale range on the canopy. Seating is mainly in the form of pews and chairs, arranged economically in this cramped space, creating a room that felt quite homely and convivial. A little further down the passageway, a door to the right leads into a slightly larger side room with nice dark floorboards and plain painted walls plus a very large brick arch fireplace, which is so big that an entire table with two chairs has been set up in the hearth. Dark wood beams along the ceiling and a selection of old breweriana help to give the room the feel of a traditional pub lounge, although this was offset somewhat by a TV screen showing muted highlights from the Olympics, with a dartboard positioned to one side, albeit with a table beneath it, making it impossible to use. The passage eventually empties out into the large rear bar where a similar servery to that in the public bar, can be found at the front of the room. Beer boards can be found to one side of the bar and there are plenty of tables and chairs set up towards the rear and side of the room, with a good amount of standing room retained loser to the servery. Decor is again quite traditional, with plenty of dark wood mixed in against an otherwise plain colour scheme. The very rear of the room had been set up for live music and an Irish band were just striking up as I was heading out – prior to that, piped music was lost under the general hubbub of a popular pub. The beer boards listed a healthy selection of ales, supported by the high levels of turnover that summer evenings in Whitby generate. Cask options on this visit were Whitby Jet Black and Abbey Blonde, Theakston Old Peculiar, Ossett Silver King and Yorkshire Blonde, Rat White Rat, Taylor Landlord and of course, Sharps Doom Bar. A cheery barman gave me a hearty welcome and poured me an excellent pint of the Jet Black, that I could’ve quite happily sat and drank all night, had our schedule allowed. I really warmed to this place that seemed to be popular with locals and tourists alike, generating a great early evening atmosphere enhanced by the consumption of some top-notch beer in comfortable, traditional surrounds. One of the best pubs I found in town, I’d make this one of my first ports of call the next time I’m in town.

Enjoyed our visit to this 2019 Good Beer Guide bar. Chose Big Smoke Solaris session pale and Whitby Jet Black, both of which were fine.

Good pub opposite the train station with a good selection of beers on. There were 7 on when I called in including Black Sheep, Camerons Strongarm and Whitby Jet Black. I went for the Whitby beer and it was in good shape. A must do for me if I visit Whitby again.