New York Tavern, Rotherham

The New York Tavern was the best of the 23 pubs we tried in Yorkshire over the weekend. Located in the centre of Rotherham, not far from the New York Stadium, it has a proper old-fashioned boozer feel to it, with no TVs or gaming machines, just decent beers (and ciders) and conversation. The decor is very spartan, but the atmosphere is warm and friendly. All beers were from Chantry, who own the pub, whilst there were 2 ciders from Broadoak. The ales were Iron & Steel Bitter, Diamond Black Stout, New York Pale, Mighty Millers, Steelos & Cashmere Time. The ciders were Moonshine & Purple Haze. Really friendly place that is almost certainly the best pub in Rotherham.

Official site of New York Tavern - www.newyorktavern.co.uk

Official site of New York Tavern - www.newyorktavern.co.uk

Wedge-shaped pub, modestly refurbished by Chantry Brewery. You enter via the corner room which benefits from three large windows. The central bar area is well lit but the rear room is much darker. Fairly plainly decorated, with scattered small round / oval tables at the front and regulation rectangular tables at the back. Almost full range of eight of its ales plus Abbeydale Moonshine as a guest and two ciders from a total of 12 handpumps, from which I opted for the Iron & Steel Bitter (£2.20).

Formerly the Prince of Wales Feathers, this pub has recently been rejuvenated by the local Chantry Brewery, making it one of two ‘must-do’ pubs in Rotherham, along with the nearby Cutlers Arms. The pub has a simple two room layout. To the left is a rather basic lounge of sorts, with bench seating around the perimeter and a couple of standard tables and chairs in the middle of the room. The space is bare boarded, with a fireplace on the back wall and a good deal of Rotherham football memorabilia on show, including a few nice framed signed shirts. The right hand room is a larger area with the servery along the back wall, close to the doorway for the left hand room. The bar is a fairly simple affair, with a slightly angular counter which helps to ease congestion at the point where the two rooms meet. Seating runs along the front wall and in the rear right corner and there is plenty of additional football memorabilia on show, including an interesting painting of the team’s new stadium, which the pub shares a name with and which is just the other side of the river. The place was doing a roaring trade in the run up to a home fixture, with the smaller premises making it notably more cramped than the nearby Cutlers Arms. Chantry beers dominated the bar, with options including Mighty Millers, Diamond Black, Women of Steel, New York Pale, Stellos Pale, Iron and Steel, 18 Eight and one other, with at least one real cider and one guest as well, although I failed to note either. The staff were extremely efficient, so queues at the bar were at a minimum, despite the melee. I tried the Stellos Pale which I overheard a couple of chaps raving about, and thought it was fantastic, so much so that I risked missing kick-off in order to try a pint of the Diamond Black, which sadly was not quite up to scratch. This is a cracking little pub and exactly the sort of friendly, inclusive place I love spending time on football away trips. The folk from Chantry have done a great job here and I hope the pub continues to prosper as it is a fine addition to Rotherham’s ailing pub scene.

The New York Tavern is a shortish walk from the middle of Rotherham. The pub is wedged shaped,once inside the bar faces,there is a smallish area near the bar,there are more rooms either side of the main bar room,i had a drink in the room to the left which had comfy bench seating and small tables and chairs. There were too many micro beers on the bar to write down,i did notice five beers from the local Chantry brewery,i had a drink of Chantry Iron and Steel which was a very well kept beer at a reasonable price,the other Chantry beers i noted were New York Pale,Mighty Millers and Diamond Black Stout. This is a very pleasant pub,well worth the short walk. Pub visited 31/5/2014