Black Swan Hotel, York

An old and slightly rambling hotel overlooking the market place with a cosy, wood-panelled bar at the far right. Black Sheep and Doom Bar were present on handpump. Nowhere near as homely as the other pubs nearby - perhaps ok if passing but I wouldn't want to spend any time here.

One of two hotels in the Market Place, a multi room affair with a small public bar, “the East Bar” at the right hand end of the building, it has its own door but is connected to the rest of the building. Very nicely decorated in an older style with bent wood chairs and stools and a corner banquette all at round wooden tables, one with tall stools is posing height. There are other sitting rooms about the place in similar style. The counter is part panelled and part pallet wood, this is home to a couple of four way T-Bars and tucked in the corner are two hand pulls. Doombar on one and Black Sheep Bitter, which was in good nick, on the other. Normal Molson Coors kegs. There’s another bar at the other end with a similar or maybe smaller range of kegs and a couple of pulls, WhatPub says it has a large range of whiskies but the bar was shut so I couldn’t check, it may be a residents only bar. The hotel is owned by the Inn Collection Group who own 20 or so hotels across Northern England and one on Anglesey.

Definitely a hotel with a public bar, rather than a pub. Two cask ales available at the time of my visit - Black Sheep Bitter and Baa Baa Pale Ale. I had the Baa Baa which was fine, £1.90 for a half, and in good nick. The bar was initially unattended so there was a delay in being served. In addition to the two cask ales are keg Guinness and a keg font with five taps offering Peroni, Asahi, Aspall Cider, Kezel and My Generation (the last two being ones I have not heard of before). There was a real fire going and at the time of my visit (a Wednesday afternoon in December, around 1:20pm) it was catering to predominantly older clientele. A chap was tidying up and clearing tables etc. I can't really pick fault with the place but it wasn't somewhere I felt particularly comfortable and I was happy to sup my drink and leave.