The Swan, York

The Swan is a fantastic Grade II listed inter-war built pub, modeled in the late Victorian style and retaining a great number of original features. A pub has been on this site since 1861, but its present incarnation dates back to a late 1930’s remodeling by the then owners, Tetley’s. You enter into a sizeable lobby area with a servery hatch on the left hand side underneath a glazed screen. There are a few bar stools here but, for the sake of comfort, most customers were in one of the two rooms either side of the servery. The front room is the public bar and has terrazzo flooring, some dark wood paneling and banquette and low stool seating with the bell pushes still in evidence. A small hatch again gives access to the bar, although the hand pulls can’t be viewed from here. The second room is a comfortable lounge bar, again with its own servery hatch. The room is carpeted with more banquettes and bell pushes, a tiled fireplace with CAMRA magazines and Good Beer Guides on the mantelpiece and an art deco mirror above. Some old pictures of the pub hang from the walls and there is a good framed collection of pump clips from the Salamander Brewery. A large dog lay spread-eagled in the middle of the room during my stay and kind of summed up the relaxing vibe of the place. Given the pub’s association with Tetley’s over the years, it was only right that Tetley’s Cask was available alongside Taylor Landlord, Saltaire Cream Stout and Blonde, Wharfebank Best Bitter and Tempest Emanation. I gave the Cream Stout a try after much deliberation and was served a fantastic pint in tip-top condition. The staff seemed very friendly and there was a good group of locals in just after opening at 16:00. The pub seems to be very well thought of locally and I remember when we stayed in a nearby B&B last year, the owner was insistent that we paid a visit to the Swan as it was, in his words, ‘the best pub in town’. Personally, I’m not sure it’s possible to pick a ‘best pub’ in a city blessed with so many contenders, but this is certainly one of the front runners, not only for the wonderfully preserved interior, but also for the warm welcome and good beer selection and quality.

Long established GBG regular and it is featured in the 2013 guide. This is a Tetley Heritage pub and it shows. It has what is known as a "West Riding" layout with a central bar dispensing beer to the main room and both the side rooms. There are some great photo's on the walls of local pubs and a real fire in the lounge. 6 handpumps for cask ale serving Tetley Bitter, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Saltaire Blonde and 3 changing guest plus a couple of real ciders. Every pint I've ever had in here, and I've had a few over the years, has always been in very good nick. There's also a small walled garden which is fantasic in summer, but not so good when it's freezing like it was on our recent visit. It's a great pub.