North Riding Hotel, Scarborough

This is a large brew pub located away from the town’s main tourist spots, yet still handy for the North Bay Beach, Peasholm Park and the open-air theatre. The pub has a two bar set up, with the rooms connected by a separate passageway. Most punters on our visit were massed in the front bar, to the left of the entrance – a spacious, irregular shaped room with exposed floorboards, half panelled walls with plain uppers and a good mix of chairs, high stools and padded banquettes, all serving tables or varying sizes. The servery is along the rear wall in a recessed space with an attractive dark wood counter and matching bar back, flanked by various boards detailing the draught and bottled beer ranges. Many CAMRA certificates have been put on display to one side of the bar, attesting to their commitment to cask ale, whilst a high shelf above the canopy was lined with numerous trophies, although I couldn’t fathom out how these might have been won. There’s a pleasant fireplace to one side of the room, with an unused TV screen above it, and décor included some framed postcards, old documents and miniature cricket bats. Following the terrazzo floored passage back towards the entrance, you pass the rear bar, where more of the same seating options can be found in a pleasant, if somewhat empty, overspill space. Some 70’s pop tunes were playing in the background and there was a nice lunchtime buzz from a small band of bantering locals. Just a few days prior to our visit here, we’d enjoyed drinking North Riding’s Ice Cream Porter, which was arguably my beer of the year at that point, so I was hopeful to find it here at the brewery tap, but alas, there was just the one North Riding beer on cask – a reasonable drop of Cascade which was enjoyable but nowhere near as memorable as the porter. This was available alongside Ossett Yorkshire Blonde, Oakham Black Magic and one other that I forgot to note down. There were also no less than four real ciders and seven or eight craft keg options to choose from, as well as a robust bottle and can selection. This is an excellent pub with a decent location away from the tourist masses, serving up good home-brewed beer in a nice traditional pub environment with friendly service. We didn’t visit any other pubs during our brief time in Scarborough but would imagine there aren’t too many that surpass this place – well worth seeking out.

I wont gainsay anything the estimable ROBC has said just add a bit. There are two bars on the ground floor of the hotel at the north end of the town. A choice from three pumps in a small snug to the right and another seven in the larger bar next door, one was for the beer brewed on the premises the others for Yorkshire guests. There's a pool table and a lot of associated silverware. A good pubby feel is given by the bare board floor and bench seating, some photos of the locals gathered round the pumps and some well deserved CAMRA awards; actually six Pub of the Year certificates in an unbroken run between 2010 and 2013, I wonder what happened in 2007 and 2009 as they start at 2006? There are even more awards in the lobby between the bars. Signed cricket bats in cases and old photos complete the decor and there are some oddities like lamps fashioned from pump handles. The gents are extremely stainless steel. Bantering locals and excellent beer make the walk out here not only worthwhile but essential.