The Yorkshire Terrier, York

Although serving mainly their own beers there was a Fuzzy Duck beer on today. Decided to have one of theirs though for Red Nose Day called Dino-Sore-Arse. Enjoyed it while seated in a lovely conservatory area.

Perhaps the highest profile pub run by the York Brewery, as much a result of it’s location than anything else, this is a pleasant multiple room pub that has something of a modern take on a traditional house. You enter into a corridor with hatch access to the servery and walls lined with vast amounts of pump clips. To the right is the doorway into the main bar – a compact area with a fairly short bar counter where even more pump clips are on display. The size of the room means that seating options are very restricted, but there are two further rooms to the rear which compensate for this. One of these has a very small extension of the servery and focuses around a large brick fireplace with a stove on the back wall. A single banquette and some low stools provide somewhere to rest and I thought it was quite a cosy spot to relax with a pint and my paper. To the right, there is a slightly larger conservatory style room with several tables and chairs and some large mirrors on the far wall which make the room seem much larger than it really is. At the front of the pub is a small brewery shop, offering all the usual stuff for those who can’t make it down to the brewery itself. An additional room is available upstairs with four tables in a smart carpeted space which gives nice views out over the street below. Food is available at reasonable prices, with main meals generally around the £6.50 mark. There were four York Brewery beers available on the hand pumps on my visit – Centurion’s Ghost (£3.10), Guzzler, Terrier and Big Dog. The young barmaid working on her own on my Wednesday afternoon visit did a sterling job dealing with a complex order from a 15 strong party of pub crawlers who I had the misfortune of arriving just behind. She quickly dispatched their numerous drinks, including several taster trays with a half pint of each of the four ales, before serving me. My Centurion’s Ghost was okay, but perhaps a bit too cold, which lost some of the flavour of this otherwise fantastic beer. I enjoy York Brewery beers very much, so perhaps this place was always onto a winner with me, but even putting the beer aside, I thought this was a very pleasant place to while away the time of day. A good option for the city centre.

A cosy York Brewery pub that has an old fashioned feel.Several drinking areas including one upstairs.A good selection of York beers and guests.

A pub behind the Brewery shop in a busy pedestrianized street leading to the Minster. Long and narrow, with rooms branching off, which we did not explore, reflecting its past life as a draper’s shop. Wood panelling, hectic wallpaper, a jolly barman. We’d just been to the York Tap, so the beer seemed a bit restrained, though in fairness, my pint of Decade was a decent hoppy golden ale.The bar held a good range of York’s beers-I was tempted by Centurion’s Ghost, but discretion proved the better part of valour. Early afternoon on a mid week in February, the pub was quietly busy, the food generous and good value. I’d always ignored this pub on my previous visits to York, thinking it a tourist trap: I was wrong, but I’m sure it gets packed at other times of the week.Good pub.