Roman Bath, York

A corner pub/eatery in stone, undressed brick and timber frame, with front gables, a shared patio space in the square and a rear patio. It is also a music venue. Underneath is Roman bath museum. The interior is in an open plan around the serving bar tucked in the opposite corner to the entrance. The decor is white, red, wood panel, with white ceiling. There are mock Roman paintings of bath scenes on the walls, which is different and fun, as well as a few statues of Roman women and a display case with some odd bits of pottery. The place is there for food – with no real bar area. I didn’t eat so can’t comment on that. The service was fine and the clientele mixed, everyone seemingly eating. The background music was charty, at a decent level and there was no TV that I saw. Beer; usual tap stuff, with the uninspiring John Smiths Cask on handpull. I had Woodpecker cider A place you would go to if you are not a real ale fan, for food, the decor for a bit of fun and visit the museum. If you are a real fan you will wonder why they don’t really serve any.

So called due to having a roman bath in its cellar, you can visit the baths via a staircase marked Roman Bath Museum just inside the main door. To your left is a single room pub decorated in modern dark wood and brass with murals of roman bathers on the walls. The roman theme is continued in the roman style leaded windows and a display case of roman artifacts. The room is given over to pub grub, the menu being fairly standard pub fare but the portions looked quite well sized including the children's menu. The bar counter in one corner serves a normal range of UK kegs including both Strongbow and Woodpecker ciders, lagers from Carling and Amstel, John Smiths smooth, Guinness and keg wine. Reasonably kept, but too cold, John Smiths as the only cask choice. The staff were very sharp and on the ball