The Monks Walk, Beverley

I visited this pub in August 2021, after the restrictions on pubs only being allowed to serve customers outside had been lifted, but for some reason, this message didn’t appear to have filtered down to the publicans of Beverley, as both pubs I visited whilst I was in town were insisting that customers remained outside. This was no great problem when I was visiting the Chequers micropub, but meant I missed out on what appeared to be a cracking traditional pub interior here. Just a short walk from the Minster, this is a well preserved historic pub with a central, open passageway from which various rooms can be accessed on either side, putting me in mind of another great pub all the way down in Cornwall – The Blue Anchor in Helston. Sadly, all of the rooms down the left side of the passageway were closed, with the exception of the toilet block, and whilst it was technically possible to pop into the main bar area to the right, a barmaid quickly pointed out that I’d have to take a seat outside in the garden at the end of the passageway. This brief indoor interaction gave me a fleeting moment to take in as much as I could of the interior, which seemed to comprise a lovely front room with an attractive servery down the left hand side, a nice fireplace at one end of the room and plenty of traditional, comfy looking seating. Décor was mostly in the form of traditional paintings and trinkets and the muted lighting throughout gave it an appealing ambiance, even when empty. To the rear, there appeared to be a second room with additional seating, but it was in total darkness, so I couldn’t really figure out what was in there. Out the back, there is a large courtyard with lots of seating and a makeshift bar of sorts – more of a table for ordering and paying, with a runner being sent back into the pub to fetch the beer. The main courtyard space felt a bit rough and ready, but passing to the right, through a couple of crumbling old arches, you’ll find a secluded garden with a paved floor, plenty of picnic benches, a long shelter down one side and some fine views over to the Minster. Pump clips were laid out on the tale in the garden, indicating the draught range, and I counted five cask ales, a couple of real ciders and what I assume were two craft keg options, although I wasn’t entirely sure, despite the best efforts of the friendly young barman who tried to help me choose something. I eventually wound up with a pint of Isaac Poad Baxby Blonde, which was in good nick and representative of the generally locally sourced ale selection. This is clearly a lovely pub with lots going for it, whether that be the beautiful interior, the fine garden, the well-kept ale or the enthusiastic staff – it’s just a shame that I was unable to properly appreciate the place on this visit, as who knows when I’ll be back in this neck of the woods again? Definitely worth a look on a crawl – I’d like to think they’re letting customers back inside by now.

A gorgeous multi roomed old pub that, sadly, is still doing a 1 way system and table service. The numpty at the front door told us we had to do Track & Trace at the rear. We pointed out that this is no longer required, he said "It is here". Went to the rear, the bloke there said T & T is no longer required. We know we said, please talk to the numpty. I ordered at the bar (not allowed, but we still did) and went to sit down. The pleasant girl behind the bar pulled our drinks and brought them across to our table. The Jolly Boys YPA was in very good nick. A great pub, let down by poor management. It was Beverley races ladies day the day after our visit, best of luck with your crap system then. Would have been a solid 8, dropped a couple of points for stupidity.

A truly aged place in the shadow of Beverley Minster, with multiple rooms off central alleyway and a walled garden at the end with a decent view of the minster and good audio for when the bells toll. The main room is the Merchants Bar, which features heavy beam timbers, red carpet and red fabric bench seating. Further back under a brick arch is a more rustic area. Lots of CAMRA gumpf in situ and takes it’s ale offering seriously - six pumps with a good selection; York Terrier, Isaac Poad 86, 2x Brass Castle, Newsome Liquorice stout etc. Also some interesting keg including Brass Castle Baltic Porter and two boxed ciders. Tasters were readily offered. The ale was flying out and I noted staff having tasters of beer that was new on, so they actually know what it is they are offering, great to see. I had three of the ales which were all in excellent shape, as well as a half of the Baltic Porter; I busted my schedule to stay here for as long as I could. A genuine quiet pub, just the gentle background hubbub of conversation and the occasional swoosh of an ale being drawn. A top, top place – I’ve never played a quadruple joker on a crawl before. A deserved 10 and straight into my top 10 in the UK.