ReviewI wouldn't have thought it possible but for the first time ever I went to York and didn't leave the station, the reason of course is the opening of the third of the Tap chain following the ones in Sheffield and Euston. I missed the public opening night on 16th November and had to visit a day later when it was busy but not heaving and the service was fairly snappy. Being in a station there is a fair amount of ebb and flow from travelling customers, so it can be very busy then go a little quiet, however there is a good feel to the place even though it's newly opened.
Located near the middle of platform 3 a bit to the northern end and housed in the old tea rooms and lately home to a model railway, this is a tasteful and well thought out refurbishment. Internally it is basically one big room with a centrally placed circular bar counter, although a partial wall to one side of the counter divides the room in two. The counter, with a proper brass footrail, is laid out in three sections with a nicely carved island barback providing a home to a set of fridges with a great selection of bottled beers. The counter has a set of 10 hand pumps on the side facing the platform, then moving anticlockwise is the keg section flanked by two large ceramic Bernard founts with 9 separate taps in between. These dispense Thornbridge of course, Black Isle, Magic Rock, Erdinger, Timmermans, Hogans cider, Opat and a couple of rarities in Cantillion and Rauschbier. Moving round to the road side of the counter there are a further ten handpumps with a different selection to the other side. The cask beers available are listed on a blackboard in each room but only show the beers in that room, due to weight of numbers they weren't fully up to date and they can be a bit hard to see when the bar is busy. The pumps all have clips so it's not a huge problem. Breweries represented were Thornbridge, Kirkstall, Magic Rock, Fyne, Tempest, Black Isle, Ilkley, Dark Star, and US brewers Flying Dog with a blockbuster 10% IPA; a Scottish cider from Thistley Cross was also on hand pull. I had a lot of trouble dragging myself away from that lot, especially as the quality was generally excellent, they did seem to have a problem with the beer engines which is hopefully just teething troubles. The pump handles and the glassware are branded with the bar's logo and the staff all wear polo shirts with York Tap on the breast and Thornbridge on the arm.
The room is an Edwardian edifice with art nouveau stained glass, high ceilings and a mosaic floor, there is a magnificent fireplace and each room has a glass domed ceiling. Both rooms have round wooden tables with matching chairs in a traditional style and the six bay windows have fitted banquette seating, the room on the road side has a little alcove with a drinking shelf and stools as well, more stools are provided at the counter. Décor comprises a few railway related pictures including one of the building in its heyday but to be fair there is precious little wall space as the walls are mostly window. Unlike Euston everything is on one floor level with toilets to one side, the gents does have a rather messy design flaw in the form of a narrow step. You can enter the bar either by a side door from the taxi road outside or like me from the platform and miss the other delights of York. If I had to sum the York Tap up in a few words I guess they would be “A star is born”.
