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The Three-Legged Mare, York
York
YO1 7EN
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Three-Legged Mare
This is a narrow but long pub, seemingly a shop conversion, in a good location close to the Minster. The pub takes its name from a type of gallows and I was led to believe that there was a replica of such a contraption in the garden to the rear, but I strained to see it through the rain streaked windows at the back of the pub and failed to spot anything fitting the description. The locals have interpreted the name slightly differently, affectionately referring to it as the ‘Wonky Donkey’! The front of the pub has some standard seating around a number of tables including one constructed from some old barrels. The servery appears midway into the pub along the right hand wall and beyond this there is a conservatory area with a tiled floor and mainly low stool seating. The split level garden can be accessed from here. The walls have been decorated with lots of old brewery mirrors and black and white photos whilst some beer engines have been mounted on the walls of the staircase leading down to the toilets. Whisky and beer bottles line a high ledge and there are some framed cartoons towards the rear of the pub.
The pub is run by the York Brewery and their beers were prominent at the bar, with Guzzler, Ghost Ale, Terrier and England’s Pride available alongside Castle Rock Preservation and Sheriff’s Tipple and Dow Gladiator. I had the Preservation which was in decent condition although not as good as I remember it from the last time I tried it.
This is a nice enough pub that acts as a good showcase from York Brewery beers. I only managed a flying visit, but the beer selection and pleasant surroundings mean that I’d certainly consider a return visit.
On 11th July 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3361 recommendations about 3361 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about The Three-Legged Mare
I have been in this York Brewery pub a few times and although it has a good choice of real ales it doesn't seem to have much of an atmosphere or the feel of a pub.Other than that a good place for real ale.
On 27th April 2012
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about The Three-Legged Mare
One of our regular haunts whilst in York. We always call in for at least one whenever we're here, usually combined with a visit to the nearby Lamb & Lion. Always a good range of ales from the York Brewery along with a guest or two and always well kept. Open plan pub with a small separate room at the rear. Lots of mix & match seating & tables around the pub along with a piano. Friendly, efficient bar staff as in all 3 of the York Brewery pubs. This pub is known as "The Wonky Donkey" locally. Recommended.
On 4th August 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3308 recommendations about 3218 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about The Three-Legged Mare
Situated close to York Minster, the Three Legged Mare is one of 3 York Brewery pubs in the City Centre.
Externally resembling a shop rather than a traditional pub, the interior is a not unpleasant mix of traditional and modern, but with an overall feel that is perhaps more continental café bar than a traditional British pub.
Outside a blackboard tells us that the pub was CAMRA York Pub of the Season in Autumn 2008. It promises us a friendly welcome and - at the date of my visit in late June - was proudly announcing itself as a football free zone.
The main bar contains a number of photos of old York and leads through to a small conservatory and an outside patio. In the conservatory we learn that a three legged mare was a novel form of gallows comprising a horizontal triangle supported by three legs. Its design meant that several felons could be hanged at once. A replica of this may be found in the back garden.
On the real ale front, there's 3 banks of 3 pumps. Beers on from the York Brewery were the usual 4 - Yorkshire Terrier, Centurion Ghost, Guzzler and Constantine. Also on from York Brewery were York Mild plus Wonkey Donkey, the latter of which is promoted as unique to this pub. Guest beers were from Tring and Castle Rock. York Brewery beers were generally priced at being between £ 2.60p and £ 2.80p. The Yorkshire Terrier was in good form. The pub is in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for 2010.
The staff here were exceptionally attentive and helpful and, on my visit, were going way beyond the call of duty in helping a group of irritating and demanding tourists with limited English language skills, find their way to the brewery for one of the brewery tours.
This is a good place in the City Centre for sampling the wares of the York Brewery.
On 15th October 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Soup Dragon left this review about The Three-Legged Mare
A York Brewery, terraced, undressed brick and blue frontage pub/eatery, with rear patio area, apparently with a, let’s hope, non-working replica of the gallows that gives the pub its name (it was too dark for me to see this)
The interior has a couple of rooms. The main bar/lounge room tapers down as you approach the serving bar, which is on the right. A door then takes you into a conservatory area. The décor is coffee, green/blue (difficult with the light) and wood panel, with white ceiling and wood floor. There is a mix of sofas and stools, with barrel tables, trying to blend comfort and tradition. There is a collection of eclectic prints and pictures on the walls, with old York pictures and rugby featuring significantly and odd bits of ephemera, such as a bottle collection and some saucy postcards (as they would say in On the Buses). I didn’t eat here, so can’t comment on the food. The service was fine and the clientele mixed – and it was so busy. There was no TV that I saw and background music was supplied by a rather eccentric pianist, who had half a piano!
Beer; tap stuff with a decent choice of real ales; the York Brewery range, Blonde, Guzzler, Centurion’s Ghost, Constantine, Wonky-Donkey, as well as Courage Directors and Wolf Brewery’s Granny Wouldn’t Like It. I sampled the Ghost, Constantine, Wonky and Granny, all were decent.
It gets better with every visit. If you miss it, you deserve to be hanged
On 14th September 2010
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3094 recommendations about 3089 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Three-Legged Mare
My favourite York Brewery pub of the three, bigger than the Terrier and more discreet and less food oriented than the Last Drop, it also has a better choice of ale on its 9 handpumps. Another shop conversion, it has an hourglass shape from the large front leading to a narrower area by the bar counter then opening out into a wider seating area at the back. Usually has the York range of beers plus 3 or 4 guests in super condition hence its frequent GBG appearances. Seating is an eclectic mix of chairs, benches and a settle, with a barrel as a table as well as more normal tables. Food consists of simple sandwiches, soup and nibbles. The toilets are in the basement reached via a rickety steel spiral staircase. The garden at the back is supposed to contain a replica of the Three Legged Mare but I've never looked.
On 30th August 2010
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3686 recommendations about 3364 pubs]
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Alan Winfield left this review about The Three-Legged Mare
This is a York Brewery tied house that was opened in 2001 in a busy tourist area it has one longish room and a good choice of real ales on the bar we had Yorkshire Terrier and this was a very nice drink.
On 26th August 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Three-Legged Mare
Apparently a three-legged mare is not some unfortunate pedestally challenged equine, or a wonky donkey as another distinguished reviewer called it, but some sort of tripodal hanging execution device. Anyway, there were nine handpumps on the go, almost all dispensing York Brewery ales. I went for the Yorkshire Terrier, which was excellent once I had convinced the barmaid to remove the sparkler. Apparently she was a sparkler-less beer tap virgin, nobody having asked her to remove that item before!
The pub itself is quite light, and fairly modern in appearance. The seating is mainly traditional, consisting of banquettes, normal tables and chairs, although I did spot a barrel for a table, as well as a high table with a couple of high stools. It had something of the appearance of a wine bar about it. As to decor, Mrs R was mightily impressed by the presence of some prints of The Rolling Stones, including the late Brian Jones. There was no pop music, nor any other ancillary mechanical distractions, just the sound of punters having a good time, and the pealing of the Minster’s bells. All in all this is a rather good pub, and with nine or so ales on offer (and a cappuccino for Mrs R) I would be delighted to be able to pay a return visit.
On 14th June 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2607 recommendations about 2521 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Three-Legged Mare
A York brewery pub which sells their full range (including the unique-to-the-pub Wonkey Donkey) along with two guests. I was only in for a short while whilst Mrs Quinno disappeared off to the nearby shop for an emergency birthday present but was there long enough to appreciate my pint of Centurion's Ghost, polite service by the barmaid and observe a group of American tourists doing a cheese and ale tasting session. The interior is nice (it's a 'quiet' pub, no music or TV) and new without being overly sterile and its proximity to Yorkminster means it's an essential stop if nearby. A cracking place.
On 21st May 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5657 recommendations about 5638 pubs]
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James Joines left this review about The Three-Legged Mare
One of York Breweries pubs with a selection of its own Real Ales plus guests.
On 25th April 2008
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 841 recommendations about 835 pubs]