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Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Hop
I too thought that this one didn't look much like a pub from the outside. Indeed I suspect that its main focus is on the pizzeria side of the business, as there is more seating down at the far end that looked like it was dedicated to that trade than there was near the front where the bar counter and handpumps are sited. I also noticed an enormous portrait of Charles II down at the pizzeria end of the room, and some hogsheads on a shelf above the entrance.
It's a nice enough place, and the ale selection is certainly up there with the best of them, but I don't reckon it's the sort of place for a quiet drink. It started to get very lively on the Saturday afternoon on which we visited (some would say buzzing and lively, others might say noisy and brash), but I enjoyed the hour or so we sat in the sun by the front window watching people walk up and down Fossgate.
On 7th April 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Hop
A new (2013) York city centre pub and pizzeria run by Ossett brewery in a very nice shop conversion. Enter to the main bar area with a lovely dark wood barback, high ceiling, hogsheads above the doorway and some original tiling. Beyond is an unexpectedly large airy extension with live music facilities and the pizzeria. This area houses tiled walls, large portraits and a nice glass ceiling which allows for plenty of light. Check out the large multi-coloured glass lightshades hanging from the ceiling. As to be expected, the ales were Ossett-heavy, I went for a guest - Great Heck Voodoo Mild - which was in excellent shape. Also a couple of real ciders available as well as some craft keg. Very impressive; not a traditional pub per se but certainly good fun and I imagine it would really come into its own on a live music night.
On 5th April 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Hop
My initial impressions on seeing the outside of this place were that it looked a bit gaudy and the sign "Real Ale and Pizzeria" had me wondering what the real priorities were going to be. Once inside however I really liked the place, it is big enough to comfortably cater for drinkers and those in search of a pizza. Ceilings are very high, floors are generally tiled as is a wall alongside the bar so I'd expect quite a din when the place is very busy. The pizzeria is at the far end, past the side bar and the oven can be seen through an arch in an exposed brick wall. The menu is on a wall, they look decent value from £6.50 for a basic Margherita up to £9 for something called a Bosco.
The pub is clearly affiliated in some way with Ossett Brewery, several of their beers being on the range of handpumps, Columbia Creek, Blonde, Big Red, Silver King and Excelsior plus Rat White Rat. Others were Fernandes Nightjar, Half Moon Hull Moon and Great Heck Voodoo Mild. Janet's Jungle Juice and Abrahall's Cracklin' Rosie were the ciders. There is also a row of craft keg fonts.
Décor includes portraits of various Dukes of York and the famous nursery rhyme is displayed on a wooden board. A feature wall of mirrors contains further inscriptions of songs and ditties. A small stage along the side towards the rear suggests live music features sometimes.
On 3rd April 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1710 recommendations about 1683 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Hop
I was in good company on this visit, so we were enjoying a beer and a bit of a laugh. I quite like Ossett Brewery beer, so no complaints there. The pub wasn't busy on our Friday lunchtime visit, so in spite of this I found the two bar staff to be soulless and lacked any customer interaction. In fact, they were very unfriendly.
There were 11 ales on handpump on our visit, which were displayed on a large chalkboard on the left hand side of the bar. Prices were reasonable for a large central York venue.
On 1st April 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3645 recommendations about 3645 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about The Hop
L shaped interior serving an extensive selection of real ale and "craft keg". Pizza served.
On 13th December 2014
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2933 recommendations about 2866 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about The Hop
Well described by OB below and I have nothing else to add to it. The 9 ale pumps were all on, although only one was a guest, all the others were from Ossett or their subsidiary Rat brewery. We tried a couple of the beers and they were in good condition. We were here on a Saturday early afternoon and the whole place was very quiet, apart from a family in the pizza bit whose kids were having a bit of a shoutfest. It's OK for one but the bar and the barstaff are definitely lacking in character.
On 14th March 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3286 recommendations about 3196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about The Hop
Called in here after enjoying a Brass Castle Bad Kitty at the Blue Bell, and was pleased to see a couple of beers from the same brewery on here, so enjoyed Brass Castle Cliffhanger and Snow Eater. They had the Ossett beers and a Rat brewery beer among the guests. Brilliant description below so saves me the trouble. Certainly a good pub to call in when in York, and the pizzas being served looked good.
On 13th March 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Hop
Almost directly opposite the Blue Bell you couldn't find two more different pubs. The bright blue shop front exterior opens into a rather baroque bar with incongruous but original looking butchers shop style tiles at one side and wallpaper with Ossett group pump clips as a design at the other. The L shaped counter has 9 beer pumps plus two for cider, the front has an ecclesiastical design seen in other Ossett pubs, while the floor is a mix of wooden boards and geometric tiles. The beers are from the Ossett stable and guests. Across the front of the building is a shelf held up on cast iron columns, on which are placed a number of hogsheads the whole thing being lit by ever-changing coloured lights. The front windows allow some posing perched on box stools at low tables while along the side wall is a high bench and tables. Moving further back in the pub there are 9 keg fonts on the long face of the counter and opposite a wall decorated with a collection of domestic mirrors and painted quotes from the likes of Frank Zappa, there is a drinking shelf fitted below. Behind the counter is a magnificent barback and the wall behind that has more butchers shop tiles. Beyond the counter the place broadens out into what looks like a covered yard with a pizza kitchen at the far end. Decor here is in the grand baroque manner with big mirrors in carved frames and portraits of Dukes of York from the 17th to 19th centuries. This area is mainly for eating pizzas with a line of tables down the centre with long stools while the sides have bench seating at high tables and more conventional tables and chairs. There is also a small stage to one side in here, live music and comedy are promised on the front signage. The toilets are upstairs and the staff young and reasonably on the ball, beer quality is pretty good. Definitely a different approach to pubs with its baroque slightly continental style I'm sure it will be worth the, obviously, large amount of cash spent on its creation.
On 27th October 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3599 recommendations about 3279 pubs]