The Maltings, York

Have always visited this pub when in York and last night was no exception. The ale wasn't at its best in selection for once but I'm not marking it down at all as usually the range is pretty good.

Has had a sympathetically-done extension since my last visit, though as we discovered the pub is still very busy and seats are at a premium. A good range of ales at the bar, and the staff were very efficient and good-humoured. A shame then, that my Squawk Pale was a murky and came in a glass so pitted it may well have remembered the Miner’s Strike. The beer I could write-off as being unlucky (and it would have gone back had there not been a scrum at the bar) but the terrible glass is a lack of basic handicraft. A real shame as the pub itself is very good. May 2009 One of the classic 'must-visit' pubs in York (and there are a few of those) the Maltings benefits by being close to the station and just far enough out of the warren of that constitutes the town centre that you don't get too lost on leaving for your train. The exterior has been painted black (presumably because of the Black Sheep connection) which does make it look a little intimidating to the casual observer, though I think it looks quite smart myself. The interior is really quite small with an old tiled floor, rudimentary furniture and numerous old tin signs along the wall advertising products long since gone. When it gets busy (which is a given after 7pm most days) you may well find yourself standing. Noticed that the place had been voted AFC Bournemouth Exiles Pub of the Year - guess that long journey must be worth it. There's usually 7 ales, with Black Sheep bitter the regular. Had a pint of Otley on my last visit, which really was tip-top (and got some banter for wearing my Wales shirt). Noticed there was a decent range of Belgian beer available, plus a real cider. A definite must-visit pub in general and a great place to take a tourist to in York. Rated 8

The Maltings is not the biggest pub and the arrival of twenty or so fellow pub crawlers on a recent Friday morning made the interior quite cosy, but the staff soon hacked their way through the orders and I found myself with a pint. I’m not sure which one of the eight real ale options I ended up with, but it was very good. I can recall that there was a ninth hand pump that was dispensing a real cider and there was also a selection of premium lagers. The interior consists of a bar in the right rear corner with seating at the front right window. To the left there is more seating in what felt like an extension. Here there is a food hatch where traditional pub food appears between the hours of 12:00 until 14:00 during the week and 12:00 until 16:00 at the weekend. This is a good pub that will be revisited next time I am in the area.

A Friday lunchtime is not the best time to visit any City centre pub and especially not one as small and as close to the station as this, and consequently it was several deep at the bar in front of us when we piled in. I hate to think what it was like before the extension and outside drinking area was added to the side. What could have been a frustrating visit was made pleasurable by the efficient landlord who, not only kept tabs on the order people arrived at the bar, but also managed three orders in parallel, a bar skill sadly missing from most London city centre pubs nowadays.. The not so inviting black exterior contains a bit of a quirky interior of some character and all in all this is a decent pub with a sportingly decent ale offering. The beer range for our visit was as reported below and I tried the Rooster's Yankee and the Slater's Smoked Porter with the latter being preferable as the Yankee was a bit thin.

The rather off-putting Gothic black façade hides an attractive interior with various items of interest. Only had time for a quick Salter's Smoked Porter (£1.75, half) from the decent selection on six handpumps, but will certainly re-visit properly when next in the area.

The black painted exterior gives the place the look of a rock venue or maybe a goth spot but once inside this is a very decent pub indeed with lots of old tin advertisements and signs on the walls and ceiling, a sign near the bar from days gone by listing local VD clinics (!), a through fireplace, part boarded and part tiled floor and regular seating at benches and small stools. The landlord and I assume landlady were very friendly and efficient and clearly passionate about good beer, I had a decent chat with him while being served. They had been told about our sizeable group visiting and helpfully roped an area off for us which was a nice touch. As well as the tin signs there are various CAMRA awards on display including the local branch cider POTY 2014. Ciders were from Biddendens, Fanny's Bramble, Farmer Jim's and Old Rosie. Beers were Rooster's Yankee, York Guzzler, Bad Company Mutual Aid, Squawk Pale Ale, Green Duck Drunken Duck, Black Sheep Golden Sheep and Slater's Smoked Porter. Food is served and I spotted a few portions coming out that contained proper home cut chips which is getting rarer. An outdoor paved area has benches above caged in chunky white stones. Apart from my spoons breakfast earlier this was my first pub of a day long crawl of York, it set the standard well.

A small pub with a quite attractive frontage handy for the station,very busy on a Friday lunchtime,so much so the bar was a few deep with customers waiting to be served,however the guy behind the bar was pretty on the ball and you generally got served in turn.Several beers were available to choose from,my Roosters Yankee was in good condition though maybe lacking in flavour slightly,this is the nature of cask beer though and it was perfectly acceptable .An enjoyable pub and definately worth inclusion on a jaunt around the local hostelries.