The Phoenix Inn, York

Just like a Phoenix a pub rescued from the ashes and now thriving with good custom from tourists and visitors to the barbarian . Five real ales always available with World top bitter, Landlord and copper dragons golden pippin being permanent. the beer is always in great condition but on the pricey side with landlord costing £3.50, The pub has two main rooms, the front room with a bar and a back room with a piano and more tables. the only thing i do not like about this pub is the bare boards and slight lick of decoration sometimes makes it feel slightly cold and uncomfortable but they do have a great open fire in winter time. I would absoloutly visit here again and it is well worth a visit if around this part of York.

This is a lovely traditional pub just inside the city walls, dating back to the late 1700's although the current layout is the result of a refit by John Smith's Brewery in 1897. The pub supposedly took its name from the nearby Phoenix Iron Foundry, although it was also known as the Labour in Vain for a while. In 2008 the pub became a freehouse, having been purchased from Marstons, quickly establishing itself as a popular real ale and live music venue. The pub today presents a smart multi-room interior with an entrance corridor leading you into a simple front bar with a frosted 'Phoenix' window and another bearing the words 'Magnet Ales' - a reminder of the pub's roots as a John Smith's house. A long banquette runs under the windows with low stools providing additional seating. There is a fireplace on the end wall for colder months and there was a highly fragrant bouquet of flowers on the end of the bar. There are some interesting glazing partition screens high up on the back wall which struck me as possibly being original and the commitment to real ale is ably illustrated by a vast pump clip collection behind the bar. The corridor, which is lined with some excellent old pictures of the pub, including some as the Labour in Vain, has its own small stretch of bar counter and leads through to a larger rear room with pew and low stool seating, an upright piano, a compact fireplace and lots of photos of various jazz musicians, which provides a clue as to the pub's live music policy. The room extends to the right into a small side room where you can find a bar billiards table and dartboard. There is a pleasant garden to the rear, the perimeter of which is former by the city wall. There were five beers on handpull when we arrived - Half Moon Stellar Oatois and Dark Masquerade, Taylors Landlord, Copper Dragon Golden Pippen and Wold Top Bitter. I gave the Dark Masquerade a try and thought it was in pretty good nick. The barman seemed very friendly and chatted about some of the other pubs we planned to visit and he was selling some particularly tasty looking pork pies. This is another pub in this part of town where I can easily imagine settling down for an extended session, such is the comfortable and relaxed feel within. This was one of my favourites of a long crawl around the city and efforts should be made to include this one on any crawl around the city.

Just inside the City walls the Phoenix is a very solid real ale pub, just as any independently run CAMRA heritage pub should be. With a multiple room set up as described by others I really liked this one. Good internal decor, especially the Jazz themed rear room, excellent ales and probably the best pork pies of the day and unlike others I am partial to a bit of Victorian soft porn staring at me whilst in the gents. Five ales and a couple of ciders were available and the regular house ale of Copper Dragon Golden Pippin was on fine form as reported by other crawl members below. Would not hesitate to look this one up when next in town.

A York success story, a dilapidated pub re-opened, reinvigorated and given an ale focus. Interior retains its original layout over two rooms via a side corridor replete with serving hatch. The main bar is at the front as you enter, with olive green painted panelling and maroon walls - a bit spartan for my taste. The rear room is a traditional, unmolested tap room and much more characterful. Look out for the pictures of jazz legends. Beyond is a tidy rear courtyard with a great view of the city wall it backs on to. Items of note included a selection of daily papers, piano, real fire, darts and bar billiards (though its positioning with one side up against the wall inhibits play). No TV or fruits. The Victorian soft porn in the gents I always find rather tacky, personally. Five ales on and a very good selection that took me a few seconds to choose from - my choice of Copper Dragon Golden Pippin was in very good nick. Also partook a lovely large pork pie, a steal at £1.95. Friendly landlord too. Well-worth making the effort to seek out.

The Phoenix consists of a left hand corridor that gains access to a front bar and rear seating where there is also a piano. A room to the right rear houses a dartboard and bar billiards table. The bar is stocked with limited standard draught products and I counted five hand pumps that were all drawing cask ale. Out the back is a beer garden that houses some tables and chairs. This area is overlooked by the city wall that is dotted with archers slits, thankfully there were no arrows flying during my recent Friday afternoon visit. This is a decent enough pub that is well worth a visit if in the vicinity.