Brigantes, York

A fairly cavernous shop conversion on Micklegate not far from the City Walls and the railway station,formerly the home of the inventor of the Hansom cab. We met our son for lunch on a wintry Wednesday in early February, sitting in the front window watching the weather change from cloud to sleet to snow to sun and back to snow.This is a beer oriented space, both cask and keg:the girls behind the bar being keen to advise the drinker. There were nine handpumps in operation on our visit, with beer from Yorkshire and further afield: I was very impressed with West Coast Stout from Squirrel Brewery, and with Leeds Brewery’s Yorkshire Gold. Much pub and beer related memorabilia was displayed about the pub, including material from Shepherd Neame:surely a bit far from home? Food, naturally, is an important part of this pub’s trade, and pride seems to be taken in their pies:unfortunately on our visit the pie of the day was Haggis based; a step too far. However, I enjoyed my ham ‘n’ eggs. Our fellow customers included a few beer lovers and a group of land agents discussing important matters. Not perhaps as cosy as the “typical “ York pub, I’d happily return on future visits.

Brigantes is located at the Southern end of Micklegate, not too far from the train station and just round the corner from the York Brewery. Despite being a fairly recent shop conversion, the pub has quite a lot of character and reminded me a bit of a continental style brasserie. You enter into a wooden floored bar area with an L shaped servery. The large windows along the front wall help to give this space quite a light, open feel to it and there are a few tables dotted around plus plenty of standing room. Beyond the bar there is a darker and cosier lower level which is carpeted and has a few booths with a mix of standard and pew seating. Some of the partitioning screens have etched glass in them bearing the pub’s logo whilst the walls are adorned with various bits of brewerania including a surprising amount from Kent’s Shepherd Neame Brewery. An enormous collection of pump clips is on display, reflecting the eclectic beer selection available in the pub over the years. Stairs lead up to the first floor dining room which is filled with formal tables and chairs. The beer range is detailed on blackboards behind the bar, along with the food specials. The choice on my visit was Acorn God Save the Queen, York Guzzler and Legacy, Copthorne Trafalgar, Timothy Taylor Golden Best and Ram Tam, Great Heck Jango’s Ashes, Leeds Pale and Salamander Her Majesty’s Pleasure. I tried the Legacy which was a tasty pint served in excellent condition. The pub was fairly quiet when we arrived but soon started filling out and a nice atmosphere was soon generated in stark contrast to some of the bars we passed further up Micklegate. We only intended to have a brief rain break in here but we found the place very comfortable and welcoming and ended up passing a few hours instead. This is an interesting counterpoint to some of York’s more traditional pubs and is one that should be included on any crawl around town.