The Slip Inn, York

A very nice back street pub near its sister pub the swan, personally my favorite out of the two. five real ales were dispensed on my visit with Timothy Taylor boltmaker (£3.25) and Leeds Pale (£3.00) being good value for the area and very good condition. the pub is on the small side so visitors must arrive early on weekends to secure a seat. The pub has two large screens showing the rugby world cup when i was there and also has a small side room with a dart board. A very nice local pub outside of the hustle and bustle of York, perfect for a quiet sit down drink, well worth a visit.

This back street local's pub takes its name from a slipway that used to run down Clementhorpe, past the pub all the way to a boatyard on the River Ouse. Much like the Phoenix Inn, this was a fairly bog standard Marstons pub and in danger of being given up on, before the owners of the nearby Swan Inn decided to take it over and revamp it as a friendly local with a good beer range. The entrance leads into a compact front bar which is carpeted and has padded banquettes around the perimeter, under some frosted glass windows with the pub's name picked out. There is also a lovely stained glass pane in the front door which proudly proclaims 'Slip Inn Free House'. On the end wall is a small fireplace, above which hangs a blackboard detailing some of the options available at the bar. A large TV set was turned off with background music playing unobtrusively instead. Moving past the right hand side of the servery, you emerge into a chequer tile floored area with an open seating area to the left, effectively behind the servery, offering plenty of low stool seating under a large old map of York. To the right there is a small side room up a single step which provides some good overspill seating, much needed on our visit, whilst a rear door leads out to a surprisingly pleasant courtyard style garden which was a nice spot to spend some time in on a bright afternoon. On the bar there were three house beers - Leeds Pale, Rudgate Ruby Mild and Wold Top Wold Gold, plus two guests in the shape of Liverpool Craft Quoka and Taylors Boltmaker. The Leeds Pale I tried was very drinkable and the staff did reasonably well in working their way through a twenty strong Pubs Galore surge at the bar. This is a great example of a well run back street boozer, with good beer, modest but comfortable surroundings and friendly service combining to great effect. The pub is well worth a visit in its own right, but with the Swan just a few yards up the road, there is an excellent double-header to be enjoyed here.

Nice traditional locals pub, a little on the backstreets but only a couple of minutes from the Swan. A lovely stained glass door greets you on entering. There’s a comfy front bar and a larger and more basic rear room beyond. A basic rear courtyard for the smokers. Black and white photos of various river scenes (presumably the Ouse seeing as it’s only a hundred yards away?). It’s a freehouse here and the five ale pumps including Wold Top Gold, Tim Taylor Best, Leeds Pale, Liverpool Craft Quokka and Rudgate Ruby Mild – can’t recall what I had but it was in good nick. Also a real cider. Bar snacks included pork pies and pickled eggs. Was a Marston’s pub they wrote off and sold - and surprise surprise - a proper private owner has applied some care to the place and it’s now popular! Note that this is another late afternoon opener.

The Slip Inn consists of a bar in the front left corner with seating to the rear and another room to the right rear where a dartboard can be found. The bar supports five hand pumps and I was served a decent pint by a friendly member of staff. I didn’t note the presence of any televisions and there was no background music playing. Out the back is a concreted beer garden that is decked out with café tables. This is a fine example of a traditional back street local which was worth the visit.

Compact side-street local, retaining a pleasantly traditional look and feel. Five handpumps on the counter, with several good ales including Rudgate Ruby Mild.

This is yet another excellent York pub. This one has the look of a fairly small backstreet locals' pub, well away from the main tourist areas. And in a lot of respects it's all the better for that. Well described by others the only thing I would add is the unusual matchboard panelled ceiling, and small hatch to the bar, in the quieter back room where Mrs R and I sat. There was some decent beer here as well; I had the Timothy Taylor Boltmaker, which I thought was OK but perhaps not quite good enough for the CAMRA accolades it has received. This is another one deserving of a revisit.

Another fine York pub, a small venue this, the pub name is inscribed on frosted glass on the lower part of the windows and again on a seriously attractive panel of stained glass on the entrance door. Carpeted inside, there is a dark wood boarded ceiling, regular style seating at small tables with banquettes on the front wall. A small separate rear room was rather plain in appearance. Black and white photos, mainly of river scenes, there is a dartboard but you might need a few hands to shift stuff around to actually chuck some arrows. Snacks available, there were the usual York "proper" pork pies and I saw Scotch eggs, no idea if dinners are served. There is a bit of an outdoor area and the gents are outside too. The cask ales were Leeds Pale, Timothy Taylor's Boltmaker, Rudgate Ruby Mild, Wold Top Wold Gold and guest ale, Liverpool Craft Beer Co Quokka. A cider was on from Jack Ratt. Another very good and friendly welcoming York pub.

A traditional pub just outside the city walls, it consists of a larger room running across the front of the pub with etched glass windows bearing the pub’s name and a couple of smaller rooms at the rear, as well as a patio area for some alfresco drinking or smoking. The landlord seemed a friendly chap and was unfazed by the group of twenty or so who suddenly descended on his relatively small pub. The snug at the rear of the pub had wood panelling that had been painted red on the lower part of the walls and cream paintwork up above as well as more dark wood panelling on the ceiling. There were a few old black and white photos of the river on the walls as well as a map of York from 1849. Food does not appear to be a major feature here, although I did spot a few pork pies and picked eggs on the end of the bar. Beers on tap were Timothy Taylor Boltmaker, Ruby Mild, Wold Gold, Leeds Pale and Quokka from the Liverpool Craft Beer Co. Ciders were Thatcher’s Gold and Black Rat Scrumpy. All in all I thought this was a friendly and decent pub, and well worth popping in if in the vicinity.