House of the Trembling Madness, York

As described in more depth previously, this is an upstairs bar over a bottle & tin shop with considerable character and some very fine beers but which often suffers from being over-popular. It describes itself as a "medieval ale house", where each of the three words is true but doesn't necessarily make the whole phrase! Very happy to call in though and check the beers out, especially if lucky enough to bag a seat. Cask ales on this visit were Verdant Burnthouse Porter, Two by two Autumn Pale and Elusive Stand up and be counted, with a fair range of craft keg also.

I didnt really take to this place , its well described in previous reviews and normally the sort of place i like , friendly staff , decent beer my Northern Monk Dont Mess with Yorkshire was a good pint , a decent mix of customers , lots of quirky stuff scattered around . Maybe i was just in the wrong mood .

Well described below and, as ever, Mr PSM nails the details. I found the hidden bar inside the bottle shop fun and it was liberally decorated for Christmas on my visit. My daughter was very fond of the place feeling as though she was in a Harry Potter film. The staff were busy but efficient and chatty nonetheless and all the food is prepared behind the tiny bar. It's done well though and I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch here from the slightly quirky menu. Cask beers were: Howling Hops XX, Vocation Life and Death and Abbeydale Methuselah. They're not frightened of strong ales here and I enjoyed those I tried. There are also six kegs offers which included beers from Deya, Siren Craft and Northern Monk on my visit. The barman told me that as they have so few pumps they aim to put the best available beers on. I can't argue with that! The only thing to be aware of was that it became very busy and we often saw queues for the bar in the bottle shop and spilling on to the street. Such is York's popularity during the Festive Season so it's worth picking your time to visit. A unique and engaging spot with great beer.

A very nice bar situated upstairs above the bittle shop with a small bar on the right as you enter a cramped room full of taxidermy that makes for a nice unique feel. there is a very nice relaxed atmosphere in here with candles and low music that attracts a nice clientele happy to sat and quietly enjoy a beer or some food. On the beer front there were three real ales that were all in great shape. I opted for the bad seed cascadain dark ale which was a magnificent pint but outrageously expensive at £4.30, i was horrified. There were also a good number of imported European beers on draught including a nice Trappist beer at £2.70 a half. Overall a very nice relaxed bar to sit and enjoy fantasist beer although the price will be mostly be keeping me away as it was outrageous to charge that for a local Yorkshire cask ale.

The House of Trembling Madness is a bar that is situated above a bottled beer shop. Once inside you enter the bottle shop,you have to go up a flight of stairs to get to the bar,there is a small area to the right which was full on my Saturday dinner visit,the main room is fairly small and has a mix of seating types,some had what looked like sheep skins on them. There were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Thornbridge Ashover which went down very well,i could not make out the names on the other two beers. Decent background music was playing and food was being served. I felt quite comfortable in this bar. Pub visited 23/5/2015