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Duke of York, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
WV1 1HD
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about Duke of York
A lightly modernised but still traditionally-styled town local. The island bar is surrounded by smaller areas, clearly where once were partitions, but there are a couple of nice snug areas remaining to the back of the bar. Small patio garden to the rear. Food is of the pork pie and scotch egg type only. Ales on at time of visit were Salopian Lemon Dream and Marston's 61 Below, with a house beer badged but not available. A fair alternative to the big student pubs.
On 8th November 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about Duke of York
Now reverted to its original name of Duke of York, it has sadly been modernised from its Tap & Spile days and opened up into one L-shaped bar. Thankfully its not a full modern fit out and the glazing panels above the bar & the worn wooden seats help. Various old photos & adverts on the wall. 4 real ales of very average quality.
It advertises opening at 8am on match days! Probably just about enough drinking time needed in order to have to watch the Wolves!
30/08/2012 Not everyone's cup of tea as its a bit basic, but I like the place, a fine old boozer with character.
No real ale here, which is a big change since my last visit and a real mark down for me.
Looks like it could be at a crossroads in terms of direction and will go one way or another, hopefully for the better as its a good inclusion to Wolverhampton City Centre
On 8th August 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about Duke of York
A pretty decent pub with 8 handpumps, of which 5 were on. Its a multi-area pub with a small area as you enter, a small area to one side then 2 more small areas. I spent my whole time here trying to get rid of the hiccups so it wasn't as enjoyable as I would've liked.
On 8th April 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Soup Dragon left this review about Tap & Spile
Update: As i continue my voyage through the Wolvo pubs i decided to return to the infamous T&S. This is a Victorian corner pub, in grey and black, with rear patio area. It is in a Gothic style, with a double gabled front. If i have my map-work correct the pub (the the Duke of York, must have been rebuilt c1900, as it took over the space of the building next to it (near the alley). The rest is as the Monster says, below. The interior is a warren of small rooms, one to the right, then a sequence of three to the left, before you find another at the back. The decor is a cream and grey wood panel, with wood floor and embossed brown ceiling. Old settles and stools populate the place. There is the odd TV to spoil it and the music was muixed, but got steadily louder as my drink went down. There are a lot of old photos on the walls, and bits of ephemera dotted about, but the outstanding feature is the wooden bar (which almost screens the staff). Beer; 8 handpulls and there is nothing on. I had half of some lager. The service was fine, the clientele the same. Only worth a visit to see the building.
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Sep 2009: The exterior is very traditional, if painted a little garish and the interior has several rooms, including a 'snug' and old Wolverhampton photos on the walls; though it is fast looking shabby.
In all my visits the choice of beers has been good, sitting along side the usual stuff, there is Banks's MILD and 4 real ales; Butty Bach, Kinver Centurion, Burton Bridge Stairway to Heaven and Holdens Golden Glow. The Stairway to Heaven was decent. The service friendly.
The clientele is unique. A microcosm. An agglomeration of; decent people, the best of Bedlam, the f***ing Tourette's Society and scrapings from the tank at the Sea-Life Centre.
On 23rd June 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3067 recommendations about 3062 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about Tap & Spile
A very promising pub in Victorian style, a fairly dowdy outside and an interesting interior, the eight handpumps made my heart leap for a second but it wasn't to be - no pumpclips and no ale, my hopes of a decent drink cruelly crushed like a polystyrene burger box on a Sunday morning. A choice of the usual suspects on keg and a poorer than normal bottled range. There are a couple of machines and a screen and the staff were friendly enough but it seems like a dreadful waste of a spanking but basic interior. Its got those awful hand written notices about toilet use on the front door too.
On 8th October 2012
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3269 recommendations about 2978 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ale Monster left this review about Tap & Spile
This is a traditional Victorian pub owned by Enterprise Inns that was called the Duke of York until the 1960’s when it closed and reopened as a bank. It was converted back to a pub and renamed in 1996, the interior was faithfully restored to a similar design to that of the late 1800’s. The interior consists of three small rooms, a public bar on the left and a small snug on the right as you enter and a second small snug at the back of the pub also on the right. The public bar has a very traditional enclosed bar counter on the right of the room with a nice cast iron coal fuelled fire place opposite, old pictures of other local pubs and two flat screen TV’s (one at the front of the room, one at the back). The front snug has a small counter in the left corner, wooden bench seats and brewery memorabilia on the walls. The snug at the back is very easy to miss as you must walk to the end of the public bar and turn right, here you will find a dart board surrounded by old Wolves FC photos on the back wall of the pub and opposite this is the entrance to the second small snug which has a serving hatch that connects to the front snug, a flat screen TV and various Wolves FC memorabilia. There is a small courtyard with picnic style tables out the back. Thankfully the owners have seen sense and repainted the frontage black and white instead of the previous fluorescent pink!
Regular ales are Holden’s Golden Glow and a rotating beer from the Ludlow Brewery, Boiling well on this visit with two changing guest beers which were Green King Old Speckled Hen and Shepherd Neame Spitfire (GBG 2010)
A great traditional city centre pub with lots of character and characters, I totally agree with the previous reviewer’s observations on the mix of people that regularly use this pub, they can be a bit scary. Even the staff are a little bonkers, during this visit a middle aged lady behind the bar started F-ing and Blinding at some of the customers for no apparent reason! Not the kind of place that you would take the wife and kids, don’t let this put you off though; this is still a good pub for a nice pint as long as you don’t mind a bit of excitement every now and then, one of the better real ale pubs in the centre.
On 5th September 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 199 recommendations about 199 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Tap & Spile
Attractive exterior which holds some oddness within. Four ales on the go (I forget which as I’ve mislaid my notes but I don’t remember being exactly blown away by the quality). The interior has some nice traditional touches, such as a snug but is quite tatty. The clientele were quite rough-and-ready and I felt a bit uncomfortable. It’s not one I’d rush to get back to again, to be honest.
On 22nd October 2009
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about Tap & Spile
I walked into the pub and everyone turned to look at me. The League of Gentlemen sprung to mind. There were 4 cask beers on, I tried Ludlow Boiling Well, this wasn't really to my taste but there was nothing wrong with the way it was kept. The pub could do with a general spruce up as could some of the clientele but overall I quite liked it.
On 30th July 2009
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3224 recommendations about 3135 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Tap & Spile
Basic but interesting 'back street' pub (despite being very close to the town centre). Perhaps I caught it on a bad day as there were only two real ales on, but the Titanic Iceberg was good and came at a reasonable price.
On 7th September 2008
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Tap & Spile
I accidentally stumbled across this pub whilst wandering aimlessly through Wolverhampton City Centre trying to kill a couple of hours. In short it is a rough and ready, dated, old fashioned place and the floor, pre smoking ban, was littered with discarded fag ends. The walls and ceilings are ingrained with generations of cigarette smoke and yet in a certain way, the smoking ban will probably detract from its character (my visit was pre-ban). The interior appears to have changed very little in the past 30 years and the worn and battered furnishings and décor give the place a certain charm that is hard to find in this day of plastic pub makeovers. There are a few snugs and anti rooms, the small snug to the right of the door as you enter being of particular note with its own little serving hatch. The customer base is a mix of strange but seemingly harmless characters, many of who are in various stages of liver malfunction. There is a selection of quiz & fruit machines, a small TV at the rear and an awkwardly positioned Big Screen that takes out a big chunk of seating when in use. The big bonus is the excellent beers that included Landlord, Banks and Stairway To Heaven on my visit and pretty cheap, especially when you are used to London prices. The pub wouldn't be to everyone's taste but if you like no nonsense boozers with a bit of character and decent beers, then this is an excellent choice.
On 9th August 2007
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]