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Kings Arms, York

Kings Staith
York
YO1 9SN

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Graham Coombs left this review about Kings Arms

Riverside Sam Smith's pub which is even more spartan than most due to the regular flooding (see the marker board by the door). Despite the stone floors and bare brick walls, the musty smell lingers and the place feels a bit dank, although I guess it might have dried out by the summer. Even the bar counter is marble, rather than wood. The flood-proofing also precludes cask ales, not that Humphrey needs much of an excuse, but a full keg range is present at typically low prices. One thing to note is that they actually request customers to form a queue for the bar, along with the usual anti-electronic nonsense. The seating outside on the staithe is good in warm weather, but the pub itself is no great shakes.

On 11th March 2024 - rating: 5
[User has posted 3322 recommendations about 3259 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Real Ale Ray left this review about Kings Arms

Smaller than I expected, basically a one room pub with a front room and bar and an alcove to the rear on the left hand side. Plenty of seating outside along the river, with the majority taken on our visit. Still the usual low Sam Smith prices for beer, no cask though! I liked the interior seating along the front windows and the flagstone floors.

On 8th August 2021 - rating: 5
[User has posted 3378 recommendations about 3378 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Old Boots left this review about Kings Arms

Probably York's most famous pub due to being much photographed from the Ouse bridge and being on the telly news after being flooded yet again. The interior is flood proofed with striped back brick walls and a stone flagged floor. The fireplaces and wooden pillars are not so proofed although the bench seating is on brick bases and have leatherette cushions. A board in the corner shows the flood levels reached , the current highest being on Boxing Day 2015 that point being taller than my, admittedly short, stature. The counter, again in brick, has 15 little keg boxes but don't get carried away, four are for OBB, three for Sovereign, three more for Taddy Lager with one each for Double Four, Extra Stout, Alpine (man in a box / pratt in a hat) and two more for cider. The pub was called the Ouse Bridge Inn according to the etched windows on one side.

On 4th December 2019 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 3209 recommendations about 2920 pubs]


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Brainy Pool left this review about Kings Arms

this rather spartan one roomed Sam Smiths pub is very incongruous with its surroundings- today loud hen parties, drunken groups of twenty somethings and foreign tourists. Maybe they couldn’t believe their luck when they got a £2.15 pint of lager, but only once they got over their horror at the absence of Fosters/Budweiser on the bar. Queues at the door and a strictly policed beer garden this Easter Saturday. the Extra Stout went down well. May be a very different place in winter but for now it’s a welcome antidote to the Slug and Bollocks nonsense going on around it.

On 20th April 2019 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1058 recommendations about 1023 pubs]


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Alex Conway left this review about Kings Arms

This is defiantly one of the poorer Sam Smiths pubs in York. The usual beer selection is there (only more reduced) and it has no real ales, only keg versions of their Old brewery Bitter. I was told the reason for this was to do with the cellar and its proximity to the river which meant it is impossible to keep cask ales in good condition. This is also the only Sam smiths pub in York i have visited that charges a few pence premium on its beers compared to the other outlets.

I opted for the OBB in keg for and was very disappointed, i have had really good keg sam smiths in other places but this was not one of them.
Another really annoying thing about the kings arms is how they insist on serving beer in plastic cups for people sat outside on the benches!! do they not trust their customers. this totally ruins the drinking experience and what could be a very good beer garden/seating area next to the river.

On 6th July 2016 - rating: 5
[User has posted 455 recommendations about 455 pubs]


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Steve C left this review about Kings Arms

Thankfully the Kings Arms was not flooded when I visited on a recent Saturday afternoon. This is a Sam Smith’s pub that unfortunately does not have cask OBB. I ended up having half an Alpine lager that set me back ninety odd pence. An impressive price, but I wasn’t that impressed with receiving a plastic cup to drink it from.

The interior consists of a bar that splits the pub in two giving front and rear seating areas. Many picnic tables line the cobbles adjacent to the river Ouse. Unsurprisingly for this brewer, there was no background music and I didn’t see any televisions.

On 19th April 2015 - rating: 5
[User has posted 5179 recommendations about 5148 pubs]


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hondo . left this review about The Kings Arms

Sam Smiths pub next to and often flooded by the river.

On 7th September 2013 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]


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Alan Winfield left this review about The Kings Arms

The Kings Arms is a nice looking riverside pub that is best appreciated when quiet so you have to go in here very early or when its cold and raining.
This pub is a Samuel Smiths tied house and the only one that i know of in York that does'nt have any real ales on,once inside the pub has different drinking areas and stone floors as the carpets would get wet when this pub gets flooded which is quite regular.
I had a drink of keg Old Brewery bitter and this was ok but not as good as the real thing.
Not one of my favourite York pubs.

On 10th April 2011 - rating: 5
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]


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John Bonser left this review about The Kings Arms

The Kings Arms is a smallish Sam Smith's pub situated on the northern banks of the River Ouse between the Lendal and Ouse bridges.

It's a typical Sam's pub - unbadged as such of course - with flagstoned flooring, exposed brickwork and lowish beams. The interior is largely unremarkable, although do note the markers indicating how high the floods have been over the years - the highest being approx 6 feet which was in November 2000.

There's a large outside area on the river front, which is a mixture of bench seating and a standing area on the cobblestones.

Given its location, this is a pub that probably doesn't have to make too much effort to attract the punters on a sunny day . My recent visit appeared to bear this out - longish queues for service, no one collecting empties, sticky tables - in summary, a not very impressive show, I'm afraid.

The Sam Smiths OBB - £ 1.61p - is not real ale.

We all like drinking outside when the sun comes out to play, but there's not much else to get enthusiastic about here.

On 15th October 2010 - rating: 3
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]


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Soup Dragon left this review about The Kings Arms

A very touristy Samuel Smith’s, water front pub, with a great patio area. It is a medieval town design, with a stone lower story and a white plastered overhanging upper story.

The interior is an L-shaped room around the serving bar. The decor is simple; brick and stone, with wooden ceiling and support beams, stone flag floor and a brick fireplace. It has to be simple, as the place has been flooded out on a number of occasions – there is, as the other commentators have said, a marker on the wall, as well as some photographs, of the height the water has reached. There is no TV, there was also no background music. Service was fine. The clientele varies here, depending on the weather. A massive queue can form leading outside on nice days and the pub and patio can get rammed. I of course simply walk past, being miserable, however, at other times it is as quiet as a church mouse.

Beer; all keg Samuel Smiths beers, but without a MILD. The stout was as cold as ever, but fine enough, apart from the fact that it is served in plastic glasses.

It is worth a visit for its location, but the fact that there is no real ale, or keg Sam Smiths MILD and one is subjected to plastic glasses means that I would rather go elsewhere after one (if i get in)

On 4th October 2010 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 3067 recommendations about 3062 pubs]

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