The Blue Bell, York

Quinno _ left this review about The Blue Bell

Long-overdue revisit since the young licensee took it on. A nice buzz in the air which he himself creates and he has that rare ability to be able to hold court by chatting to multiple customers at once whilst also working and looking like he’s genuinely enjoying everything; indeed I and another local at the bar had a chinwag with him about various subjects over the 20 minutes I chugged my excellent Rudgate Ruby Mild (NBSS 4). This a must-visit gem in its present form.

April 2015
Finally did show my face in the Blue Bell again after a six year hiatus. And fortunately it was the fag-end of a quiet weekday evening so I got to sample the rear room, which is like a little parlour - lovely and snug with full wall to ceiling dark wood panelling, carpet, original bell-pushes in the seats and numerous award certificates from CAMRA and the like. Shame the fire was gas rather than coal! Six ales on and a good selection of brewers - Roosters, Bradfield, Wold Top, Rudgate, Great Heck, Tim Taylor. I immediately went for the Rudgate Ruby Mild but I have to say that my beer was warm and had a faintly tart edge. Unusually, fresh bread for sale at the bar. I still love this place, and I hope I was just very unlucky with the beer. As is well-documented elsewhere, they operate a strict no groups policy. So like the Ark, you need to file in two by two over the course of five minutes. Rated 8

February 2009
I finally made it into the legendary Blue Bell in January for my birthday and was glad I did, the Edwardian interior lives up to its reputation. Packed to the rafters on a Saturday evening (no wonder) I only got as far as the small, quarry-tiled front bar (there's a second seating area at the back via a corridor with a hatch servery) and was lucky enough to bag a table next to the fire - my luck must have been in. Plenty of good-natured hubbub from the locals and had a bit of banter with one of the other punters, all good fun. The beer range was impressive (seven) given the size of the place and the quality was excellent. Only stopped for a couple of halves but I fully intend to show my face in there again. Rated 9

On 4^th July 2024 - rating: 10
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