York Pubs: The Best Pubs and Where to Drink

If you want the pubs with the strongest public record, start with the Blue Bell on Fossgate, York CAMRA’s Pub of the Year for 2025 and a pub since 1798; Ye Olde Starre Inne on Stonegate, believed to hold the city’s oldest licence; the Golden Ball in Bishophill, York’s first community co-operative pub; and Brew York on Walmgate, with 56 taps. Every entry below was checked against the pub’s own website on 24 October 2026.

We have not drunk in these pubs for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry sets out what the pub says about itself, what it publishes about hours, food, dogs and children, and what the public record adds: CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, local CAMRA awards, heritage listings and the Food Standards Agency hygiene rating for pubs that serve food.

Historic pubs in the old city

The Blue Bell, Fossgate

The Blue Bell calls itself “York’s smallest and most beautiful pub”. Its own history says the building went up around 1600 and became a pub in 1798, and that the Edwardian fit-out dates from 1903, when George and Annie Robinson took it on; their daughter Edith ran it until 1992. It was York CAMRA’s Pub of the Year for 2025 and is in the 2025 Good Beer Guide (YorkMix). Five permanent cask ales plus guests, and pies. House rules: no under-18s (a licence condition), no swearing, phone calls outside, and groups only by prior arrangement. Open 12pm to 11pm daily. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 19 October 2023). 53 Fossgate, YO1 9TF. Our listing.

Ye Olde Starre Inne, Stonegate

Greene King, which runs the pub, says it dates from 1644, is “believed to be the oldest licensed premises” in York and served as a hospital and mortuary in the Civil War. It has a bar and three outdoor terraces, with views of the Minster from the beer gardens. The menu is pub classics such as fish and chips and pie and mash, with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, and Sunday roasts. The pub says it is dog friendly, family friendly and wheelchair accessible. Open 11am to 11pm Monday to Thursday, to midnight Friday and Saturday, and to 10.30pm Sunday; food until 9pm. Tables can be booked online. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 2 October 2025). 40 Stonegate, YO1 8AS. Our listing.

House of the Trembling Madness, Stonegate

The original Trembling Madness describes itself as a “medieval ale house”, reached through its ground-floor bottle shop, and says the rear of the building began as part of a Norman house of about 1180. It is known for its taxidermy and its range: eight keg and four cask lines, plus anything from the shop to drink in. Food, sourced from Yorkshire and meant for sharing, is served all day. The pub does not take table bookings because of its size. Open 10am to midnight, seven days a week. The shop was named UK Independent Beer Retailer of the Year in 2019, it says. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 25 September 2025). 48 Stonegate, YO1 8AS; a second bar is at 14 Lendal. Our listing.

Guy Fawkes Inn, High Petergate

The Guy Fawkes Inn stands on the site where Guy Fawkes was born in 1570, beside the Minster, and is now a pub with rooms run by the Fat Badger Group, with an AA Rosette restaurant. It says it has three beer gardens, including a restored courtyard it calls the largest landscaped beer garden in the city centre, and that by tradition it does not mark Bonfire Night. Dogs are welcome in the bar and beer gardens but not in the restaurant or bedrooms; families are welcome. The kitchen opens at noon, with last orders at 9pm Monday to Thursday, 9.30pm Friday and Saturday and 8.30pm Sunday. The inn warns of steps and uneven floors in the old building. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 17 April 2026). 25 High Petergate, YO1 7HP. Our listing.

The Black Swan, Peasholme Green

The Black Swan is a timber-framed inn that dates from the 15th century, and its history page says it was built as the house of William Bowes, Sheriff of York in 1417 and later Lord Mayor. Its folk club has met here for more than 40 years, on Thursdays at 7.45pm, and was named Folk Club of the Year in 2009. There is a panelled restaurant, two beer gardens, free parking, rooms and a welcome for families. Open 12pm to 11pm Monday to Saturday and to 10.30pm Sunday; food 12pm to 8.15pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 4.45pm on Sundays and bank holidays. Bookings by phone or email. Hygiene rating 3 (FSA, 1 August 2025). Peasholme Green, YO1 7PR. Our listing.

The Hole in the Wall, High Petergate

A Marston’s pub between the Art Gallery and the Minster, the Hole in the Wall calls itself “a traditional, red-brick venue” with a long pub food menu, and is one of the easier city-centre pubs for families: it lists high chairs, baby changing, board games, a fireplace and cask ales among its facilities. It serves Sunday lunch and books tables online. Open 11am to 11pm Monday to Saturday and 11.30am to 11pm on Sunday. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 22 August 2025). 10 High Petergate, YO1 7EH. Our listing.

Real ale and craft beer

Pivni, Patrick Pool

Pivni describes itself as “a real ale and world beer freehouse” in “a stunning three storey, 16th century building just off the famous Little Shambles”, and has served beer there since 2007. It is part of the same small group as the York Tap at the station, alongside taps in Harrogate, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. Alongside the beer it lists premium cider, wine and spirits. Open 11.30am to 11pm Monday to Thursday, to 11.30pm Friday and Saturday, and 12pm to 11pm Sunday. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 15 September 2018). 6 Patrick Pool, YO1 8BB. Our listing.

The Market Cat, Jubbergate

The Market Cat is a joint venture between Thornbridge Brewery and the York pub company Pivovar, in a three-storey former pawnbroker’s on the corner of Shambles Market. The pub says the top floor has views across the rooftops to the Minster. Food is Milanese-style pizza, with dough made each morning using Thornbridge’s Jaipur IPA, in 7, 12 and 18 inch sizes. It is in the 2025 Good Beer Guide, and CAMRA’s WhatPub listing records it as dog friendly with children welcome until 9pm. Open 11.30am to 11.30pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 11pm Sunday. Hygiene rating 3 (FSA, 3 July 2025). 6 Jubbergate, YO1 8RT. Our listing.

Brew York Beer Hall and Tap Room, Walmgate

This is where Brew York first brewed, and you can still see the brewing kit. Downstairs is the taproom with six cask and ten keg lines; upstairs a Bavarian-style beer hall with 40 taps, 56 in all. Food is Asian street food from YUZU, there is a covered riverside beer garden by the Foss, a quiz on Sundays and weekly brewery tours. Dogs are welcome, and under-18s can stay until 8pm with an adult. Open from 12pm daily, to 10pm Sunday to Wednesday and 11pm Thursday to Saturday (the taproom stays open until 11pm on Sundays). It is in the 2025 Good Beer Guide. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 3 September 2026). Unit 6, Walmgate, YO1 9TT. Our listing.

Locals beyond the tourist streets

The Golden Ball, Bishophill

The Golden Ball calls itself “York’s first community co-operative pub”. It is a Grade II listed, free-of-tie pub with a well-preserved Victorian layout and a tiled bar, and it is in CAMRA’s national inventory of historic pub interiors and the 2025 Good Beer Guide. Hand-pulled cask ales lean towards local breweries, with pork pies from the Shambles Sausage & Pie Company to eat. The pub says it has hosted baby groups, choirs, weddings and christenings. Open 4pm to 11pm Monday to Thursday, 2pm to 11.30pm Friday, 12pm to 11.30pm Saturday and 12pm to 11pm Sunday. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 16 February 2021). 2 Cromwell Road, YO1 6DU. Our listing.

The Phoenix Inn, George Street

The Phoenix calls itself “an unspoilt, independently-run, little pub”, with no gaming machines, televisions or jukebox, a log fire in winter and a paved beer garden that looks onto the city walls. Its history page dates the interior to an 1897 refit for John Smith’s and says it is the last pub inside the walls that served the old cattle market at Fishergate Bar. It reopened in October 2009 after a year of restoration. Cask ale, local pies and live jazz; dogs are welcome. It is in the 2025 Good Beer Guide. Open 1pm to 11pm Monday to Friday and 12pm to 11pm at weekends. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 5 February 2020). 75 George Street, YO1 9PT. Our listing.

Rook & Gaskill, Lawrence Street

Just outside Walmgate Bar, the Rook & Gaskill is a tenanted Castle Rock Brewery pub, which Castle Rock describes as “a characterful pub just outside the city walls”. It has eight cask lines and 20 keg lines, more than 40 beers in all, and serves burgers and stone-baked pizzas from 5pm; Castle Rock’s page gives food as Monday to Saturday in one place and every day in another, so check before a Sunday visit. The Big Fat Quiz is on Thursdays at 9pm. Dogs are welcome and there is outdoor seating. It is in the 2025 Good Beer Guide. Open 5pm to 11pm Monday to Friday, 2pm to 11pm Saturday and 4pm to 10pm Sunday. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 17 August 2024). 12 Lawrence Street, YO10 3WP. Our listing.

The Old Grey Mare, Clifton Green

The Old Grey Mare on Clifton Green is the newest Brew York pub, with 12 keg and six cask lines, YUZU street food and rooms upstairs. Dogs are welcome and under-18s can stay until 8pm with an adult; the pub says there are two shallow steps at the front with a removable ramp, level access to the bar and a ground-floor accessible toilet. Parking out front is limited to two hours before 6pm. Open 11am to 10pm Monday and Tuesday, to 11pm Wednesday and Thursday, to midnight Friday and Saturday and to 10pm Sunday. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 6 March 2025). Clifton Green, YO30 6LH. Our listing.

How we chose

This is a list of the pubs people search for, chosen on records anyone can check rather than on taste: CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide and York CAMRA’s awards, heritage listings and CAMRA’s inventory of historic interiors, how long a pub has traded, and, for pubs that serve food, the Food Standards Agency hygiene rating. Nothing rated below 3 was considered. We checked every pub’s own website on 24 October 2026 for hours, food, dog and child rules and any closure notice, and took hygiene ratings from the FSA register the same day. Two well-known pubs are missing for now because we could not check them against their own websites: the Golden Fleece on Pavement, whose site blocked us, and the York Tap at the station, whose web address no longer carries the pub’s own pages. The Maltings on Tanner Row closed in 2024. Hours change, so check with the pub before you go.

For more ideas, see things to do in York, what’s on in York this month and our York restaurants guide, or browse every pub in our York business directory.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@theyorktimes.co.uk.

Frequently asked questions

What is the oldest pub in York?

Ye Olde Starre Inne on Stonegate is the usual answer: Greene King, which runs it, says it dates from 1644 and is believed to be the oldest licensed premises in the city. Several York pubs occupy older buildings, including the Black Swan on Peasholme Green, a 15th-century house, and the House of the Trembling Madness, whose rear, the pub says, dates from about 1180.

Which York pubs are dog friendly?

On their own websites, Ye Olde Starre Inne, the Phoenix Inn, Brew York on Walmgate, the Old Grey Mare and the Rook & Gaskill say dogs are welcome. The Guy Fawkes Inn allows dogs in the bar and its three beer gardens, but not in the restaurant or bedrooms.

Which York pubs are in the Good Beer Guide?

CAMRA’s 2025 Good Beer Guide listed 13 York pubs, YorkMix reported, including the Blue Bell, the Market Cat, Brew York, the Phoenix Inn, the Golden Ball and the Rook & Gaskill from this guide. The Blue Bell was York CAMRA’s Pub of the Year for 2025.