Pivni

This is a true hidden gem of York. The tiny bar area downstairs may fool you into thinking this place is full. But there’s plenty of room on the next two floors.
Cracking selection of real ales and quality spirits and mixers, they even have local pork pies as bar snacks! If you want to have a quiet pint away from the manic streets then Pivni is the place for you.

Cool multi level pub. Right off the shambles in old building. Chill relaxed pub no main or hot food… Focus on beer

Before I start, a word of warning — if you are visiting during the colder months then wrap up warm. We were absolutely nithered sat upstairs which I at first thought might be because they didn’t have any heating up there, but on a trip downstairs to the bar it was equally cold. I liked the place enough that this wouldn’t stop me going again, but layer up!
I enjoyed a half of Beavertown Smog Rocket and a half of Maisels Weisse, both of which were really nice and reasonably priced.
I hope to spend more time here on future trips to York.

I’ve gotta say that Pivni is one of my favourite bars in York — even though it always seems to be somewhere we end up just nipping into for a pint on the way to somewhere else.
Tucked in around this fantastically ancient part of town, it’s a real unique place with a long downstairs bar and much more room upstairs. Patrons are a mixed and diverse group with a fair amount of beery, beardy types (like me…) making it a haven.
There’s always a great selection of craft beer on tap from UK breweries and some from further afield — the bottles selection is immense as well. On this occasion I enjoyed a couple from the amazing ‘Magic Rock’ brewery in Huddersfield — their Brown Ale and Human Cannonball really hit the spot.
Owned by the same guys as the ‘Tap bars’ like Euston, York and Harrogate tap, if you like these then you’ll definitely like it here!

Pivni is a perfect storm of elements that makes York an interesting spot to visit.
It is housed in a archetypal tudor building on the corner of the one of the market squares. There is a lot of potential to miss it if your walking past because it doesn’t scream «Come and drink here!» like so many establishments these days, instead there is a traditional pub sign which says ‘World Beer Freehouse’ and it’s true to it’s word.
Not only sporting a decent selection of real ales and cider, it also has kegged beer sourced from the continent and the US.
The sagging tudor walls and low exposed ceilings feel like they are wrapping you in warm arms so the whole place feel like a snug, the ground and first floor have a real simple pub feel, some painted plaster walls mixed with exposed brick. The third floor is a little unusual, having been refurbished recently top to toe in a unfinished wood, low ceiling lights above the tables compete with your view of friends and a large ‘Pivni’ sign in red fluorescent tube is mounted on one wall bathing the entire space in a warm red glow making this space feel like a norwegian sauna.
It’s an unpretentious pub with the used casks and kegs stacked at the bottom of the staircase which goes up two further floors in this impressive tudor building. I wouldn’t say it’s a traditional local though as it’s missing the more mundane trappings. No fruit machine in a corner, no league tables on the wall, no tv in site. There is a jukebox on the second floor but set a a background music level. Good beer and discussion dominate within these walls.
I didn’t try anything other than the beer, but I believe they have the usual selection of bar snacks.
If I lived in York this pub would be one of my regular haunts.

in a city of quaint beamed traditional ale house, this was a little gem, great selection of obscure real ales and lagers, we’ll over 10 options on tap with a huge bottle selection as we’ll.Definitely seek this out when in York. A very quirky approach to the décor and layout, would definitely be a regular of mine if living in York

I love PIVNI. If you enjoy local and exotic «non standard» craft ales, this is your place! Not much for food, this is a beer drinker’s pub. The rustic Elizabethan architectures venue only heightens the experience with its low ceiling and exposed beams. This place just gets it right in so many ways!

Awesome old school pub with a great selection of beers and ales. Definitely worth a stop for a drink if you are in the area.
They have popcorn too!

What a total gem. Perhaps it’s the hidden alleyway nature of the place, the rustic wooden beams and creaky floor boards, the range of flat room temperature ciders or the array of good brews that makes this bar so special. Or would you class it as a pub?
York has a ton of olde world style spots but if you’re out for a few, this has to be one of your stop offs. The bar staff are patient and helpful a you attempt to decipher what you want from the range. I went for a Miami Weisse, not only for the good pun, but I do like a Weisse beer. It was fab, but perhaps not as hoppy as I’ve gotten used to with craft beers.
The upstairs seating is lovely for a small gathering, but if more than four or five of you are visiting you might struggle for a seat. I can imagine whiling away many hours here with pints and board games, or cards. It is really stuffy though, which you’ll notice coming in from the cold, and likely appreciate at first.
I’m a big fan, and must come back soon.

They don’t build ‘em like this any more! Tiny bar, low ceilings, wonky stairs leading to a comfy second floor sitting room overlooking a lovely courtyard and up again to toilets and empty keg storage. (They have to use every available inch of space in this place.)
The tiny bar downstairs serves a great range of beer. A combination of cask ales and craft kegs both locally sourced and from abroad, and a good range of bottled beer. On my visit, I drank Stone Pale Ale (California) from the keg and an Odell IPA (Colorado) from a bottle.
The staff were friendly and helpful, and even tolerated me when I spilt a full glass of beer all over the bar and the customer next to me. He was nice too! Great place. One of the best in York. Highly recommended.

For anyone who supports the continued existence of oddball shops, eccentric publicans and purveyors of queer specialised bric-​à-​brac, York has long been a must-​visit destination.
Partly because of the lack of modern premises that fit the exacting specifications of the usual high street brands, York continues to pulse with shops that sell everything from dainty chintz to gothic flotsam. Best of all, the clustering of these shops on the most quaintly medieval of the city’s streets mean that there is huge passing trade that helps them to survive in a way that similar shops driven to the peripheries of bigger cities often fail to do.
Likewise for the bars and drinking holes. Whilst there is a place for a Wetherspoons — or even dismall hellholes such as a Slug and Lettuce — York remains charmingly stuffed with resolute boozers of the old school. Pivni (formerly Pivovar Café) bills itself as a «world beer freehouse», and thus immediately caught my eye.
Nestled in a madly tilted and twisted wattle and daub house, there is a small, low-​ceilinged bar and a scintillating selection of rarely-​seen beers, ales and ciders on tap. North American pale ales get a good showing, but you can also winkle out a Belgian fruit beer, full-​on cloudy English cider or crisp continental lagers served in those funny goblets.
The beers on our visit were dispensed by a scouser dressed like the Clash’s missing member who was witty, warm and welcoming and happy to dole out tasters to help guide us to the right beer. Music was both discreet in volume and interestingly diverse and a nice backdrop to some experimental boozing and good conversation.
The only potential drawback is on price. These are speciality brews that you won’t find anywhere else in the city — possibly not even the county. As such, a pint can set you back upwards of four quid, which is a level which normally sets my dour, spendthrift Yorkshire heart racing. Nontheless, if you’re after something a little different to while away an hour or two on a rainy winter’s afternoon, this is a splendid and cherishable little institution.