York Tap

Another station bar full of history! This was originally a tea room built by the North Eastern Railway in the early 20^th century. After a period of hosting a model railway/​shop, the building has been lovingly restored to an award winning standard, The main feature is the traditional wooden central bar which features a large selection of real ales. There are also a couple of unusual lagers on tap. The location of the pub is interesting. You can enter from either the platform, or from the street next to the Royal York hotel. Obviously, being located in a station, the cliental is generally varied of a passing type. The atmosphere is very comfortable and relaxed, and I can’t think of a better place to wait for your train!

I love that English train stations have decent pubs and the York Tap is another winner for a pre-​train beverage. I came on a Friday night and it was packed but I managed to find a seat after choosing a drink from their great range of ales on tap. Plenty of choice and well priced considering they will have a reliable flow of customers given their location.

Most station pubs are GRIM, sticky floors, terrible beers, plastic food and over inflated prices. The York Tap is thankfully not one of those pubs, a diamond in the rough of the station pub world.
Located by car park, between the main station concourse and the Royal York Hotel, it would be easy to miss the Tap but that would be unfortunate. Especially if you’re a beer lover. There are tables ‘outside’, back from the main platform, as well as plenty of seats in the main bar area. The decoration is simple and traditional but everything is clean and well-​ordered.
The bar itself takes center stage in the middle of the room, giving plenty of room for the many pumps for cask ale. It’s this wide range of interesting cask ales that really sets the Tap apart. There were at least 20 ales and lagers on tap, showcasing a wide variety from different local breweries.
On my most recent visit myself and 2 colleagues were really struggling to choose from the excellent selection before us! In the end we each went for a different option and were all pleased with what we selected. And at £12.20 for 3 pints of craft ale in a station pub I was also very impressed with the prices!
So if you like beer and find yourself with a free half hour or more in or around York station then I recommend heading straight to the Tap, you won’t be disappointed.

Popped in while waiting for my bus home after a train trip, had half an hour to kill.
Service was appalingly slow, stood for best part of ten minutes while the lone barman ran around like a loon while fending off requests from all the other long waiting customers.
The only other visible member of staff was a girl clearing glasses and stacking the shelves, when it was asked why she couldn’t pull a few pints to clear the backlog the lone barman says ‘oh she’s a trainee’, err, you’re never gonna be not a trainee unless you get on and pull a few pints now and then.
Lone barman by this point was looking a bit frazzled and when he did get around to serving me and the other two customers stood either side of me it was with pretty much zero enthusiasm, I’d lost interest in being there after ten minutes, can only guess how he felt after what was probably a long shift.
Sort the staffing out, this place is always busy by virtue of it being on top of the station with a lot of people just popping by for a swifty while waiting for trains, standing around wasting time is just not on, especially if you only have a little time to pass while waiting for a train in the first place.

What a great pub. I love the history of the place, it’s not exciting, it’s just seeing it change over the years into this great pint serving pub!
Must visit and try ale you haven’t tried before.

«A bright and bustling pub, its well worth a pop in even if you have no intention of getting a train»… that Unilocaler put it best to be honest, so kudos to you!
The only reason I’m not going with five stars is that it’s gotten slightly dingier over time… it’s by no means a dirty place, or anything of the sort, and perhaps I’m being unfair in all honesty, but it just seems to have digressed a bit in the cleanliness department since opening… had I not been a few times right at the beginning I doubt I would even have the gripe, so feel free to add that star back when reading on… I’m not even sure if you can keep a station bar pristine!
Above aside, this is a five star place… the selection of beers is nothing short of phenomenal, and it’s got a cool layout to boot… if you’re a beer guy or gal then this is a place for you, train or otherwise. While they carry a good tonic as well, Fentimans if I recall, a double Gin and Tonic comes at a price though… £7, which is a bit high for York, so this is definitely one for the beer lovers.
Any given time this place goes from a decent atmosphere to flat out busy — there’s seating all around the bar with an on track outdoor area for those looking for a bit more openness, and you can always find a seat, but it definitely gets bustling at the right times.
I’m leaving this as one of my shorter reviews (a miracle!), this is a great bar with a seriously huge selection of unique beers on rotation in a lovely station — as others have said it may even be worth popping in even if you’re not on an outbound or inbound train… suppose there’s not much else to stay!

Mind. Blown. How is it possible that what may be the best pub I’ve ever been in is inside a TRAIN STATION? Really, though, this is where you need a quality pint the most. So thank you, York Tap, for providing an essential community service for us poor train riders. And the rest of the general public who wants to come in for a pie and a pint, of course.
Oh yeah. THE PIES. I think a pint of cider and either the stilton or carmelized onion-​topped pork pie is in the running as what I would potentially choose as a last meal. SO GOOD! Friendly staff working the bar, amazing selection of beers and ciders, and really fantastic pies… Brings a tear to my eye! I will be back for sure.

Who would have thought a pub right outside the train station would be sooo good…
Usually they are a boring chain offering generic beer full of chavs… but this place I was pleasantly surprised…
I came here last night before I got my last train… and I love my ales… so this place really hit the spot for me… they had things from Devils ale which was 7% vol to flavoursome IPA’s…I tried one cider however which was really salty and unpleasant but the bar staff were fine about swapping it.
This place is dangerous though! because the ales are soo good and if you are like me and want to try as many as you can… you will feel a little on the tipsy side… luckily my stop was the last one on the train so I could sleep some of this off :)
The décor is fab and it feels just like a good old fashioned pub with no hints of unoriginality… I will seriously come back to York again just to use this pub!

A great pub with a large range of beers and lagers, the range keeps changing too so you don’t get stuck with the same selection each time. Very handy for a taxi home. Can get a bit busy sometimes, a lot of people seem to stop off on their way home from the trains. Foods not bad, but hey can run out sometimes.
The Beer is great though

Located in the train station, they have a huge selection of beers on tap. It is a nice place to catch a beer before catching a train.

What else to say… The «TAP» s pub have got it superbly nailed as far as I’m concerned.
I’m forever a fan of the Euston Tap but the York Tap is the dream come true. Forget those dreadful stinking drunkholes at your train stations, this is the way to go.
Check out the pics I’ve just uploaded if you don’t believe me. Awesome beers, plenty of it and a striking décor. Staff is more than happy to help you decide among the amazing array of pumps available.
If you do have the time, unlike me in this occasion, venture into York before you stop here though. You’re likely to spend a lot longer than you think once you set foot in it… unless you have a train to cat…

Seriously, you guys. I’m not going to start bemoaning the fact that Leeds station doesn’t have one of these (OK, I just did) but this place is probably the best station bar I’ve been to. Ever. I mean, were it not in a station it would still deserve props, and for more than a few reasons.
Reason number one: The range of beers is exquisite. There’s a row of ales, and when I say row, there’s at least seven or eight choices. Added to that there’s a row of craft beers too, again with at least seven or eight options. Think that’s it? Nope, look into the fridges and behold a host of interesting bottles.
Reason number two: The bar man is incredible. He was mega welcoming, to start, and knew every single beer by heart — what characteristics they had, percentage, style, and whether or not he’d personally recommend it! It was fantastic, and really helpful if you want help trying something new.
Even the environment is cool, given that it’s a station bar. Your best option is to try and nab the cosier booths around the edges, but it’s no bad thing to sit on the other tables. You still have the vibe of being in transition, after all it’s still a place a lot of people go to drink before or after a train, but I wouldn’t have a problem treating it like a local.
Only thing I noticed to criticise was that there was a bit of flooding in the ladies’ loos, but even so, not enough to mar my experience. If you’ve not been, take yourself to York for a day trip, and make sure you start and end the day here.

pint of Celtic Glory before jumping on the train!
Pretty standard train station pub.
I was just a flying visit.

Located right next to (or inside) the beautiful train station of York, York Tap apart from being quite a pretty pub also offers a very wide selection of ales and beers to enjoy. The location also offers a great place to people watch as there is a constant coming and going of travellers and passers by. Staff are friendly and prices are reasonable for York as well.

Excellent station pub but the service was very very slow. And that was before midday! I hope they have more staff on later! Seriously attractive pub though, particularly by railway pubs standards. Still worth the wait even if they haven’t sorted out their staffing!
I was comfortable enough in those surroundings to enjoy a couple of beers. Black Jack (4pc) from the Short Slack Brewery and Lotus IPA (5.6pc in the ruddy morning!).

I always look forward to a late train, or even missing it, to give me the chance to slide in here for a couple. With regularly over a dozen draught ales on and lagers the choice is fantastic. The ale is kept well and served in the correct fashion. A bright and bustling pub, its well worth a pop in even if you have no intention of getting a train. Various pork pies and home made chutney on sale at £2.50.
Toilets clean. The door is situated on the platforms so one does not have to run the gauntlet of smokers to get in as the whole station is non smoking.
Recommended start and finsih point for a trawl round Yorks pubs