My Grandmother told me that her father (my great grandfather) once owned a pub called The Railway Tavern on the corner of Railway Street in central York. During my visit to York I wanted to see if it still existed. I searched but could not even locate the street. Then I discovered the reason – Railway Street had been renamed George Hudson Street (after the railway king George Hudson) and the Railway Tavern was now called The Maltings. It still stood on it’s original site on the corner of Tanners Moat and George Hudson Street. During my search I’d walked by it several times – it was just yards from my hotel!, I just had to visit it!.
The Maltings advertises Real Ale, Real Food, Real Pub. We’d noticed as we had passed by in the evenings that it looked very busy (and noisy) so we decided to visit for lunch when we thought it would be quieter.
The Maltings is very much an old, rustic and quirky pub. The bar/eating area has walls adorned with quirky objects of every description. It is furnished simply with wooden chairs and tables and has a polished wood central bar. It’s main focus being its ale and food. It has an extensive range of real ale’s, I noticed it also had a large variety of fruit wines, and whiskies. Despite this tempting range, we were after a late morning coffee and then lunch.
It was quiet when we arrived but we noticed several tables marked reserved (always a good sign of popularity). We were quickly served our coffee and given a menu called The Dragons Pantry at The Maltings, the Dragons Pantry being their restaurant which is a separate area of the bar although we were able to remain at the seats we’d selected in the bar area.
The menu had a good choice of traditional, home cooked pub grub, Sausage and Mash, Beef pie and gravy, Ham, Egg and Chips .Lighter meals included Jacket Potatoes with various fillings, Sandwiches, Salads, Soups. There was a good desert menu. From the vegetarian menu (which had a choice of three or four meals) I chose Mushroom and Spinach Lasagne with a side salad, whilst Clifford, my husband ordered from the main menu Roast Chicken and Chips.
Generous portions they certainly were, the quality of the food was excellent too. My salad was so lovely and fresh and my lasagne not only filling but very tasty. Clifford was given a huge portion of chunky cut chips to go with the Roast Chicken.
The ground floor W.C. I found to be spacious, sparking clean with nice toiletries.
The furnishings and general decor in the bar looked a bit tired, and minimalists would not approve of the walls packed with quirky objects, but the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming the food lovely and substantial, prices are reasonable. If you like real ale and good, simple food it is worth a visit.
The Maltings stands just a few minutes walk from York’s Railway Station.
