Duke of York

This place was packed with friendly people and a great atmosphere on a Friday night. Lots of locals as well as those visiting town. The location is great and the interior is nicely decorated and well kept. It is also quite spacious, with a back room and an upstairs.
They have a good selection of beers and ciders, and our favorite by far was the Rekorderlig Strawberry-​lime cider — it was delicious!
They have a good variety of board games as well, if your group needs something to keep busy with.
I would definitely return, it is one of the better pubs around the area!

The Duke has definitely a great selection of local beers and some good gin+tonic deals are to be found. Sadly, it’s often very busy and does not cope with it very well. You have to squeeze your way past the bar first (obviously the busiest part of the pub anyway) to be able to find a place to sit or chat. Or you just keep standing and become part of the Bar-​Bubble of people.
I find that the area behind the stairs is the only reason why the Duke of York can be called a pub. It’s the quieter area with a big window and nice seating in comparison to the IKEA type furniture that can be found upstairs.
Altogether it appears to be geared towards tourists and hen party clientele.

We’re just up in York for the weekend and after a few pretty average real ale pubs, the Duke of York was a really welcome sight. Great atmosphere later on, on a Friday night (no burly door presence) and once inside the selection of real ales was excellent. The bar staff were obliging if you needed a couple of samples, and the quality of the beers that we had was very good.