Cittie of Yorke

Gorgeous old pub, huge ceilings, medieval feel. And beer wasn’t extortionate — huzzah!
Even better are the little private booths, which block out background chatter perfectly.
To me, this really symbolises a British boozer at its Londony best. Love it.

It’s truly one of my faves. It’s a really impressive space — and sufficiently cavernous that even when it’s busy it’s not THAT crazy. Ok, fine, it can get packed, but the high ceilings make it better? I dunno.
Good beer menu, but I mean… don’t go doing some crazy like asking for a negroni (I did this. Do as I say, not as I did).
Despite negroni gaffe, staff is awesome and I find getting attention at the bar is easy: fast, friendly, done.
My only real quibbles (which are not sufficient that they keep me from 5-​starring this place):
i. 2 stalls in the women’s bathroom. 2 is too few (that sounds like a lyric to a rap?). 2 is too few, queue (this sounds like a lyric to a bad rap).
ii. on a nice summer’s night it’s not a pub for standing outside much. I mean, people _​do_​but it’s…on High Holborn. It’s not the «spill out onto the streets» kind of environment. Unless, of course, you want to lose a toe or something. In sum: indoors, kids!
Unilocal note: I like it here. I think I’ll stay a while.

Stepping over the threshold of Cittie of Yorke, one feels like they’ve crossed into a medieval beer hall. Complete with vaulted ceiling, central iron fireplace, and cloistered booths, Cittie of York — for the building alone — is worth visiting. There’s a large, adjoining living room with comfy chairs, but I often opt for what I call «the temple of beer» room.
The staff are reasonably friendly, the prices fair, and the beer selection acceptable. In this rare case though, all that is filler for experiencing the building itself.

Great atmosphere, fells like a hidden gem! The bar staff are friendly and helpful. It isn’t overpriced! BUT it may be hard to find a seat!

I have been to my fair share of bars across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, but nothing compares to Cittie of Yorke — my favorite bar in the world. I found CoY when I was living in London in 2005. It became my afternoon watering hole for a pint (or several pints) of Samuel Smith Old Brewery Bitter cask ale. CoY is about as well-​priced a place as you’ll find in central London — both the beer and food (which is also fantastic) are very reasonable. But don’t go just for the price… go to feel the magnificent ambiance of this immaculate pub. From the wooden enclaves around the bar to the large barrels hanging overhead, it is just a cool place to spend a couple hours. CoY has two sister bars: Princess Louise (just a few blocks west on High Holborn) and The Chandos (adjacent to the National Gallery/​Trafalgar Square). Same prices, same food, but each has a unique feel and its own clientele. The Chandos is a great location but my least favorite of these three establishments. Every time I am in London, this is a «must» destination for me. I would encourage anyone visiting the city to take the Tube to Chancery Lane, check out this beautiful bar, and drink a fresh pint of Sam Smith for me. Cheers!

The best ‘traditional English’ pub to show to your non-​British guests. Stunning traditional interiors with a side salon for big parties, or nice little booths where one can be tucked away in privacy. Good Sam Smith beers, really chill atmosphere with not too loud music — there’s nothing more to ask for.

Quick glance:
+ oozes charm
+ lives within Grade II listed building
Full review:
Cittie of Yorke is charming, living inside a Grade II listed building that transports you back in time.
It is a Samuel Smith’s pub and doesn’t offer particularly exciting drinks or pub grub, but prices are decent and portion size for food quite generous.
But you don’t really come here for the food and drinks; you come here for the enchanting ambiance. I especially love the Victorian-​style cubicles (think confession booths without the dividers) where you and your lover can disappear into each other’s gaze for the evening in an otherwise heaving pub.
Charming pub worthy of a visit if you are thirsty in the area!

Amazing pub. It definetely has the oldest world charm of any Pub I’ve been in and it doesn’t come across Touristy and fake in doing so. Really huge for a pub (goes far back). Great prices too, £2.90-£3.50 for a nice pint (but beware of the very low end price as they are lower in alcohol %). Food was very impressive and affordable. Got a wonderful southern style chicken burger that well may actually be the best crispy chicken burger I’ve had in this city.
Try and get one of the covered booths in the back on the right. Very cool even if you feel you’re in a confessional. Think this may be my new out-​of-​towner pub I take them to.

Agreed with all the other positive reviews here. From the outside it looks charming, but that doesn’t prepare you for the breathtaking, village church-​like interior (which I understand dates to the 1920s or thereabouts; this is not actual 400-​year-​old décor). The photos you see on this pub’s Unilocal page do it justice. It’s exactly what it looks like inside: charming, rustic, cavernous yet cozy. I sat in one of the «confessional» booths with a friend and felt right at home. The clientele is friendly too, and apparently it never gets very crowded. Definitely one of the more atmospheric pubs in London. No jukebox, televisions or fruit machines to ruin the Olde Englishe vibe.

From the second I stepped into this pub I got a strange feeling of déjà vu and nostalgia. Maybe I was a 20^th century English pub-​patron in a past life. I’ll take it.
I really enjoyed the dim lighting and the large space this unexpected pub provides. This Sam Smith pub is fabulously priced, despite being essentially right in the middle of the Chancery Lane, financial services area. Though inches from the station and clearly a destination for the quintessential post-​work pint, I haven’t found it especially crowded any of the handful of times I have frequented it. Notably historic in it’s interior design, it is particularly appealing for those of us foreigners who are still amazed by how old everything is in England…
The highlight of the pub in terms of architecture is the wooden beamed ceiling reminiscent of smaller parish churches and the enormous oven dominating the interior of the space. I really enjoyed the slightly tucked away enclosures which look like a mix between confessional boxes and chapel pews. Either way, my friend and I stayed significantly past closing in that area, finishing our drinks and the staff was extra nice and accommodating. There is a large sitting area closer to the exit with more plush seating, giving you a choice of ambiance.
A top-​notch pub which is definitely a go-​to if you are in the area.

Visited Cittie of York this evening, and found it consistent with the recent April review of this year. It is architecturally fascinating, and has that wonderful dark-​wood-​paneled City-​of-​London vibe. Yes, they charge less for the Samuel Smith Ales too — prices are £2.90 for a pint, which is really not bad for London. I didn’t order food so I cannot comment on that. If you can, however, try and snag one of the enclosed booths shrouded in wood paneling and stained glass for a truly intimate London pub experience right out of a Dickens novel. Tube stop Chancery Lane is literally steps from the entrance.

I’m an American who actually worked at this pub at the end of 2008. It’s a Sam Smith’s pub, though it’s changed ownership since then. So, I don’t really have anything current to say on service and food.
As for history, this place is just fantastic. It’s one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) continuously operating pub in London. The oldest piece is the oven in the center of the main room. As for the confessional style booths and general «churchiness» of the place… it was actually the result of a early 1900s remodel to make it look more historic. So most things aren’t quite as old as they appear.
If you are a tourist, I highly recommend this pub. Hidden in a historic part of central London and not too crowded on weekends as its main draw is the afterwork banker crowd. It’s central and off the beaten path at the same time. It is also owned by Samuel Smith’s and ONLY serves their beer. To many people, this is a huge negative. I can’t tell you how many people I served that were outraged that I couldn’t serve them a Bud Light. To an American/​other tourists, this is a HUGE positive. Do you know how much we pay for Sam Smith’s in the States??? It’s here in abundance and Sam Smith’s sets their pub prices lower than pretty much any other pub in central London.
When I worked there, the owner of Sam Smith’s was trying to force all of his pubs into frozen meals. I have no idea where that issue stands now. But the former owners made the most AMAZING food and were one of the few Sam Smith’s pubs to still serve meals made from scratch. The lunch hour had an awesome variety of homemade pies, soups and lasagnes. While the dinner hour, they were forced to serve frozen pies, hamburgers and fries as dictated by the company. It’s a shame that they’ve probably moved completely to the frozen model. It was some of the best home cooked classic British food you could get, especially in the banking area of London.

What a wonderful pub. I have discovered that whenever you have friends or family from out of town (or visiting from another country), the Cittie of Yorke is the kind of place that gets them excited.
When walking in you find yourself stepping back in time, and even the prices are from yesteryear! Sam Smiths prices are very good, especially for London, and the pubs themselves are incredibly unique.
I recommend for both cheap pints and the lack of tacky music in the background.

Este pub é clássico! É um dos mais antigos da cidade, e foi transformado de um coffee shop em um pub no meio de 1600s. Ao ver a portinha de entrada você não imagina que está entrando em um dos maiores (e mais clássicos) pubs da cidade.
Cheguei a vir aqui algumas vezes com um grupo de amigos, sempre nos reuníamos as terças-​feira em lugares diferentes da cidade e pela localização este foi escolhido mais de uma vez por quem organizava os encontros.
O preço dos pints está dentro da média, o pub é bem frequentado e claro, fica quase em frente a saída do metrô.
Além dos pequenos booths, ainda existem mesas com sofás confortáveis para quem veio com uma turma maior. Se quiser um espaço mais reservado, recomendo que encontre uma mesa no piso inferior.
O aquecimento funciona perfeitamente bem, ao ponto que em uma fria noite de inverno você consegue tirar seus casacos mas não está morrendo de calor e sofrendo um choque térmico como em outros lugares.
O mais legal por aqui é a decoração, te faz pensar que está de volta ao passado já que tem um pé direito alto, barris de madeira e outros pequenos artigos para preservar a sensação de antigo, vintage

This is a beautiful vintage bar that oozes history. It’s definitely a place to go at least once whilst your in London.
However, don’t make the mistake of ordering any food as this place could easily feature on kitchen nightmares. Burger had tough leathery reheated frozen mince. Lasagne seems to lack any mince whatsoever. The waitresses were great through and gave us a full refund. I’ll be back but just for the atmosphere next time.

Awesome pub! Very roomy, and I loved the ‘confessional’ type booths across from the bar.
Staff was great and made some lazy Americans feel at home.

Its ok for a sam smiths pub but I was expecting something a bit more special. Beer quality was good but had to ask for a top up, staff seemed to think that a northern style head means a Banks’s style head at least an inch of foam :(. Beer price is goid at £2.90 though can get same beer in Durham for £1.80.

Unique pub, with large rooms and a creative layout, and a very historic ambiance! I’ve wanted to try this place for a while and was surprised by how much I liked it! The upstairs is very open and spacious, and there is also a giant cellar downstairs that has some particular decorations. When we went, the first floor was absolutely packed with people (and kind of smelled like a gym bag, albiet still very pretty), while the downstairs was pretty empty and there was plenty of seating. However, all the seats filled up within 10 minutes of us sitting down.
The prices are pretty decent, and I like the feel of the pub as it is one of the larger ones in London city center, and one of the older ones as well! They offer a good selection of foods for medium pricing, and their spicy chips were rather delicious! This is a perfect place to go in the city and get a couple drinks and eat some pub food!

If you are as lucky as we were and you snag one of the super cool booths, you’ll have as cool of an experience here as we did (the rest of the place is awesome too, with huge vaulted ceilings, we just have a serious thing for booths).
The huge ceilings make this place feel really unique and the whole place has this lovely non-​douchey vibe to it.
We sampled a few great real ales here and a cider or two and soaked up our time in here. Definitely one of our favorite pubs in London.

This place is epic.
I don’t care about the selection or service in this review. Normally I would, but this joint is so cool looking that you kinda have to put that normal review stuff aside and simple admire the uniqueness of the place.
And to be fair, I had no problem with the selection or service. It does get packed, but it’s so big you can find un-​congested spots — and people seemed to gather in spots apart from the main, big bar. There’s a main bar, front room, alley and people also hang out in the street. Plus there’s an underground bunker where Churchill updated England’s Facebook page during the Biltz.
In time I will create a list of «must see» pubs in London and this will be on it.
Just remind me, please.

Der Pub ist zwar schön und gross und es gibt viele Sitz– und Stehgelegenheiten, was hier leider einen bitteren Nachgeschmack hinterlässt ist das Bier. Da es sich um ein Samuel Smith pub handelt werden nur eigene Biersorten ausgeschenkt und auch die Softdrinks sind Eigenmarke. Wer hier ein Fosters bestellt bekommt eventuell ein Alpine Lager empfohlen. Von diesem kann ich allerdings nur abraten, ähnlich verhält es sich mit dem Stout. Beliebt scheint ausserdem das Weizenbier zu sein, aber dieses wollte ich mir nach den Enttäuschungen mit den vorherigen Drinks nicht mehr antun. Die Preise sind dafür seltsam und günstig.

Recalibration upwards from 4 to 5 stars.
Just as good as it gets for an after work pub.
Fantastic interior, Sam Smiths beer which is always well priced compared to other pubs, great bar staff who are efficient and friendly, good crowd.

THe Cittie of Yorke is a large pub with many different rooms. It serves excellent food and one of the bar maidens confirmed to me that it was because the manager insists on cleaning the fat fryers weekly (apparently this is not usual practice in pubs — je né sais pas) Paddyman’s inside tip is to head downstairs to the real food area which is a series of intimate cellars which presumably once held casks of ale the size of brian blessed’s chest. Luckily this area is often quiet and a seat can be grabbed — as well as a drink from the downstairs bar. Only the foolhardy venture no further than the front room.
This pub is a samuel smith’s and therefore does its own in-​house drinks. I usually opt for a stout on the basis of my fondness for Guinness but I have tried the ales beers and ciders and find them to my liking. I’ve eaten here repeatedly and only once had cold food and that was, to be fair, on an extremely busy Saturday night.
Paddyman’s verdict: make this pub your destination and you shall not be disappointed. Otherwise, Paddyman will buy you one of the superbly priced stouts as compensation (not a legally binding promise I should add!)