The Hop
What's it good for?
Beer, pizza and live music.
Where is it?
York has seen a bit of a revolution recently with an amazing amount of new and renovated pubs, restaurants, and bars in the town centre with Fossgate leading the charge.
This is not to say that there haven't been many closures though, with outlying pubs closing all the time either unable to adapt to the new marketplace or forced out of business by the PubCos, but it feels like overall York is bucking the national trend and moving in the right direction.
Osset Brewery have played their part and done a fantastic job renovating The Hop from a cafe into the wonderful place it is now. You can see this transformation on Google Street View where if you click on the pavement in front of Leila's tearooms you will suddenly walk through the front door of The Hop and can marvel at the extensive renovation for yourself.
If you use the 'time machine' settings you can go back even further and see Felini's restaurant was here before that, showing flux of businesses on this street in the past. The Hop however, will be here a very long time.
What's it all about?
One fantastic thing The Hop has managed to achieve is to combine the previous uses of the building and use them to its advantage. The wonderful tiles on the wall are from the fishmonger that was the original use of the building, then out the back is the pizza oven from Felini's which is still creating food to enjoy in the bright, new space Osset have created at the back of the pub that hosts live music and comedy.
The Hop feels like a big city pub transported to York and has added another shot in the arm to the town centre. It is one of my favourite places in York and I'll keep coming back.
What's on the bar?
As you would expect at an Osset Brewery pub you can usually find the full selection of Osset's beers across the pumps plus some from their other venture the Rat Brewery and couple of guests. There are craft beers on tap (again, one from Rat Brewery) and a couple of real ciders. The selection was varied and impressive given this is a brewery owned pub.
Do they serve food?
A range of fantastic pizzas with regular specials freshly handmade and cooked to order in the pizza oven in an open kitchen, they can take a while if the pub is very busy but it's worth the wait.
Is it accessible / allow kids / dogs?
This is slightly disappointingly an all-round no as there are steps to get in the front door (although it's fine once inside with ramps and a disabled toilet downstairs) and no dogs or kids allowed, fortunately the website does list The Hop as "female friendly" which must be a great relief to the women of York.
Will you go again?
Are you kidding me? Pizza and Beer! Get me there now!
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