Black Horse, Whitby: 'I visited the Whitby local which serves incredible food - it's my favourite type of pub'
There’s no shortage of pubs in Whitby. Rightly so.
The fishermen, jet workers and ship builders had to shake off the sea and slake their thirst one way or another.
Today it’s not so much fishing as ‘touristing’.
If it’s a traditional no-nonsense pub you’re after when you’ve had your fill of Gothsville, head for this lovely little Grade II-listed gem that dates from the 1600s – it’s just up from the market square where public whippings of thieves and beggars once took place.
It’s a really tiny, unspoilt, friendly two bar pub, and given the quality of the banter it’s clearly a local’s local.
The banquettes are comfy, there are stained glass windows, scrubbed wood floors, old photos on the walls, a million beer mats on the ceiling and a decent enough list of cask ales to make it a regular entry in the CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide.
There’s Adnams Southwold Bitter, Black Dog Brewery’s Rhatas and a couple of guests: Northern Pale from Three Brothers and Plum Porter from Titanic.
There’s a craft beer font which allows customers to sample different speciality lagers and ales and a canned and bottled craft selection complements the draught, including a gluten free option.
A friend mentioned to me that they’re getting quite a name for Yapas – and I can see why – the offer is extraordinary, and includes tuna fillets with fennel, mussels in escabeche sauce and wood-smoked herring with wild garlic.
There’s salmon with sea buckthorn and lemon verbena and a Lishman’s of Ilkley charcuterie sharing board.
‘From the pantry’ take home La Fragua Chickpeas, Anko Gazpacho Soup and a Spanish omelette mix made with top quality Riojan potatoes.
Wow. It’s really not what you expect from a little boozer. I wasn’t expecting snuff either, but there you go. It’s sourced from Wilsons of Sharrow in Sheffield.
When it gets a bit packed in the front bar, there’s a narrow corridor at the side of the alley and you’re into another lovely, quiet, characterful room.
Talking of quiet, there are rules. ’We are a child-free zone. No large groups, stag or hen parties. Dogs are welcome in both bars but we kindly ask that paws stay on floors.’
100 per cent my fave kind of pub.
Welcome 5/5
Atmosphere 5/5
Drinks choice 5/5
Prices 5/5
The Black Horse, 91 Church Street, Whitby, YO22 4BH www.the-black-horse.com