The Lamb & Lion

The Lamb & Lion has everything you could reasonably ask of a historic pub: hand-pulled real ales ranked in a bar furnished with church pews, bare wooden tables and a real fire, and skinny corridors leading to the back snugs and 'Parlour' dining room. If that's not enough, the place sits in the shadow of York Minster and is quite literally built into the ancient city walls. The traditional food aims at all-round satisfaction without messing about with foams and such, and you can be sure that the quality of the ingredients is up to scratch. Home-made pies with mash and real gravy, or fish and chips with mushy peas and tartare sauce share the honours with, say, hay-baked chicken breast with sage mash, or pan-fried sea bream with salad Niçoise. Bringing up the rear is a cast of desserts that might run to ginger burnt cream with rhubarb compôte.