PINT TO PINT

The Goodmanham Arms, East Yorks

Splashing through an isolated corner of the Yorkshire Wolds, you reach the Goodmanham Arms by way of a long, narrow track of great antiquity. You park opposite a small Romanesque church (c 1130) with the seasonally appropriate name All Hallows, and a waft of woodsmoke leads to the pub.

It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the candlelit interior and take in the Steptoe-like accumulation dangling from the ceiling: pails, tankards, a saddle, a coal scuttle, pitchers, kettles, jugs… Despite inclement weather, the pub was pretty much full on a Friday lunchtime.

While I dithered over the dozen or so beer pumps at the bar, something happened that was new to me in 50 years of pub-going. A regular offered me a sip of beer from his glass. Flowery and tart, Extra Pale Session Ale from York’s Hop Studio merited in-depth investigation, while my wife took on board a half of Thatcher’s cider. Seated at the solitary free table, we luxuriated in the glow of a wood fire while tucking into lunch. My slab of rabbit and vegetable pie was as succulent as it was prodigious and my wife was equally impressed by her savoury mince in Yorkshire pudding. “Quite excellent,” she enthused. “It’s at least 10in in diameter.” With rain coursing down the pub windows, our table was the quintessence of cosiness.

If this seems all too English to be true, you’re quite right. The landlord of the Goodmanham Arms is Vito Logozzi, who comes from Bari in southern Italy. “He arrived in England in 1980 at the age of 16,” his wife, Abbie, told us. “We’ve been here eight years. Yes, it is normally this crowded.” Vito looks after the pub, while Abbie manages the All Hallows microbrewery across the yard. Her brews include Peg Fyfe, named after a 17thcentury witch who is now reincarnated in the form of a 3.6% mild, and an elderflower ale called, almost inevitably, Elder & Wiser.

The pub’s generous portions and modest prices can attract a big crowd. “I’ve seen the beef run out at 10 past 12 on a Sunday,” one regular recalled. Get there early.