The Pipe & Glass, East Yorkshire
“That’s what they all say,” scoffed one pub devotee when he learnt that the Michelinstarred Pipe & Glass claims to be “first and foremost a friendly pub where you can grab a sandwich and a beer”. He has a point. But the P&G just about manages this tricky balancing act. A pantiled conglomeration on the edge of South Dalton in the Yorkshire Wolds, it is a bit too sprawling to be a cosy boozer; but when you go through the door, the first thing you see on the right is a tempting little bar.
On a bone-chilling Saturday, the bar’s six tables were occupied by people tucking into lunch but standing with his pint was a bona fide local called Andy. “There’s a very select group of regulars,” he said. “This village is pretty much a retirement community. Most of us don’t go anywhere.”
Substantiating its claim to be a proper pub, the P&G had four Yorkshire ales on tap. Though Andy spoke highly of Black Sheep from Masham and Wold Top from Hunmanby, his glass contained a rapidly diminishing quantity of Sealord from Scarborough Brewery. “Well-hopped – but not too hopped – with a bit of bite at 4.3 per cent. it’s £3.50 a pint, cheaper than most places in York,” suggested Andy.
I sampled a pint of the pub’s own beer Two Chefs, a light brew with a herby tinge. “A bit sweet for me,” said Andy. There was also a draught cider called Flat Tyre, which Andy described as “questionable” due to the inclusion of rhubarb. “I like cider to be made from apples.” If you can’t get a seat in the bar, there’s also a comfortable lounge where a quintet of cyclists warmed their Lycra-clad limbs before a log burner.
The P&G menu includes a section of “pub grub classics” though most pubgoers would blanch at paying £19.50 for ox cheek suet pudding. My steak and onion sandwich (£9.50) was perfectly constructed, while my wife’s omelette Lyonnaise (£12.50) disappeared quickly. The accompanying greenery was speckled with tiny blue flowers, not something you see in every pub salad. Finally, a word of praise for P&G’s twice or possibly thricefried chips (£4.50): sensational.
Christopher Hirst
West End, South Dalton, Beverley, E Yorks HU17 7PN 01430 810246; pipeandglass.co.uk