Charles XII in York

Very relaxed and friendly. Always a pleasant experience at The Charles

Had a lovely night at the Charles, Harley was a brilliant server

My opinion of the Charles is that it’s a lovely, welcoming place. The service from Harley was scintillating to the say the least. Alfie

Came for some drinks last night and Marc was amazing! So attentive and gave excellent service all night and the atmosphere was amazing :)

Really well looked after by Matt. Nice quiz.

Lovely staff and good priced food. Josh was very friendly and helpful. Our 90 year friend we took with us was happy with everything.

Cosy pub with good food & great service from Josh.

Really good value for money (2 meals inc drink for 20 quid). Mikey the server was very knowledgeable of the menu and knew the table number from the description of where we were sitting which was impressive. Food was decent, and the drinks were fairly standard, other than a cider that my mate got which, although it smelled god awful was rather nice tbf. Gud pub.

Mikey was absolutely lovely! I didn't know what cider I wanted and didn't like the taste of the dark fruits cider I had tried. He recommended the lillies flat cider and it was just perfect. He also made a nice suggestion about how to split our bill (The lillies wasn't on the 2 for 20, so I got my mate a pint of coke) and he made it a lot easier making our total both 11.50 so it was even! Lovely lad, very polite, quick and intuitive service :]

Always a good night. Great service from Mikey, Dylan and Ben.

Great local and student spot, pleasure to be served by John.

Amazing food, good prices, lovely pints. Absolute pleasure to be served by ar john.

Food is great, Johns service even better. Proud to call this my new local🫡

Beautiful fish n chips. Crispy batter, fresh peas. Cooked to perfection. Nice friendly staff. 1:30pm 25th Jan. Saturday. Thank you.

The place is just chill and Mikey was an amazing bar tender

Great place. Josh is the best bartender to ever live!!

Great food at a great price, will definitely be back 👍

Food was 1st class service perfect, dog friendly.

I frequent this traditional pub for drinks, although food is decent too. Quiz nights and late afternoons can get busy, but makes the atmosphere lively and cosy.

Brilliant pub, Brandon and Ben were brilliant at the bar.

The bartender mikey was very polite and friendly he is a hard worker and a very enthusiastic man

Awesome place staff lovely food great beer not bad either lol atmosphere great suits all age groups outdoor seating amazing prices good all round whatever age keep it up

Absolute idiot of a manager kicked us out at 8 as we weren’t carrying ID to stay in a pub past 8PM. Neither of us drinking just eating food, and out with family… we are both 24, you’d think they don’t need the business…

We hosted a combined Christmas and birthday party here, and it was absolutely fantastic. The venue was beautifully decorated with candles, festive ornaments, and Santa hats, which was a lovely surprise. The staff were outstanding—friendly, attentive, and incredibly accommodating. The buffet was exceptional, with one guest even remarking it was among the best they had ever experienced. A huge thank you to John for going above and beyond to make the event so memorable!

Had a lovely time here, very festive and relaxed! I was served by Marc who was really friendly and helpful! Would highly recommend⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mikey was an excellent server, would fully recommend a visit

A lovely looking pub with a nice atmosphere and friendly staff BUT the food was awful (We realised afterwards that many people were drinking and not eating there).I had the beef chili jacket potato, the beef chili was a very small portion but the worst was the potato- one whole section couldn’t be cut, let alone eaten. When I told the waiter he said he’d tell the chef but never came back. I later found him and asked what the chef said, to which he replied”he thinks he overcooked it!” And that was that!!

Went in on Friday night, super friendly staff! Especially Mikey Great chatting to them as they pull pints!! Will be back soon!

Paige was friendly as a server and a bartender was frienldy too. The food was excellent, and the atmosphere was delightful. 5 stars!

Great pub - I have been visiting for years and I still find the service to be amazing. The manager has always been really lovely and me and my family will be back soon!

Was served by a bar staff member called Marc. Delivered an efficient service with a smile and made sure i was adequately satisfied with the quality of my food and drinks. Remembered my drink order when I went up again so would thoroughly recommend. Will be returning here again shortly

Was served by a young gentlemen called Marc. He was very friendly and attentive to a rather large drink order. He handled my requests professionally and had a big smile on his face the whole time. Felt very well looked after due to his enthusiasm and was happy to go up and order with him again and again

Unprofessional and Rude Management I’ve been a recurrent customer here, but after our recent visit, we won’t be returning. My group and I (all over 25) were treated with unwarranted hostility by the manager. When asked for our ID, we mentioned we would step outside to retrieve it and return shortly. Despite this, the manager began rolling her eyes at us. Once we returned with our ID, she escalated the situation unnecessarily—shouting at my entire group and ultimately asking us to leave. We’re reasonable people who value respectful communication, but instead, we were met with aggressive behavior. For clarity: everyone in our group had IDs, and we were not consuming food or drinks from elsewhere. We came with the intention of enjoying a beer at your establishment, as we have done many times before. It’s disappointing to see this level of unprofessionalism from a place we used to enjoy. Not coming back. International people and students are not welcome here.

Harassment, xenophobia and humiliation. Terrible place and worst manager. Is there a governmental protocol for xenophobic behaviour? If there is, after several denounces, it must be activated in this place.

Yesterday, my friends and I experienced a very strong case of xenophobia at this place. We were coming from university with some bottles of wine and leftover pizza from an event (we never opened them nor intended to consume them; we had them with us because we were all on bicycles and had no way to leave those items on them). The manager approached us, yelling and telling us that we had to leave because what we were doing was "illegal." We explained that we could put the items on the floor and that we hadn’t opened, consumed, or planned to consume them (in fact, most of the group was at the counter ordering beer and other items to consume). She then went over to the rest of the group, yelling the same thing and insisting we leave. We tried to explain the situation, but she didn’t care. She continued shouting at us and humiliating us in front of the entire bar, so we had to leave. We told her that her excessive anger only demonstrated disdain toward us. At one point, she repeatedly implied that we “probably didn’t understand what she was saying” and that “this is how the law works here.” All of us speak English, and of course, we understood her. We tried to resolve the situation in every possible way, but she just kept yelling and ultimately kicked us out of the place. It was extremely humiliating. We did absolutely nothing wrong. Seeing our foreign faces, she took advantage of the situation. I never want to return to this place again.

I went two times and both times I had bad experience with the staff. The first time I asked information about beers (I am new here and I don't know local beers)and the waiter looked bothered by the question and answered in a very condescending way, laughing with her colleague. Yesterday I was with friends ,we were coming from an event and we had few pizza boxes and 2 bottles of wine with us. We left them on the table without opening them and some of us went to order. We come back and we found the waiter shouting at our friends to leave immediately and that what we were doing was illegal and disrespectful. We tried to talk to the waiter telling her that she could have warned us and we would have put them immediately in our bags without problems and that our intention was not to consume them there. She didn't care and very rudely said many times that we were probably not understanding what she was saying (we are international students but everybody speaks and understands English) and that we were disrespectful and that "that's how things work here, I am sure you don't understand" assuming maybe that we come from Mars. Again, none of us was insisting for consuming our things, it was a very violent conversation in front of other clients as well. But I see from the reviews that it is not the first time this happens and the owner just keep replying "sorry you had a bad experience contact us if you want" but nothing ever changes. Sad. I am not coming back.

Why the waiters there are so rude? Last night I was there with some friends, we took 2 bottle of wines there because we just left from a party and don’t want to waste them but didn’t open them or drink them, we’re just talking and wait for other friends order foods and drinks in there. But! A waitress came and told us we need to leave immediately! Almost shout at us and very rude, left no room for us to explain but just said that otherwise she would throw out all of our things! And also! Before that, my friends said that we need to show our resident card to tell we’re over 18 but they didn’t ask that last time! We are all postgraduate students how can’t they tell we are not adult???? Very awful experience this time and will never go back again! Rude and unprofessional!

We came from a get-together with some friends, from which we brought some pizzas that were left over in some boxes and also some bottles that were left over. As we came by bike, we couldn't leave them on the bike, so we took it with us to the terrace, so they wouldn't steal it. We weren't eating or drinking, we just stood there, while some friends ordered drinks for all of us at the bar. A waitress came in a very rude manner, shouting at us, telling us that we had to leave NOW. She didn't give us a chance to explain, nor did he listen to us. We had to leave and cancel what we were ordering. We wondered if if the clients were English they would have been treated in the same way. We will not return. Very rude.

Delightful location on pretty Heslington village Main Street. We reserved a table for four at lunch. We had a selection of toasties and wraps with a free soft drink. Barman Miley was really friendly and competent and took great care to make sure some substitutions to our order were correct. He made sure we were happy with everything on two occasions during our meal. Fantastic service. The pub is sports and student oriented given its location next to the university but the warm and cosy authentic old-pub feel has not been lost. A great place to read the papers, meet friends and have something to eat.

Great service from Alfie, Marc and Isobel.

The Charles has never done me wrong. Between going to uni and living nearby I haven’t had a bad night, nor bad beer in the Charles. The only thing I did wish is that they had a few more ales on offer but the ones I’ve had have always been good, sports is on, double bonus, and the food is great, triple bonus. I know it’s a bit far removed from the centre but if you’re this end of town I whole-heartedly recommend you check into the Charles. The staff are spectacular too and will go to lengths to make your experience worthwhile, Mikey’s a good lad just as everyone else is, can’t go wrong really.

What an amazing experience! Went in to try the new Christmas menu and I had some lovely food and was served by a lovely gentleman John went kind and welcoming. Highly recommend the food

lovely bartenders - complimented scouse people 🤭

excellent service from Ruby and Adam

Great pub, great customer service, especially Ruby, Mark & Adam

Friendly bar staff, Brandon and libby are sound, good student deals

Great service Bar staff are really friendly Option for sport or not Great beer garden

Had the pleasure of Alfie serving us, couldn’t do enough for us

Had a great time here! Great atmosphere and lovely staff. Was served by Adam, very helpful and attentive. Would highly recommend!

Nice vibe. Mikey was very helpful and told us about the 2 dine for £20 deal.

MIKEY was straight fire and John was an incredible host. Would dine again 10/10

Enjoyed a good evening out here with friends. The cheeseburger was quite good. High praise for Mikey who was working behind the bar, he recommended great drinks and was pleasant to talk to.

Cosy pub, great staff, perfect service

Great pub with a cool atmosphere. Super friendly staff, had a great chat with Mikey.

I had a lovely time here aye it was great. Had a great lad, name was Adam who served. Top notch!!

Came in on Sunday and was served by Adam at the bar. He was lovely and attentive and recommend a nice wine to pair with my meal. Would definitely come back.

mikey at the bar was really good, great service

On my most recent visit to the Charles, the atmosphere was cozy and welcoming, making it the perfect spot for a relaxed evening. What truly stood out was the exceptional customer service, especially from a staff member named Mikey. He was incredibly friendly, attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed. His warm approach really added to the overall experience, and he went above and beyond to make sure everyone felt welcome. Great service, delicious drinks, and a lovely atmosphere—I’ll definitely be coming back!

Woefully understaffed. Took over 45 mins for 2 sandwiches to arrive.

Alfie had a fantastic attitude, really made me feel welcome. 10/10, will definitely return.

Alfie’s service was impeccable, such a great server and made me feel really welcome, had a great time at this Pub!

The Charles is a brilliant place to eat and drink, the young man Alfie was a great server and helped us a lot.

I was served today by Alastair. Wow! What a serving performance. The way he handed out those beers reminded me made me feel a type of way that I haven’t felt since watching NHS Martial tear up the league. Wow oh wow warra server. 10/10 give him a pay raise

Really nice place, good food, cheesy garlic bread and waffle fries are lovely. Alastair gave great service to our table.

One of the best Pubs in York area

An absolutely lovely place with great food and beers and even better service. The people here are just so nice. We were served by John and had fun conversation with him. We had a fabulous time 😍

Great pub great service cheap prices. John is a lovely barman too!

Good value food, great pub for watching the sport. Good selection of beers.

It has lots of offers on for students , but none for the pub requlars ?? But steady away place Brandon & Nora are good nice helpful staff ! No it hasnt changed !

Paige gave great service and was very attentive to all our needs! Well done on your first shift 😀

Not a place I'd be eating again. Terrible food and weird combinations of food

I was served by josh and he was wonderful and very polite to the best of his abilities

Best sport pub to watch a match. It's very close to the University of York. Staff are friendly and helpful. Many different type of beer and good cask ale. They also have student discount

Josh A gave us great service and was very accommodating. The food was good and reasonably priced

Great price for pub food. Lots of space, excellent service

Amazing as always with service and to bring my friends! Ruby and Alastair were especially welcoming throughout! :)

Ruby served us and she was so friendly and professional! Amazing service and lovely atmosphere.

Good lunch deal includes drinks. Order by app. Speedy service Good Armosphere

Visited the other day with some friends for a spontaneous drink and a meal out and had a lovely time! There’s a great selection of drinks to choose from, both alcoholic and non, with the food being tasty and served at prompt speeds. Our server Mikey was great - very friendly and willing to help with any questions we had. Will definitely visit again!

We booked for our daughters graduation meal. On arrival, the waitress (R) said we could either order at the bar or on the app. We ordered on the app. Starters and mains arrived together and R said quite bluntly we had made a mistake on the app, so we just accepted it. Then one of the meals had coleslaw missing, so we asked R to check. She came back and said there was no coleslaw and that was the problem with ordering on the app. She was rude and unhelpful saying "what" 3 times when I said you told me to book on the app. Other customers were as shocked as we were with her rudeness. I asked her to get an alternative to the coleslaw. A short while later, another waiter came out with some peas. I asked him to ask the manager to speak to us when we finished our meal. He came back and said the manager would be over. The manager never arrived. As it was supposed to be a special day, we left without any more fuss. I have never been spoken to so rudely by a waitress before. It was unbelievable. Food was OK, but service was shocking and put a real downer on our special day. I felt sorry for the waiter who was only on his second day in the job and was clearly uncomfortable with how R had behaved.

Friendly bar staff for sure, but ordering using the app is a pain and doesn't really work. Someone forgot all our drinks and took ages to bring them.and for what you get, it's really pricey. £12 more or less for scampi n chips that looks more like off a kid menu in another pub. Nice beer garden, but not great food.

Ruby gave amazing service 😜, so lovely! Deserves a raise xxx

Very nice garden good selection of beers.

Student and local pub with tvs. Enjoyed the mixed appy plate, scampi Chicken chunks and nachos. TTLandlord beer. Nice beer garden.

Ruby was cool. Awesome service 11/10 would drink again

We had a wonderful lunchtime visit here after my son’s graduation. Great food, very friendly barman (John) and lovely atmosphere. Reasonably priced food and drinks too, would thoroughly recommend!

Nice pub in the heart of heslington. This is in a quiet area near York, but there is a good hubbub about the place.

The Charles Xll is a traditional village pub. There is a good selection of beers, lager and cider, including two hand pulled cask conditioned real ales, which were in excellent condition when i visited. The staff are very friendly and welcoming. The pub has outside seating in the garden, and is dog friendly.

Very friendly service, good value good and drinks, and my husband had the best steak he's had in a long time. Ruby, who served us, was lovely and friendly.

The Lodge Care Home. We’d like thank all the staff at the Charles XII. We are a Residential Dementia Care Home and during our visit we were looked after so well, with kindness and consideration. The staff were amazing and the food was great. Our residents, their families had a lovely afternoon lunch in the garden. Thank you again, we’ll be back again soon.

Great place, Zoe was a really helpful, friendly member of staff. 5star service

A wonderfully atmospheric pub inside with a great garden with lots of additional seating with tables, perfect for those rare hot summer days. The staff went over and beyond to help me select a dish that met my dietary requirements. The food was deliciously fresh with generous portions. Definitely worth a visit.

Standard pub food. They'd run out of a couple of things which was frustrating. Very busy and not a lot of staff.

Ordered a beef burger and received a chicken burger. No attempt made to fix the mistake when pointed out.

Deputy manager was very rude and manager also.

Atmosphere 10/10 on matchday. Great place for a pint. Bit pricey but fair.

Large space, inside & out. Good selection of drinks. Food & drink are competitively priced, too.

Great wee pub / restaurant on tge edge of York - next to the Uni. Good outdoor space too.

Always come here when in York- great, friendly service from Ree today, thank you 😊

Great pub, Hannah was very helpful