Pavement Vaults in York

Food lovely but slightly expensive. Don't order too much asthma portions are pretty huge. The atmosphere was spoiled by a loud couple dressed very inappropriately. It's not the fault of the establishment but they should have told them to turn loud phones off (watching YouTube)

Nice pub which has a good menu for adults and children, staff are friendly and helpful, recommended if you are in York for refreshments.

Amazing food, good service, great beer selection, great decor and atmosphere.

Oh my good , great ribs, in house smoker, best rubs I have had in the uk

Stopped in for our dinner and a pint and wasn't disappointed. We ordered the rib and wing tray (not its actual name but I have forgotten) which was flavoursome albeit smaller than anticipated. The ribs melted in your mouth but could have been more succulent. The wings were a triumph, whoever invented tripled fired wings is a genius. The BBQ sauce that came with the dinner was intriguing as it tasted like normal sauce but had an Indian inspiration (maybe cardamom?). The spicy sauce was spiritedly spicy and tomato-ey. The sides were good but the pickled cabbage was doused in vinegar, too strong for my palate. The staff were accommodating and friendly, can't fault them. Would recommend but order a dessert as well - they looked terrific.

Great food and good selection of beers and ales

Very popular pub for food and drinks in the city centre. Has been refurbished last year and has the layout of an American diner. Has downstairs seating area. And bar level seating with open kitchen. Very good food selection. Ribs, burgers pulled pork and sharing smokey platters to share. Good drinks selection and friendly staff welcome you throughout. Handicap toilet is street level, also Dog friendly. It's worth booking at weekends. Can get very busy .

I had the best night ever here! Staff are great really friendly and take the time To chat with you. The food OMG the bbq is amazing and the portions are massive. Can't wait to come back.

Great place to sit and chat, and people watch. Good service, friendly staff, just a great place.

Only had a couple of drinks. Came away with my husband stinking of smoke jackets needs dry cleaning. Everything is just so smoky.

Great idea to have a glass window so diners can see food being prepared in the kitchen - bad idea to have two bearded cooks on evening of 22 December on full view in the kitchen rubbing their hands on their mouths and beards and then handling food directly without washing hands. Suggest you spend less money on glass and more on basic food hygiene training

Entered but didn't buy anything, over priced for tiny portions

Absolutely awful staff on at the time were so rude. Ignored me for 10mins - had to shout to get them to serve me despite walking passed and serving seemingly everyone else.

Really busy (Christmas party in) but good food and great service

This was our very first stop on our Christmas market day out! We Infact decked the markets off almost immediately due to the sheer amount of people! We found this bar as we were wandering around. Fair pricing, we found a comfortable spot next to the windows where we watched the world go by. Service was a touch slow to start with, but, it was absolutely rammed so can’t complain to be honest.

The burgers are 10/10 and they have a great beer selection!

Centre of city and expensive charge £13.60 for a pint and glass of wine

Went in during christmas market so was busy. Staff were amazing, quick to take our order and very polite. The food was amazing, probably the best pulled pork burger I've ever had. Will definitely return.

Great place good food drunks and service

Have been a regular at the pavement vaults previously, but since the remodel (maybe a change of owners too?) the place has really gone downhill.. Myself and my partner went out last night to try to get a table at the pavement vaults with no booking. Its a thursday night, so a bit busy, but not exceptionally busy by a long stretch. Before, the old system was to greet people at the bar and ask about having a table, but this is no longer a thing. It almost looks at first like they dont do food. We walked over to the seated area, and the server lady on tonight was completely disinterested in us, we hung around, looked at her repeatedly, to which she completely averted us, and continued to look very unapproachable. We didn't say anything to her, as it was clear by how we were stood we were waiting for a server, and I felt like if I said anything, I would have got my head bitten off and felt like some kinda "unruly customer". We therefore went to the bar and asked there about a table, and although the blokes were friendly, they basically said it's a free for all to get a table. Once you find one, you get some menus from the bar, then order at the bar later. This kind of service I would expect from a nandos, or weatherspoons but a place that charges 20 quid for a burger it's insane and leaves a bad taste... Short of cooking the meal ourselves it felt as though they were much more interested in serving people drinks than caring about food. It feels as though the place is going heavily in that direction anyway, turning into potentially a cut-paste cocktail bar. It gives the feeling they are probably not investing in food quality anymore. We sat down eventually but felt pretty rubbish in the place due to the above.. The last straw was when I found myself guarding a table for a woman who sat on the table next to us.. telling people she was ordering at the bar and the table was taken. This being before we had even had a glance at the menu. Starting to feel like I was about to clock in for the place, we both decided to leave and go to one of the many other places in york, where you are actually treated like a customer. I used to recommend this place to others, it used to be great food, good music, nice atmosphere, but now it's almost trying too hard to be some kind of bougee cocktail bar first, with food being second. Unfortunately I'll be sure to tell anyone I said good things about it to before, that its changed dramatically, and to avoid it. Glad we didn't spend money here last night, it's such a shame!

The Pavement Vaults has been a go to place for me and my partner for the last few years. We’ve always enjoyed the food, service, drinks, overall atmosphere. Unfortunately, since they did their redesign earlier this year, the place seems to have gone downhill. Our last few visits since the remodel were satisfactory-ish, the quality of food and service was not as good but being loyal customers we thought it might’ve been a couple of off nights or something. Tonight’s visit however has really put me off the place. My partner and I walked in around 6pm, looking to get some food & drinks, and enjoy a nice meal out together. Upon walking in, we weren’t greeted by anyone, just headed straight to the busy bar to ask if there’s any tables available. We were stood around for a while, waiting for one of the bar staff to acknowledge our presence, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. After about 5 minutes we moved over to another part of the bar, hoping to get noticed there, again we were completely ignored. There was a lady of staff walking around the tables (maybe a manager? not sure), she totally ignored us as well and kept looking away from us as if to purposely not have to talk to us. She walked past us multiple times and continued ignoring us even though we were clearly trying to get her attention/ get seated. After around 10-15 mins of trying to get someone to help seat us, we headed out. In a final attempt, we managed to ask a bartender if there’s any tables available and he just told us to sit down if we find a free table. His attitude was completely blaze as if he couldn’t care less about us as customers. We were very disappointed by this experience and ended up leaving and going elsewhere for our dinner. Im not sure if it’s to do with new ownership, staff changes or whatever else, but the place seems to have really dipped in service and quality. It’s a shame as it was genuinely one of mine and my partner’s favourite places in York. We definitely won’t be back any time soon after being treated the way we were today. Giving one star just because the place used to be great, based off today’s experience it would be a zero.

Great food, some great beers, lots of choice. Very welcoming, great service, nice atmosphere

A great pub I've not been to before. A large establishment (2 floors) with a large selection of drinks/beers and a great ambience. No stars given for food as we didn't eat so can't comment.

First day of Christmas markets so quite loud, however service brilliant and food excellent if you're looking for burgers etc

My new favourite bbq place. I had the baja fish tacos, and the "Jacobs ladder" beef rib. The tacos were perfectly fresh, crispy and soft. The beef rib was juicy smoky and decadent with a perfect rub. The fries were the biggest suprise, I thought I'd had the best fries possible, but these somehow raised the bar. Thin crispy flavour bombs. I even finished most of the coleslaw which I normally don't touch! The bbq sauce was beautifully sweet and smoky and provided the perfect accompaniment to the beef. Honourable mention, the old fashioned was perfectly made. My partner's dishes are worth celebrating too - pulled pork dirty fries that were so filling, she couldn't finish her buttermilk fried chicken burger, despite her best efforts! If you're a fan of bbq food and you're in York, this place is a must.

Like this place and the service was great only problem was the chicken was too Smokey and overpowered everything else and eating it became very tedious but my daughter enjoyed her meal she hadBBQ ribs and mac n cheese she gave it 10/10

Had a burger: dry, salty and overpriced. Pity really because the venue is ok and the staff were great

Extremely expensive and not enough staff at all. A fairly busy night and only two bar/waiting staff = disaster. For £7.10 a pint and £18-£30+ maincourses you should be really well looked after. The food was great and the waitress tried hard but management need to put twice the staff on! Not good at all.

Nice place but needed cleaning as there was too much spilt beer on the bar and it wasn't busy.

Would not recommend. Served raw chicken and when we questioned it waitress said it was normal due to it being smoked chicken. This wasn’t the case as it was pink the whole way through. Then asked for the bill and wasn’t seen to for 20 minutes before we walked to the bar to pay where said waitress looked at us and walked away for someone else to serve us. Was offered a drink or dessert but declined. I understand smoked chicken can appear pink but this was obviously undercooked.

Just here for drinks but great atmosphere for a meet up with friends !

Simple nice atmosphere. Good service and delicious food.

Called here for a drink while visiting York. This place has a great atmosphere, amazing variety of drinks & cocktails availiable, although we didn't eat here the food did look really good! Although it was really busy we did manage to get a seat, service is quick & professional. Prices are good for a City Centre. Toilets are downstairs but there is a disabled toilet availiable on ground level which was great for me as I am disabled! Fantastic location close to everything!

Its over priced even by Yorks standards !

Amazing platter! We opted for the beast & it was so tasty. Good beers & vibes.

Great place. Good beers. Food fab. Slow cooked pork rib absolutely fantastic. More than enough on a tray to feed two, so becomes good value for money. Deffo go back.

Perfect ice cream. You must try.

Popped in recently for a couple of drinks whilst in York. Good selection of beers. Place was pretty full and also serves food

Nice place for a simple pub meal. Menu a bit overly complicated

We had a booking for 8PM on a Saturday night, which had a £10 per person charge for not showing. Upon arrival, the bouncer tried to refuse us entry and say that there's no bookings at the time and no more entry despite the place being close to empty. It was only when we showed our email confirmation that we were allowed in. Once in, the food was nice but the place was very quiet

Top class establishment in the centre of York. Well worth trying the BBQ food. Excellent selection of drinks and well worth a visit

Just popped in for a lunchtime beer good value comfy seats and excellent service

Fantastic food and service, although it is very expensive. Sadly no option of brisket, or burnt ends etc.

Nice place for a quick pint and good dirty fries.

The food looked amazing when we popped in the day before we wanted to try it out on arrival the staff where impeccable the atmosphere was not bad but the food was not great the chips tasted like fries to go (microwave chips) my partner got the chicken burger and the chicken was amazing but the beef that u also get in the burger was soggy and plastic cheese the pork smelt awful and it didn’t taste grate and the bacon was not bad not a bad word to say about the staff as they where always checking in on the other customers and very friendly rubbish selection of drinks no Guinness Stella etc not real Malibu as u can taste it’s a knock off

Great BBQ and friendly service.

We went for the XXL Beast tray (x2) which was a great way to try a lot of the menu (buttermilk chicken being my highlight). Also loved the Mac and cheese and blooming onion. Great selection of beers on tap and the waitress was lovely!

Decent food, beer selection average, nice staff

It's a nice place to sit, friendly attentive staff and a good range of drinks. The food was extremely expensive (£17 for the cheapest burger) and my chicken burger had been fried for so long that it was solid. We were in a rush and hungry so I didn't send it back and just ate what I could. I'm guessing it's not always like that.

We came in here for our first drink after arriving in York. The bar man was knowledgeable and helpful. The drinks were quite expensive though.

Went there with my friend who was really disappointed with the rib eye steak. Questions are being asked if it was actually rib eye. It was tough and chewy and some parts were inedible. I had the Notorius p.i.g which was great. Juicy patties l, cooked well nice fries. Really enjoyable for me not so much for my friend. The rum and apple juice was good. In terms of price I won’t complain about the price as the food for me was on point. I defo think they need to up their steak game. My friend has been disappointed all day as he is on a protein kick.

The speed in which our food was served was amazing. The staff are friendly and welcoming. Would highly recommend 👌

No atmosphere felt dull and lacking warmth small range of drink no Guinness no pink gin over priced for unpopular drinks .bar furniture not appealing disappointed looks nice from outside ...

Busy city centre bar. The food was good and there was a good vibe.

Greatc service, nice food and would recommend booking as it gets busy. The bbq beast was very nice but couldn't finish.

It's great. Food is quick. Portion sizes are huge. And it's reasonably priced. We came.in with our friends who live in York and they said this is a good spot to eat as a walk in. We had kids with us and it was a good atmosphere for that. We had pulled pork burger which came with chips, a nachos which was huge, and the fish tacos. Plus a beer and 2 glasses of prosecco which came to £70. I'd definitely recommend a visit.

Did not eat here but the craft beer is very nice. Great location and you can watch people walking by whilst having a drink.

We've been wanting to come in after the refurb and we weren't disappointed. The menu has changed slightly, but the offerings are still top notch. We had: the blooming onion, pulled pork with coleslaw, buttermilk fried chicken, chicken wings and beef chilli loaded fries. This was more than enough for two of us and we managed to do it justice. Special mention to the chefs, not only for their epic food (habenero sauce - special mention) but also for letting me watch the penalty shootout. I'm still on the fence about the Swiss.

Good choice of drinks ( worth trying the pineapplecider) staff were friendly. Nice and cool and open space. Felt relaxing

Fantastic food. If you are a meat eater you won’t be disappointed. One of the best burgers I’ve had in ages. Great service too.

What more can I say? The food is amazing, I had the Jacobs ladder beef ribs, and they were to die for. The selection of beers is amazing, and the service for stay was extremely attentive and, at no point, intrusive. Highly recommend this place if visiting or even if you are from York.

Great burgers, can't fault the place

Love BBQ food, loved this place - would recommend if you like this style of food. Great portion sizes and brilliant service. Everyone enjoyed their meal and left full & happy.

Yes very good Really tasty would definitely recommend But should be good for the price.

Great service really pleasant staff. Not even phased when I spilt an entire drink all over floor.

Great beers on draught, amazing BBQ. Really cool setting in central York. Definitely worth a visit.

The bar has recently been renovated and I'd now rather quite nicely decorated. Good range of drinks and the staff were quite friendly. It was a little pricey for drinks but that's what you have to expect for the centre of York. Nice for if you want the experience of going out.

Amazing and serves food late in the week , we had an amazing time and would definitely return

My partner choose this place for the meat platter, As a vegetarian this is not the best place to eat. I had cauli-cheese & chips. My partner really enjoyed his food & the cauli-cheese was nice. They didn’t do regular names larger so had to go on the recommendation of the bar staff. We went just before it closed for refurbishment & the place had a great atmosphere.

What a meal. The food was amazing. We both just loved the variety of choice on the menu too. Great atmosphere and the staff are lovely

Can't comment on food as only dropped in for a drink after dinner, service was quick, staff friendly, nice range of beers and ciders, seems nice place for a night out

Absurd prices for below average food. At least the staff are nice.

The XXL Beast Tray was disappointingly average. The chicken wings were of poor quality, and there was simply nothing beastly about it. For £68 I expected much much more

Finally found a delicious BBQ. I'm from Leeds and since the BBQ popularity has died down, the restaurants there have either shut down or become a shade of their former selves (looking at you, Red's). So glad I found this place. All the meat was perfect. We got the big beast tray to share between 3 of us after the server kindly warned us 3 individual trays would probably be too much. I think she'd have been right. This was plenty and oh, so tasty. My only constructive feedback would be to offer some proper Texas Toast, we all agreed that this was a sorely missed component to a true barbecue tray. Maybe some bbq beans too. Service was top notch, restaurant was nice and clean and the toilets were a pleasant surprise. Well maintained and not the afterthought a lot of other restaurants seem to think they are. Overall I highly recommend this place if you're looking for some delicious, proper barbecue. We'll definitely be back.

Either their menu is out of date, or it's a huge bait-and-switch scam. Would not recommend at all

We went here last sat and I'm sorry but the food was rubbish for what it cost a burger and a few chips nearly 25 pounds is just ridiculous and he couldn't even eat it all because the burger was spicy or too much pepper in and the chips were cold . Wont be going again

We went there on Sunday 28 April 2024, midday. Great place - clean and with a happy atmosphere. Really nice and very friendly staff. Between us we ordered tea, coffee, soft drinks, gin and beer - all very good. Food coming through looked very nice although we didn't eat as had booked elsewhere - we would have liked to. We'll be going back for sure.

So this isn't the first time we have been here to eat, however the food is always good an packs lots of flavours, I would recommend the mac an cheese along with your main was very nice. 😀

Amazing food, loved it. Sharing XXL beast was more than enough for 2. Have a decent appetite before you eat here!

We had a really nice time here. It's not 5 stars from me, but I'm being really picky, yet I'd eat here again in a heartbeat ☺️🤤 The staff were great, it was busy, but they were really helpful and very friendly. The food was also really good and darn tasty TBH. Now why am I being picky? Only that I hoped this would be more of a traditional BBQ place 🤷‍♂️ And I use the word "traditional" in a "BBQ snobby" way. I like and enjoy cooking smoked low and slow BBQ food, but the only thing that tasted, even a little bit, smokey was the sausage 🤷‍♂️ So I was a little disappointed, but we left full of great food and happy.

Great place to include in the pub crawl. The decor is cool, loads of seating and food if desired. Average prices for beers 🍻

Generous portions, delicious food, exemplary service. Wonderful beers as well. Heartily recommended.

A pub offering a good selection of food, if slightly on the expensive side (although this is York so expect to pay more). Service was good, staff friendly.

Lovely selection of ales, great service and friendly knowledgeable staff. Great surroundings - airy and modern. Didn't sample the food.

Great place, food and service was outstanding

Ordered from the light menu for lunch in the main pub area. Very impressed. Big selection of drinks too. Service very good.

Great place for BBQ food we just had one of there burgers as we was not that hungry but they are still plenty to eat great atmosphere and friendly staff

Ice cold glass for the veltins. Spot on.

Phenomenal plates of food and great atmosphere. We had the XXL plate to share between two and we were defeated. The ribs and the chicken were a family favourite but everything tasted great. Service typical of York - really friendly and helpful. Will be back!

Nice clean pub for a pint or meal, good selection of beers and non alcoholic beers if driving, the meal sizes are very generous, unable to fault prices or food quality, a very good service provided by kerry and Stephen

My wife & I booked a table here on the Friday at 6pm, but would have been able to do a walk in, as it wasn't busy, the staff here were remarkably friendly 10/10 for the American guy from Florida & the young lady from County Durham, I don't think I've ever met such nice wait on staff anywhere in the world, the food in here is generous in portion size & cooked to perfection, we got a platter to share, & didn't wait to long, you can see the food getting prepared behind the glass screen, very novel idea we thought, not a big choice of desserts, but probably the best chocolate brownie I've ever had, just a pity we went somewhere else the day before, as I would have had no hesitation in dining here 2 days running.

Me and my friend came to York for the day and by chance came in pavement vault,the food was excellent,Best we've had in a while!! Both had the chicken burger with fries and mac n cheese,the drinks were served quickly and the atmosphere was great. Will definatly be returning on our next trip and will be recommending to others!

Have used this bar previously Good choice of drinks. Did not eat here, had drink on way back to hotel.

If you want BBQ food as tasty as any (stateside) American smokehouse, come here. The best ribs I've ever had, pulled pork and BBQ sauce to die for. Amazing food and great beer. We shared a BBQ Beast tray and a side of Mac and Cheese, with a couple of pints and an amazing Pecan pie.

The best burger and fries I’ve ever had! Service was fast and friendly, our server checked on us every time she passed and had a little joke. Dark and moody vibes with candlelight made it feel very cosey but still got us in the mood to go out for the night! Have already recommended to friends visiting soon

Visited York at the weekend and Pavement Vaults had been recommended to us for a meal. We went along without a booking and the team were able to get us a table within about 5-10 minutes despite how busy it was. There was a great range of drinks at the bar and the menu had a decent range too. The food came in good time, all cooked fresh and very tasty. While I’ve definitely had better burgers, this was still great and overall good value for money. I’d definitely recommend giving it a try.

Snacksy street food. No chef standard but lovely snacks and nice atmosphere

We visited for some lunch whilst visiting for my birthday. We were quickly greeted and sat down promptly which was good. The environment was pleasant and inviting. After a very short time (about 2/3 minutes after getting the menu!) we were asked if we wanted to order, we asked for a bit longer. After about a further 20 minutes we stopped the single passing waitress and asked to order as we hadn’t been approached again. We had been here for 40 minutes by now and still hadn’t received our drinks, so I asked the waitress if we could have our drinks. She did apologise and immediately went to get them which was good, just a shame we had to ask again. Our food arrived sometime later and it looked fantastic. Generally speaking it was good although there were far, far too many Jalapeños which spoilt it and the blue cheese was far too strong and spoilt the whole meal for me. Based on my experience I wouldn’t visit this restaurant again.

Excellent food, service & drinks

Great City Center eating & drinking venue. serving great BBQ / meat feasts & awesome craft beer.