The Old White Swan Restaurant in York - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Anywhere that pours a perfect Guinness dwells in the Elysian Fields, in my eyes. The whole group enjoyed a really good variety of ciders and ales for the couple of hours we stayed. We were a group of about ten yet there was plenty of space in this cosy pub for us and the bar staff were lovely. Definitely coming back next time we are in York!

Visited as a family of 4 on a Thursday evening. Ordered 2 x fish and chips, a Nicholson burger and sausage and mash. All were freshly cooked and absolutely delicious. Black sheep best bitter a very good quality pint. Lovely traditional feel to the pub and pleasant, efficient staff. Well worth a visit.

Was on a Coach tour and had prebooked as group (48 people) and also pre ordered our meals a day in advance for 8 pm. Meals were brought out close to 9 pm very slowly and some people had already finished before everyone got theirs. Staff very slow bringing out plates. They were cold, burnt and some inedible..the group not happy as it was our farewell dinner together.

The food is amazing!! Staff are very friendly and service very quick. We felt welcome, and we had a lovely time here.

Beers, atmosphere etc were great. But the boar and chorizo pie I had was almost empty and devoid of the wonderful flavours described. Choose your pie wisely. My friend's beef pie looked great.

Good atmosphere and super delicious food! Pet friendly and with live music on Tuesdays and Sundays. Try the PIES, they are delicious!

Nice old pub with a good atmosphere. We had the chicken breast and chorizo meal. The chicken breast was way overcooked and dry, as was the chorizo. Potatoes and broccoli were very nice though.

The burgers are average at best, opt for the sandwich or salmon salad instead.

Good pub with an attractive outdoor area. The food was very good and there is a decent beer selection. Staff very friendly.

Adequate beer but nothing special.

Really lovely food very traditional old English lovely and cosy especially in the winter when the fire is lit in the old fireplace. Also full of history. Highly recommend.

A stunning and perfect place. Beautiful and pleasant, atmosphere and efficient, courteous and friendly service. Excellent food!!! We came back again the next day.. Stunning place. Excellent and delicious food and the service is again super kind, pleasant and kind!

My partner and I decided to have a couple of drinks here with our big dog, there was plenty of space to sit out (and inside). The staff were friendly and efficient. There was a nice atmosphere and it was overall a place I would recommend.

Cracking place to chill or party..

Best beef n brisket pie ever tested! Outstanding 😊 young man serving drinks very kind, helpful and polite

Fantastic meal, so pleased the Chinese restaurant was closed and we popped in here for a meal. The food was amazing and the staff were excellent. Lovely pub with a great ambience.

Visited again July and August 2024. Food was beautiful and tasty. Staff were friendly too. We did have to wait a while for the food to arrive, but they were very busy. Overall would definitely recommend

Carling a £1.00 more expensive than other pub,what a rip off 😪

Food was very dry and overcooked. We ordered 3 different dishes and all were the same sadly. Historically was always a safe bet.

Fantastic pie & a pint, lovely old fashioned pub

Good pub, with plenty of room. Traditional as well as modern beers. Serves good pub grub. As oasis in the madness of York.

amazing food and really nice staff, the building and general atmosphere is mesmerising and this place is worth the praise it gets

Lovely bar, nice atmosphere and always immaculate

Very friendly staff and a good pint served Unfortunately Fish n chips over cooked and over priced, sausage and mash a bit tasteless (didnt taste like proper mash) but the lads throughly enjoyed the steak pie and burgers Would I go again... yes but not for the fish or mash

Beautiful haunted pub with good drinks selection and lovely food. Especially the pies. Loved the big carrots that came with them

Third oldest pub in York; the food was excellent, the locally brewed beer was delicious. Highly recommended!

Pleasant and welcoming, enjoyed our food in nice surroundings, we have been back a few times since the original review, and I have to say I love it more each time, food is magnificent, staff very friendly, all in all a fabulous place.

Wow what a lovely pub! I believe it's the 3rd oldest in York? We went at around 730pm, the place was rammed with all ages and groups of people we had pre booked a table and were taken round the corner into a quieter area. Our food came promptly I ordered the steak pie and my sister the beef burger with BBQ brisket on top. I can honestly say it's one of the best pies I've eaten, proper home made, packed with meat. The gravy also lovely, I was a little disappointed with the chips which I believe are McCain home fries, but I excused it due to the pue being so good and to be fair that was the star of the show. My sister's burger she said was beautiful also. Service was fab, especially given the place was so busy. Atmosphere was great a real mix of people in the place.

Went in for a coffee as a quick stop. If we hadn't been in a rush, it would if gone back, as it was luke warm!!

We are locals and had lunch here, £60 for 3 people in our lunch hour. Two had reasonable burgers but the third meal ordered was chicken and mushroom pie. It was a very small meal just a pie with 4 pieces if carrot. Only when we got home did we realise we hadn't been given any 'creamy mashed potato ' as the menu stated. Surely the chef must have known half the meal was missing! Used to he regulars here but not any more. Catering for tourists and not locals, £60 for two and a half meals, never again! Very dark rooms too, worse than usual. Give it a miss in future after many years. Very disappointing short changing customers. Word soon spreads in York.

Beautiful establishment. Very pleasant. Nice beer list (light of course 😀). Concerning the meal, a reservation on the Classic burger (basic and overcooked meat) however the beef pie was good.

Nice restaurant. Service was great, food was lovely. Ruined just slightly by loud drunks sat outside.

We were there on a Saturday and there were quite a few people, the place was large and pleasant.

Good food, friendly service, we liked it!

I've just been to the pub and was ignored 3 times by the bar maid she just walked past me and served other people. Won't go again.

Lovely pub, great food, friendly staff, solid music. Just tucked away from all the bustle of the tourists (he said, as a tourist). Big fan of the place.

Live music every Friday fantastic place for a drink nice mature crowd

The beef rib, shin and pulled brisket pie was simply delicious. I had chips rather than mash and I enjoyed it so much I had it twice on 2 consecutive days. Hot and fresh. Partner had Nicholsons burger we were both stuffed when we finished. Nice surroundings too without being too busy so could relax and enjoy. Loved it.

We didn't eat so couldn't rate the food but the younger staff were lovely full of banter and so friendly and normal in their attitude. Refreshing. Clean outside area, we sat in the sun. Clean toilets. All great. Just one older woman light hair was grumpy and unfriendly with a couple who had a lovely grey hound dog sitting peacefully outside, sow her later inside when went to toilet she was grumpy with a staff member too. Glad she didn't serve me. Everything else was wonderful.

I come here quite often and generally go for the great pie meals I wish I had We decided to go for the Sunday lunches My chicken and everything on the plate including the Yorkshire pudding was dry and tasteless. The beef was also very dry !!! We had one of the first meals of the day so I can only assume they are preprepared and staked up in the oven There was no courtesy checks otherwise I'd have raised my concerns I think they only go for passing trade who generally don't come back Sad

We were walking past and the pub had a great live singer on and he was brilliant, the pub has a lovely atmosphere with beautiful surroundings. The next time we visit we'll be having a Sunday lunch 🍻😜

Excellent food and atmosphere; really enjoyed the live music. Would highly recommend (especially the steak and ale pie!).

Really nice bar..friendly welcoming staff..Great place to visit when in York

Lovley pub in the heart of York. Food served but never tried it.

Nice pup, good staff, Great to watch sports in Decent beer garden at the back, nice pub grub

We had the best pie here! The bone in it and the marrow added so much flavour second to none! The service was good and the historical value was great We thoroughly enjoyed our visit very good for a chain Local beer too A worthy stop

Nice meal and decent pricing, pub area where we ate was a little dull/dark. Worth a visit though

This pub was a real find after a disappointing meal the previous night. Great atmosphere. Excellent cask ales and good pub food. All reasonably priced.

Food here was amazing, real home cooked and very tasty. The gravy was the best I've ever tasted. Staff very accommodating. Reasonably priced so excellent value, we would definitely return!

Absolutely beautiful place, so full of character, staff so efficient and friendly, couldn't fault the food and such a lovely atmosphere

Sat outside in the court yard , dog friendly. Nice beer and great to watch the world go by

Great place, but Wi-Fi is really annoying to log into, have to create a whole account (which you then forget).

Always enjoy a pint here, definitely recommend.

We were away for a weekend break and had remembered going past this pub last year and wanted to visit for a meal but was fully booked. So, this year I decided to book a table. We were not disappointed. The food was amazing and staff too - nothing was too much trouble. We have booked our stay again for next year so will definitely be back again

Great old English pub roast beef meal was excellent.

Great old style pub with great food and drink, nice patio/courtyard. We were a group of 45 and they delivered a great dinner efficiently, and very tasty. Thank you

A bit tired but right in the centre of York. The service was fine but the drinks were more expensive than our hotel!

Always good for a pit stop when shopping in York. Historic pub with a good atmosphere. Didn't eat but the food looked good.

1 pint of carling 1 small bottle of Peroni none alcoholic lager 1 pint of lemonade and blackcurrant and a tiny bag of pork scratchings nearly fell over the guy at the side bar charged me £16:05 either he made a mistake or robbed me blind and no offer of a reciete To see prices, also school hols yet he was only person serving at lunch time Wednesday. Long wait.

Traditional English pub. Nice vibe and comfortable sofas :)

Just had a roast beef dinner/ steak & ale pie with chips & veg. Beautifully cooked, & very lovely young girl who served us.

Lovely venue, staff were very friendly and food delicious 😋

Country Graden non-alcoholic drinks are delicious

Food was excellent but we watched the football after the food. Hard to watch as outside entertainment on and hard to hear the football.

Had a very good meal, didn't notice the tv's in the garden and bar for the footie😅 Great layout will be back, definately.

This was a great pub for the atmosphere. It was clean with polite staff. We had lunch here and all ordered sandwiches. The food was, however, average, not outstanding. The side salad was tasteless, and the bottom of my sandwich was soggy.

Good beer with live football broadcasts.

Food was good, service was excellent.

Friendly staff, food excellent.

Nice place for mid morning coffee.

Friendly, cosy pub in the centre of York. Good drinks range, including Real Ales. Excellent food, the pies in particular!

Great food and service. Friendly atmosphere

Only called in for a drink nice atmosphere, very little choice on pink gin good all round pub

Beautifully presented, tasty and reasonably priced meal. The best part was our server, Stuart. He is an exceptional young man and really made our visit. His warm personality and efficient manner just made our evening!

Booked a table for lunch today, for 3 of us. One of us had chicken schnitzel, I'm glad it wasn't me, absolutely swimming in grease, the presentation also left alot to be desired.

Nice city centre boozer, a must do on any visit to York.

Popped in for a quick drink and really enjoyed it.

Good pub with character. Well worth spending an hour to chill out whilst the women shop.

Great pub decent range of draught beer never any issues with service or choice. Guinness was on form this visit

Fish and chips was good, nice spot in the centre of York for people watching

The service was great the waitress was very accommodating as some of our party was running late. The food choice was good and the food was amazing and the children had the puddings and enjoyed them to

One of oldest pub in UK Wine is the main

A little pricey but then it is in the centre if York..place was lively and good atmosphere

Friends from down south came to visit and we chose this dog friendly pub for our Reunion dinner - had a lovely time 😁🐕

Manage xav was excellent and made our night resemble

I can’t explain how good this place is? It is everything you want York to offer. The food is cracking the staff can’t do enough for you and are very polite. We had the privilege to meet the landlord and his wife, Luke and Anna are a cracking couple. Please don’t take my word for it come and experience this wonderful place for yourselves, We will definitely be coming to eat and drink again!

We had high hopes as it looks like a great pub. The bar staff were friendly smiley, however, lunch was very poor. Chips were severely over cooked, looked like they’d been sitting for days, the toastie was described by my child as stale and old and caused tummy ache, most was left on the plate, it was a weird mixture of soggy one side, stale on the other and too hard for her to chew. Such a shame as we were really pleased to get a table and looking forward to a pub lunch. The fish finger sandwich was ok. It seemed like there weren’t enough staff as the there were loads of dirty tables. I would like to give it another try in further though as it could be a really Good pub.

We used the app to order our food and drinks. After 20 minutes of not receiving our drinks we queried at the bar. The barmaid said she did not realise the orders had drinks. We then waited another 25 minutes for our food. The dishes came at different times and a burger we ordered did not come with the chips as the menu had stated. This wasn't mentioned at the time so to be fair we didn't give them the opportunity to correct this but after such a long wait we had to just eat and leave.

Superb choice of ale. Stunning food, fresh and superbly cooked. Oustanding

Great service great food and great location with great staff and good to be offered water Husband had sausage and mash just would have liked a bit of veg ie peas to add a bit of colour on the plate .

Drinks very expensive but a lovely pub

The staff were very friendly, the meal was delicious and we had a lovely evening

We visited as part of the York Restaurant Week. A Pie and a Pint for £15, excellent value for money. These pies were well filled with good quality meat, served with vegetables, by friendly and helpful staff. Worth every penny, will be making a return trip, soon.

Beautiful bar, great outdoor space and delicious food. Always stop by when local. Amazing fish & chips, and great choice in pies.

Quite the pub, we nipped in for a quick half while out and about and ended up staying a while. The pub has got a really good history and the atmosphere was buzzing, the whole pub was packed but the punters came and went quickly, we did not eat here but the food looked good for pub food.

Went In Saturday evening two bars to choose from once food has finished good choice of Cask and kegged beers along with spirits, wines and soft drinks prices are more than what I would pay normally but every area has its own pricing unfortunately. Will definitely try again when we are back later this year

Very nice Pie & Mash on a quite Tuesday afternoon, the staff were friendly and the food was great, just what we needed after a morning of sightseeing.

Decent selection of drinks, reasonably priced. Worth stopping in if you're in town

Went away with the wife for her birthday..Leeds on the TV.. perfect

We have been visiting York many times over the years and nearly always call in here for a drink - as we did this weekend. We then got chatting to some other couples who were in York for the day and ended up eating. We had the Steak pie with mash and carrots and it was lovely. It was getting busy b y then (7pm) so we walked back to the hotel!