Valhalla in York

It wouldn't be York without some Vikings roaming the streets. There was some trepidation when a Viking themed pub opened in 2017 but due to the incredible work by team Valhalla this was no naff theme pub. A simple shop was transformed with authenticity, eye for detail and quality design which has drawn lovers of those Norsemen to quaff the evenings away since. It was so popular that the whole building was converted in 2021 and even today it can sometimes be a bit hard to get in. Spread over three floors with the main bar on the ground floor and a smaller one serving upstairs. Odin's Hall on the top floor is usually reserved for functions and events. They have a great range of four cask beers, three of which are brewed exclusively for them by the local Half Moon Brewery, a DDH IPA, Pale Ale and Dark Ruby Ale, all of which are excellent. There's usually a guest and plenty of choice on keg as well. If you feel like being a Viking for the evening you can even have some mead in a horn! In a City jam packed with historical pubs Valhalla may technically be a new build but it has a unique character that really connects with the Viking City of Jorvik and is definitely an essential visit when you go a Viking. Sköl!

Great vegan food! We had the Sif platter board and the sweet potato and sweetcorn cakes. Everything was lovely and really reasonably priced. The venue is also really cool, we will definitely be back again!

Came back every day that we were staying, I never wanted to leave amazing drinks, atmosphere, staff, music, and I didn't get a chance to try any of the food but it looked amazing.

Popped in Tuesday night... i didn't want to leave .... says it all really love the atmosphere of this place as someone that has been bought up with medieval reenactment etc this place was amazing. Music was my taste too and was lucky enough to go in when they had live music which the guy singing was awesome tho I can't remember this name. Wasn't much choice for juice like drinks ( no j20s etc ) for someone that doesn't drink alcohol but it didn't put me off. There's a beautiful room upstairs what looks like it's for private parties for eating maybe ... Would be amazing if food offered could be gluten free too .. something to think about. If your in york I would definitely recommend popping in. I will definitely be visiting again.

What a fantastic place to visit so much choice of food and beer.The atmosphere is spot on and the staff were great. Will be a definite place to visit next time we are in York

Super smooth mead, amazing aesthetics and friendly service

Wonderful and quirky little pub , ways feel welcome. Staff always helpful if you srent sure what to order. Great viking feel and decor. Good rock music always playing. Cant fault it.

Brilliant place to be a viking for the day. Try some mead and a platter of food. Great to share amongst friends. Great decoration and it's on 3 floors, so plenty of room

Absolutely love this pub and always return when I visit York

Lovely little bar will definitely go back

Stopped in for a drink and ended up meeting some lads conducting thier own pub crawl. I invited them over and we sat, drank and laughed for about 45 min. Nice place and the staff was very quick with the drinks. Although Viking themed, it definately has a biker bar slant to it. Fun place though.

Came to York for a day trip, we needed to eat something and we came in for some food and beer. Food very good same as beer. Great service, cool vibe good prices as well. Defo will come in next time we gonna be in York.

Incredible building, mixed and friendly crowd, excellent service and good music. Our favourite pub in York!

First time here tonight courtesy of York restaurant week. My partner and I had the sharing platter that was priced at £32 for £25. A lovely evening, this place has a great vibe, friendly staff and tasty food. The place is dark with limited lighting, which may not be to everyone's liking. I was a bit wary not being too good on my feet. There are stairs to contend with if there isn't room in the street level bar area. Looking forward to visiting in daylight hours. Fab looking merch too.

I loved the look of the place,nice beer, never got to try the food but I'm going back down in October so looking forward to trying it then.

Great selection of beers and a great atmosphere with good music and Viking themed decor. The food looks good and you can wash it down with a glass of mead.

What a wonderful bar! The theme has been executed so well... the food is outstanding! We had a sharing board and the quality of ingredients was mind blowing. Really, really lovely selection of Ales and spirits as well. The Japanese dark ale I had was probably the best I've ever tippled. Thank you!

Great beer, friendly staff and amazing decor, visit everytime we go to York! The mead is gorgeous too

Great food, great atmospehere, great staff looking their part! We were well looked after. Plenty of seating up the stairs at the back as you walk through the main bar area and through a corridore.. Toilets are up the third set of stairs. We ordered our food in the main bar ground floor, just remember your table number.

Super cosy bar with a good selection of drinks and great atmosphere. Would recommend

No idea. So busy we couldn't get in!!!

Went for a drink, I mean "Valhalla" why wouldn't you go ??!!!

Such a cool bar. Love the Viking motif! Good mead selection, friendly staff, and overall great vibe (and music)!

Valhlla Awaits, it's worth it! Great boozer

I was so excited to visit here!! We drove 4 hours to York and it was one of my must sees! The decor was very cool but the atmosphere and staff are very dull and unfriendly. I walked in with a big smile and tried to make conversation with the staff about the pub and there was just no response. I saw the tip jar saying "Make us happy and give us a tip" so I thought their attitude was a gimic.. but could be wrong.. Its just a tourist attraction and if it wasnt i dont think people would go in there because of the staff. They could make it so much better if the staff were friendlier. Ended up in the pub opposite.

We came to Valhalla for munchies and drunks. We shared two platters which had more than enough for two people at a total cost of £24. We had the Thor platter and the regular Valhalla local cheese board. All washed down with a bottle of white wine. The decor of the pub is funky but be careful up and down the stairs as the lights around the floor can be a bit blinding.

Ordered drinks only, no food. Prompt, friendly service. Friendly atmosphere.

Love this bar. Great music, fab atmosphere / theme. A must visit if you’re interested in Viking heritage of York, with a side of rock music.

Food was great Drink even more so and atmosphere the best! Great service to which even the doorman was polite. Will definitely return

Good atmosphere and good choice of beers.

Great Place,with wonderful atmosphere

Our new place to go to when visiting York. Wonderful place. Friendly staff. Fantastic food. Quick service. Reasonably priced. A must visit for all.

Great feels, Staff nice ,atmosphere great. skal

We've been before and like the place. Staff are friendly and the drinks are good. We had lunch, which was fab. A good stop off place before more sightseeing in York. We had the Odin's platter ... no fries on the menu as shown in choices below...honestly, you don't need them as the platter is generous and very filling

What a brilliant find. Small but perfectly formed. Friendly staff and excellent beer with, for me, a good choice of music playing. Didn't have the food but will definitely return.

Best pub in York!!! Especially on Jorvik Viking Festival Weekend 😜

One of our favourite.. excellent choice of ales

I have been drinking in bars for many years and usually one just blends into another, nit this place it was fantastic. I loved every minute of being in there. Great decor great staff great food great range of drinks.... Need I go on. If your in York it's an absolute must.

An amazing place to meet, eat and drink. The decor is stunning. Make sure you go upstairs to the All Father's hall.

Absolutely fell in love with this place, food was nice, atmosphere and staff were fantastic, will hopefully be back again in the future!

Great little bar with character and good selection of drinks. Fab music too!

Great atmosphere. An inscription, a painting on the wall on the top floor. A huge table for dining. I had the opportunity to try bubble mead for the first time. A surprising combination.😅 But quite pleasant. It's nice to be there.

Way too busy - but what should I have expected when there's a viking event in York on the day of my visit! Half-Moon brewery beers dominated the options, but that's no bad thing!!

Very good range of beers, meads are a bit disappointing (where is the Nidhoggr?). The food is very tasty but portions are either small, expensive or both. This really spoils the experience and should be looked at by the management.

Really cool quirky viking themed bar as the name suggests, very very reasonable in pricing, staff are very knowledgeable on the various drinks and brewerys the come from. Music is awesome. 11 out of 10 would deffo recommend if your visiting York 👍👍

Perfect atmosphere, amazing selection of ploughman's which totally fit the vibe, dogs were welcome and greeted with kindness from all the staff. 10 out of 10

Wow, what a fantastic place! Came to York for a visit to Jorvik and to see some of the Viking festival (which were both fab) and stopped off here for lunch. Everyone, myself, husband and both kids (6&8) loved it. Food was fantastic (as was the beer according to OH). We opted for tapas so we could factor in the kids tastes which was a great way to go (they especially loved the Halloumi fries). Would 100% go back. Music was awesome, ambience fab 🙂!

Lovely sharing boards with authentic interior

Awesome viking bar, delicious food and drinks. They also have live music sometimes

Great old quirky pub , very nice food served and a great range of alcohol. The staff were all very friendly. The pub has so much character. If you have mobility problems, going upstairs would be difficult. It's very small downstairs but you have a larger seating upstairs.

Stopped for a few drinks, decor in the bar was amazing and looked very Viking authentic, husband tried x2 beers and I had a gin and tonic - was impressed at the large gin selection!

Midweek visit, live music and great beer

Great bar in the centre of York with a viking theme. Large drink selection including lots of local beers in tap, mead, cider and more. Food is good too, with lots of the options locally sourced. The setting is like a large wooden banqueting hall, heavy wooden benches and chairs. They have rock music and some nights live people in playing.

Visited here last Saturday afternoon and really enjoyed it. Staff were welcoming and friendly and good rock music playing. Place has a good atmosphere and decent choice of craft drinks. Well worth a visit.

Amazing atmosphere, beverages and music! With the candles, runes, furs, wooden tables, weapons on the walls, etc., it really evokes the atmosphere of Viking times. And the many varieties of mead and beer offer a range of options sure to please anyone.

The only thing that slightly let this place down for me was how dark it was in there. I understand that its part of the ambience and to be more authentic viking, but I was enjoying some lunch and a large party of people were stood next to the window block the light. Food is amazing. Staff are lovely. Prices are reasonable and dog friendly too.

Brilliantly thought out viking themed pub with great beer and a fabulous music selection

Delicious food in a very atmospheric location. Plenty of options on the menu including vegetarian. Will definitely be visiting again!

What a great find! The bar is dark and cosy with Viking decorations. Service very good just a shame the bar upstairs wasn’t open the night we went in. I ended up going up and down stairs for drinks then food. Good slightly disappointing. The meatballs were over cooked and didn’t have much tomato sauce on. The hallumi fries were very hard and again not much dipping sauce. Portion sizes are rather small even for tapas. But the bar had a great atmosphere which I really like.

Caught our eye whilst passing through town. Went in for a pint and tried the redcurrent cider which was devine!! Dog friendly too so points for that. Will definitely be trying the food menu next time we come to york!

Absolutely lovely time at Valhalla. Great beers, great selection of meads too. Atmospheric decor and friendly staff wonderful food. Something different to the norm.

Coolest place in York with amazing food! Great atmosphere. Amazing music. Oh and did I mention how good the food is. Go to the Jorvik Viking museum and follow it up with drinks and food at Valhalla!

Definitely an experience when in York if your chasing nice beer and finger food. Service was fast and friendly and the Ragnarok platter was yummy!

Very cool bar. Music was excellent, not all to my taste but nice to hear something that isn't from the mainstream and definitely had some bangers on. Mead was spot on and service was helpful and friendly. Cool decor too.

Great atmosphere, good selection of mead, and the food was delicious. We ordered the Ragnarok platter for two of us, and it was plenty of food. Staff were helpful and friendly. Only tip, it seems to always be busy, so be prepared to hover to find a table.

My husband and I recently visited Valhala whilst visiting York. This bar a brilliant and the staff where great. We loved the music and atmosphere.

INCREDIBLY COOL ATMOSPHERE. Loved it <3

Really nice place and dog friendly. My husband and I shared the Ragnorok platter board. There was a lot of food, very tasty and good value for money. The staff were really friendly and we enjoyed the music playlist as well

Great atmosphere and drinks, loved the apricot mead. Will be back

Didn't have food on this visit , real ales were very nice, lovely staff, great music Lovely pub in a great location

Been here several times attending birthdays and York festivals. Always good never a bad experience

Pop in for a meed in this dark and gloomy lovely pub! A bit of something different!

Amazing pub and fantastic atmosphere. Ale choice was brilliant, food delicious and great for sharing! New favourite spot in York! 🤩

Classic rock music, a dark gothic theme and great beers served over multiple floors what more could you want. Beware of the stairs

No food at the time we entered. Only sampled 2 beers. Lager choices were Budvar and Budvar zero so not for the lager crowd. Their dark ruby beer was top notch. Good atmosphere. Nice staff. Would recommend to anyone with a rock/metal itch and an ale house. Scratches both itches at the same time

What a cool atmosphere. I’ve been many times before and get better each time somehow. My partner loves the Viking style. He enjoys a good mead and here they have plenty of variety as well as merch (which we already have). Today we had the Odin board for lunch along with drinks and some sides. The sausages were fab and ribs lush! The Chutney… wow. SO GOOD! Will always come back.

Good selection of Beers, two dark beers to choose from both really nice hand pulled beers, we had a Valhalla dark ruby which was stout like and very nice, also a very nice Valhalla Porter

What a fantastic place, great music, beer, atmosphere and staff. The doorman was really lovely.

Great food and choice of drinks at a reasonable price. The platters are highly recommended. Friendly staff

Hells bells, call in for some devilish dark rum. The medieval surroundings will make you feel fiendish. Lots of friendly and diverse characters to meet along the way to a decent into the depths of hedonism. Skulls on the walls fleece on the seats and demons to meet.

Dead quirky, loved it. Great music. Right up my street!

Always wanted to visit this place and wasn't disappointed!!! It is amazing place we sat downstairs had beer and orderd Ragnorok platter x2. Worth every penny...hot tastey and plenty of it. Staff were great and the rock music added to the Viking atmosphere. Already planned...

Stopped in for a pint haven't tried the food but definitely next time, menu looks great!!

Sat with the hubby (Jared) I had a lovely cider, he had an ale, wonderful drinks in a beautiful place

Lovely pub, great mead menu and the aesthetic is excellent, very friendly staff, thank you!

So great atmosohere, like you are drinking with vikings! Class!

Were there with our friends and their kinds, great food, tasty beer and amazing athmosphere.

No food consumed but the drinks were delicious. Some of the best mead I've had. Love the theme and the atmosphere.

Bar was cool very unique, and food was good. We sat upstairs and had to go down and carry drinks upstairs as bar on the middle floor was closed which was frustrating but not the end of the world. What really put me off was the state of the toilets. They were absolutely disgusting, stank of urine with puddles all over the floor, very very dated and genuinely looked and smelt like sleasy club toilets which is not what you want in the middle of the day when having lunch. The stairwell also smelt damp and musty.

Love it there My kinda bar, staff friendly, grub awesome and mead is the best Definitely be back often See you all soon Mark&Leah

I emailed to make a reservation but was advised it wasn’t required especially as it was early January, as it turns out it was still busy as it was a Friday but we got a table. All the staff we dealt with were friendly, the...

Love this place. Even if you aren't bothered about the York's Viking history, this place has good beer and mead, and a good atmosphere. Formed good memories and met good people here. Would recommend the Odins Judgement beer, and their mead tslasting board.

Amazing immersive atmosphere and reasonably priced drinks. 5* 😊

A very interesting change from to normal pub/bar. Great selection of beer and tapas style food served in a wonderful old 3 story building. Big shared trestle tables upstairs, heavy rock music, and a great atmosphere. Highly recommend this place for a lunch in town.

Loved this place, a nice experience, made me regret driving as I wanted to sample more of their offerings, will return and want to try the food which looked amazing.

Excellent viking themed pub with 3 floors of authentic viking theme with wooden rafters and dimly lit areas. I personally didnt try the food but others have left excellent ratings on the pub grub here. I tried the house berry mead and it was very good and strong at 11%. They have house vokda and gin and other delectable home brews. Rock and metal orientated music friendly staff 3 floors but I didnt visit the top floor but theres a bar on the ground floor and first floor. If your looking for a good laid back metal pub this is the place for you to valhalla and beyond.

Always enjoyable. Bought 2 t-shirts to remind us how fab they are!! 🤘

First things first, a big thanks to the staff who helped us foreigners understand how a British Pub works, saving us from future potential embarassing situations. We stumbled upon the place by accident and were very pleasantly surprised not only with the variety and quality...

As connoisseurs of guitar-heavy music, a visit to Valhalla was almost obligatory for us. Even the first impression was impressive, greeting the visitor with an acoustic El Dorado. Clichés are a must, so that the wooden look of the dining room, paired with the gloomy lighting, gives you the impression of being in a pleasant dystopian atmosphere (very metal). That is convincing. The beer selection is excellent and overwhelming at the same time. This leads to a certain form of decision panic, as the waitress's eyes pierce you while you are standing in front of the bar. Not really necessary, as the waiters are very polite and helpful and the quality of the beer is certainly impressive. Gladly again.

Anyone who doesn’t think this is a 5 star bar should be sent straight to Niflheim. Right away.