Review

The Falcon, like many York pubs has a long history, first being recorded in 1715 and with Francis Drake naming it an inn of note in 1736. It is one of the many public houses along Micklegate, just a stone's throw from Micklegate Bar. This historic entranceway to the City has seen many changes over the years, especially for the Falcon. With past struggles, name changes and just as it was getting going a closure and demolition of the modern sections of the pub happened in 2018. An apart-hotel replaced most of this and the original protected pub laid empty for years until in 2022 when local Craft Brewery Turning Point Brew Co. took it on, renovating and reinvigorating the life of the building.

What we now have is a light and bright two room pub linked by a long side corridor. The front room benefits from large glass windows looking out to the leafy churchyard across the road. This room hosts the bar which is well stocked with a great range of predominantly Turning Point Beers across 8 keg lines and two casks. This certainly isn't a bad thing as Turning Point brew some really good beers, it's just worth bearing in mind that the quality of ingredients and the product does get passed along onto the price behind the bar.

There's a smart and clean unisex toilet at the end of the corridor and in summer a few tables street side, which is more pleasurable than you'd think as there's not actually that much traffic along Micklegate these days.

The back room is a little more cosy with its wooden cladding reaching down from the old fireplace and along the floor but is still quite brightly lit with a continental café bar feel. Despite the small stature of the pub they host many events and bring a real community feeling to everything they do. This isn’t just a tourist pub like so many in York, it has a really friendly welcoming local feel which frequently draws us back, it's easily one of the best pubs in the City and we heartily recommend visiting.