Heavenly Hostelries: Our guide to great city pubs
By Phil Ascough
There’s another beer festival coming to Hull Minster next month – but you don’t have to wait for that.
We’ve put together a list of 12 great drinking destinations to give you a beer festival every day. Of course there are many more we could have included, so feel free to tell us your favourites and maybe we’ll have another round.
Masters Bar, Jameson Street
The first pub I ever visited in Hull, and the place where I fell for the allure of Stella. We’d head straight to the Masters Bar after work because it was one of the few pubs that opened before six. But it’s smaller than the size of the building suggests so if we had a crowd we sometimes opted for the White House along the street. Either way as soon as the Hull Cheese opened its doors round the corner we went there for company our own age and more Stella. During the mid-1980s it was said the Cheese sold more Stella than anywhere in Europe. We drank so much of the stuff that me and my mate Andy began referring to Stella as “the other woman”. We still do.
Kingston Hotel, Trinity House Lane
Our favourite Old Town haunt was the Bonny Boat but during 1989 I spent more time in the Kingston to try and impress a barmaid. The god-daughter of Beryl and Alan “Dogmeat” Moses, I’d met her fleetingly at the Adelphi Club so reckoned she might not be too fussy! Jayne and I were married in 1992 and still go in the Kingston [pictured at top]. It’s relaxed during the week and a riot at weekends. It’s not true that Archbishop Desmond Tutu nipped in after he delivered a sermon in Holy Trinity Church and found the civic limo had a flat. It is true that Farage went in to con drinkers during one of his nationwide tours of deception. When he found there are no banks in the Old Town he took it personally and flounced off to the Oss Wash to look for unicorns.
Minerva, Nelson Street
It’s criminal to think there was a time when this place was closed for a couple of years, long before Covid descended. I can’t think of any other pub that has a better location, perched right on the Humber Riviera. You can gaze through the lounge windows and watch the ships sailing past or settle into the bar or one of the many cosy corners. Sadly the days are long gone when you could then tiptoe round the corner for one more in the Oberon.
Scale & Feather, Scale Lane
A pub where you need to allow a bit of time, first to peruse the variety of taps and pumps on the bar and then to explore the array of album covers, all framed and forming fantastic décor. A few years ago I asked what happened to the actual records and was told they were probably binned by a previous custodian. The bar offers an intriguing, rotating selection of real ales, craft beers, continental lagers and quality ciders. Whoever threw those records away must have had a few!
White Hart, Alfred Gelder Street
Lacks the Civil War connections of its near namesake but that’s no bad thing. The “new” White Hart has a cracking range of cask, craft and continental beers and much more space to enjoy them, which is handy because it was packed on our latest visit. In my book it was at its peak in 1984 under Audrey and Mike Hall. Audrey made the most amazing suet crust pies. Mike seemed to have trouble with timekeeping and many a night we would be there until the small hours, supping Stella and talking solidarity with the striking miners.
Old English Gentleman, Worship Street
A bit up and down in recent years but showing welcome signs of improvement under the latest licensee. The OEG is famous for its photographs of celebrities who have starred at Hull New Theatre across the road. Sometimes they call in or even stay in the upstairs rooms. I once saw Paul Shane propping up the par studying his script for the panto. Have to confess though I’d have been more impressed if it had been Paul McShane!
Hop & Vine, Albion Street
When the pandemic made al fresco drinking all the rage the Hop & Vine hit the headlines as the home of the smallest beer garden in the world. Inside isn’t much bigger, so you soon end up sharing tables and making conversation with all sorts of interesting people. It’s a magnet for real ale and cider tourists, with Tony constantly refreshing the range on the bar and promoting it well on his social media. A basement bar, so one of the few places in the city centre where it pays to look down rather than up.
Furley & Co, Princes Dock Street
Some people think I only drink Stella. This place doesn’t even sell it yet it’s my favourite pub in the city in a very strong field. There’s always a good range of cask, craft and cider plus top quality continental lagers. This column is more about drinking than dining but it has to be said the food is excellent and affordable. With a management team who really know what they’re doing it’s the preferred city centre venue for The Hull Story planning meetings.
Pave, Princes Avenue
A Princes Avenue pioneer. There was a time when you could walk from the Queens to the Botanic without finding a pub. Pave wasn’t the first bar to tackle the drought but it was the first café bar and brought a new, Bohemian vibe which for a few years shifted the drinking and dining focus away from the city centre. It’s another of the venues for The Hull Story’s informal editorial board meetings.
St Johns Hotel, Queens Road
Well worth the short stroll off the beaten track of Newland Avenue and Princes Avenue, and another… erm… conference venue where some of the key policy decisions for The Hull Story are made. With a front bar, a snug, games room, courtyard and beer garden it’s got everything for regulars and visitors. Home of Good Technology celebration beer and it’s still got some of the Red Guitars tour artwork on display.
People’s Republic, Newland Avenue
I once saw a gnarled old bloke in his flat cap propping up the bar in the People’s Republic and ever since then it’s reminded me of the long gone Lambton Street Club. It’s altogether brighter and more quirky with its global drinks menu, vibrant vinyl collection, space invaders table and swirling, psychedelic, sixties-style wallpaper but it still has the feel of a community boozer. They don’t sell the cans of veg that you used to find in the Lambton, but they’ll probably nip to the Sainsbury’s a few doors away if you ask.
Hull Freedom Quarter, Savile Street
Not just one pub but four, with another coming soon. Savile Row was the first and over the last 18 months or so has been followed by Monroe’s Bar, Unit 29 and most recently Cherry’s Bar [pictured above]. Between them they are promoting Hull Freedom Quarter as the heart of the LGBTQ+ scene in the city centre. All the bars are different, each has its own identity, and there’s a joint commitment to provide an inclusive, shared space which also appeals to straight people of all ages.