Trembling Madness, York

Why have I taken so long writing this up? Buffoonery. Before Christmas my husband and I decided a trip to York was in order. We jumped on a train and travelled through the beautiful Yorkshire countryside, before landing inside the historic city walls. Granted it was a sniff less whimsical than I lead you to believe - think less Michael Portillo's 'Great Railway Journeys', and more 'dealing with drunken Russian men who like to sing loud and clear for all to hear'...

Anyway, I digress. The lovely folk of Twitter had recommended a funny little gaff by the name of Trembling Madness. Named after the inevitable side effect of fervent drinking, this pretty place is situated on one of York's quaint little streets and can trace its history back to 1180. It boasts a vast bottle shop on the ground floor, a cavern-like den of spirits in the basement, and the most impressive taxidermy clad dining room upstairs. 

We were advised to get there early, so arrived about 5pm. There was already a 'one in one out' system in place for the dining room, but it didn't bother us in the slightest, as this meant we had ample time to peruse the well stocked shelves - all 600 bottles! 

The dining room is full of old wooden tables, sheepskin rugs and little cubbyholes. I imagine the Three Broomsticks in Harry Potter to look something like this! The beams holding up the roof sailed the seas over 800 years ago, and now provide shelter for the hungry land lovers who visit this magnificent city. Even some of the heads are over 100 years old...

We were starved after an afternoon of walking up and down the enduring rabbit warren of streets, avoiding those with large lensed cameras and pushchairs, and drinking in all sorts of higgledy piggledy places. The surrounding folk of the dining room were friendly types, who helped me to source a rather lovely table by the window.

Yorkshire Platter: Two types of pork pie, pickled onions and chillies, sweet pickle, cheeses, honey roast ham, apple slices, bread and Yorkshire butter. This was utterly delicious.

Bangers and Mash: Thick venison sausages on creamy mash with rich onion gravy and a side of mushy peas. Winner.

No winter expedition to York is complete without a trip to Trembling Madness. Whether you're there for the beer, food or to pick up a bit of booze to take home, it's the perfect little hidey-hole. 

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