The Woolpack Beverley – At its best in years

This is not a paid review, but I’ll admit upfront—I’m biased. Like many Beverlonians, I have a soft spot for The Woolpack. It was my local growing up, and I have spent many a night there nestled halfway up Westwood Road in Beverley.

The building dates back to the early 1830s and, like all pubs, its fortunes rise and fall over time. However, after a Friday night dinner there with my wife, I can confidently say it is the best it’s been in years.

The place has found itself and feels right for the times and right for Beverley. Let’s be honest, in today’s climate, if a pub is even half full on a Friday night, it’s doing something right.

We arrived at around 6:45 and the place was absolutely rammed, thankfully we had booked a table earlier in the day. The refreshed decor and thoughtful layout was an inviting backdrop to the lively mix of people, candlelight, and twinkling ambiance that greeted us. It’s always been on the small side, but the new layout makes the best use of the space I have seen.

Food-wise, the new menu is classic British pub food but with an ambition toward higher-end gastro quality. It achieves this without pretension.

For starters, my wife chose the pan-fried king prawns with chorizo and garlic, while I opted for the broccoli soup. Both were excellent. The soup was especially notable — I could have eaten a second bowl.

For our main course, my wife went for the house curry. A great choice—mild, with perfectly cooked tender chicken, served with rice and flatbread. I chose the cod after hearing great things about it, and it did not disappoint. The home-cut chips were outstanding in quality and taste, and the mushy peas were spot-on. Okay, I could have done with a few more chips, but that’s just me being greed, they were so good.

Both dishes were wise choices to accompany the now expanded selection of ales on offer. I always thought The Woolpack had previously been a bit light on real ale variety, but that’s no longer the case. I started with a pint of Bombardier (4.7% ABV, Eagle Brewery, Bedford), before the affable landlord recommended an ‘Earl De Grey’ from Aitcheson’s, a local brewery in Wawne. We’ll definitely be checking them out—it was an excellent pint.

To finish, we shared a sticky toffee pudding with ice cream, followed by tea and whiskey. A very satisfying end to the meal.

The bill was £95 with tip and included three courses and a fair amount of drinks so, we actually felt it was good value. If you held back two could eat for £50.

Regarding the service, I’ve already mentioned the landlord, who, as a former NHS boss, clearly knows a thing or two about working under pressure. He effortlessly kept all customers happy and is clearly very proud of what the Woolpack has become, conscious of the baton he is carrying as custodian of a well-loved local institution. Later, he introduced us to his business partner and chef, and we had a fascinating discussion about The Woolpack’s history. I recalled the late 90s when legends such as journalist Tony Fairhurst and others would frequent the place and enthrall those around the bar. Tony, who many will fondly remember, somehow knew Mrs. Clementine Churchill, the wife of Winston, and would tell incredible stories of dinners and goings-on in the late “50s” and early “60s”, never ever going over his nightly allocation of exactly two and a half pints of Guinness. Once, there was a photograph on the bar of him dancing with the former prime minister’s wife.

Anyway, back to Friday’s dinner. I know some might call it audacious to say the Woolpack is at its best for years. But it is. I also know that evolving The Woolpack into what it is now—a popular and quality environment with excellent food and drink in today’s ever-changing world—is a remarkable achievement.

I go back to my admission of bias in this review and to a personal reflection. So often, when we revisit golden places from our past, we actually find them disappointing, slightly ruined by either modernisation or decay. Here, the opposite is true—the Woolpack has embraced the future while honouring its past, and long may it continue. I fully recommend a visit.