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Upon arrival in this walled city it feels distinctly historic, yet ancient buildings and fancy beer haunts line the same streets as if they have always coexisted.

From beer aficionados to pioneers of new and exciting wines, there is a foodie revolution going on in this city of cobbled streets.

As a whole, the city is diversifying, and the locals are getting experimental. The success of Mr P鈥檚 Curious Tavern, a tapas-bar-come-Yorkshire-beef-joint, is the perfect exemplar of this. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a massive food and drink scene here now and it鈥檚 happened over the last four or five years,鈥� says Laurissa Cook, assistant manager at Mr P鈥檚 Curious Emporium.

鈥淧eople鈥檚 knowledge is getting better and better,鈥� says Laurissa, who now has over 60 gins to juggle during service. 鈥淭hey come in and tell us about the gins, we get some great discussions going.鈥�

On the other side of town, Pavement Vaults is making waves on the beer scene. 鈥淧eople鈥檚 beer knowledge here is good, especially the students鈥�,鈥� says general manager Sam Wheatley, who is responsible for wine and spirits development at Pavement Vaults. 鈥淭here is a traditional brewing community here, a lot of people appreciate the value of having cask beer over keg 鈥� but you have to know how to look after casks properly.鈥�

Staff knowledge and training is key here, too. 鈥淭he staff are interested in everything from beer to sherry,鈥� says Sam. 鈥淲e try and get as much training as possible, it makes such a big difference and you can sell much more effectively. We have a great relationship with David Sampedro Gil of Bodegas Bhilar for example 鈥� their story just makes the wine so easy to sell."

A changing scene

The food and drink scene hasn鈥檛 always been so innovative and Yorkshire chef Andrew Pern鈥檚 third venture, The Star Inn The City, has had a huge influence on its development. When the restaurant opened four years ago, they were the only one of their ilk in the city 鈥� J Bakers having just closed down 鈥� and people weren鈥檛 convinced.

Matt Hunter, director of operations who 鈥榶ou鈥檒l often find in the kitchen鈥� says, 鈥淓veryone said we wouldn鈥檛 work because we were too big to be attempting things like breakfast service; they said people wouldn鈥檛 want to come. We bucked the culture.鈥�

General manager Jo Ellery concurs: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been said that this place was a gateway 鈥� when we opened there wasn鈥檛 anyone doing what we did.鈥�

Today the town is teaming with Rosette-adorned establishments from Skosh and The Grand Hotel (with three Rosettes), to The Park Restaurant at Marmadukes Town House Hotel. 鈥淣ow there are so many more of these places,鈥� says Matt. 鈥淲e are all very different in style, but I believe The Star Inn The City opened the door and showed people that it鈥檚 possible to do something out of the ordinary in York.鈥�

And the punters agree. 鈥淲e come to York at least three times a year because there鈥檚 so much going on here,鈥� says Sue Duddle from Liverpool. 鈥淲e always come to The Star Inn the City for drinks 鈥� it鈥檚 buzzing outside here in the summer, there鈥檚 such a good atmosphere.鈥�

Challenging the norm

Challenging tradition and changing local opinions is still tricky in York. Mr P鈥檚 has faced some curiosity about the way they work. 鈥淭he older generations especially like to have three courses 鈥� starter, main and desert 鈥� and it鈥檚 hard to explain that that isn鈥檛 the way that we operate,鈥� says Laurissa. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no structure to the meals here, plates come out as they are ready and that鈥檚 very unusual for a lot of people.鈥�

Perception is key 鈥� Laurissa puts the success of Mr P鈥檚 down to its founder, Andrew Pern. 鈥淲e get both younger and older generations coming here because of his reputation. People will come here that have been to The Star Inn at Harome and that鈥檚 why they try this.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 all smooth sailing for The Star Inn the City either 鈥� 鈥淚t takes a while to change minds,鈥� says Jo. 鈥淲e had to show people that we鈥檙e not a snooty place! You can come and have a coffee or a six-course meal with a glass of Bruno Paillard. And we鈥檙e dog friendly! We鈥檝e evolved to meet the needs of York.鈥�

The same goes for beer drinkers. 鈥淪ome people walk out when they see our taps,鈥� says Sam, coming back to our point about training: 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to be able to recommend things because we don鈥檛 sell Carling or Guinness.

鈥淭his has worked though. Now people come in and ask for the black IPA they had last time or the ale that we had on last week. We change our beers every day, but it鈥檚 important to have constants too because of this.鈥�

So what's next for York?

鈥淪herry is definitely up and coming, and vermouth! I think vermouth will make a comeback. A V&T is lovely,鈥� says Laurissa. 鈥淪taff need training to sell it though, as people know less about these styles.鈥�

鈥淏oth the gin and craft beer revolution have been going on a long time and I don鈥檛 see them stopping,鈥� Matt says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no reason not to list a good gin these days.鈥�

Sam on the other hand has hopes for a more diverse premium spirits category. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to push mezcal but it鈥檚 still a bartender鈥檚 drink. I sell it as a peated whiskey, the flavour profiles are so similar. Mezcal is like wine 鈥� you get different types of agave and each one has a different sweetness and flavour profile. It's great in a Bloody Mary, or alongside food with chilli 鈥� we also cook with it and make a mezcal butter. It鈥檚 certainly something we want to concentrate on going forward 鈥� and we never give up.鈥�

Operating in York or thinking of expanding to this great city? Email us at tradesales@bibendum-wine.co.uk or contact your Account Manager.