House Of The Trembling Madness // Stonegate (The Original) — Restaurant in England

An interesting layout in a very old building, the downstairs is a store with spirits, beers, and other items for purchase and the pub is upstairs. High ceilings with large, ancient oak beams peak where a huge iron candelabra-like light fixture hangs imposingly above the tables.

On the largest wall at the end of the room hang about 15 mounted animal heads of unknown age, including a massive pig, a wild boar, deer, antelope, and other species that watch you as you drink and eat.

The boys at the bar were quite full of themselves and neither very friendly nor helpful. I was told that I had to order drinks and food at the bar and had to pay each time, so I ended up with three credit card payments when one would have sufficed, but that was probably too complex for them to figure out.

We started with a pint of cask ale and a shandy, then I had to go back to the bar once we figured out what we wanted to eat, a Cheese Platter (€17.50) and a Steak and Stout Pie (£11.50) with mashed potatoes and mushy peas.

The cheese platter looked quite impressive at first glance, but once I removed the four thick slices of bread, the bowl of coleslaw, three apple quarters, a bunch of grapes, pepperoncini, olives, girkins, sage, apple cider jelly, and butter from the board, the remaining small chunks of cheese were far less than imposing. Not much of a cheese board, but it was okay, nothing to write home about.

The steak and stout pie was fairly big, but the pastry was thick and there was not very much steak or stout in the center. However, the accompanying mashed potatoes and the bowl of mushy peas were bountiful. The pie tasted good, the potatoes and gravy hot, and the mushy peas very tasty.

I had to go back to the bar for another pint and credit card charge before we finished and left somewhat satiated. In all it was ¨OK¨, nothing special, and I doubt we will return our next time in York.

Customer service seems to be lacking when it comes to Generation Z. Maybe it is a lack of proper upbringing or inadequate training, I am not sure which, but this was a recurring theme during our week in England. and something I had neither experienced poor service when I lived in the country nor during our many visits in years past. Very disappointing.

ComabtCritic Gives The House Of Trembling Madness 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More...

Only reviewing the mail order beer experience. Never been to the bar itself - one day though, it looks amazing. This is the best bottle shop in the UK. I've looked at 10s (if not 100s) and I regularly order from around 5 (have done so from, maybe, 10).

I've placed many orders and, truly, they got me through Covid and beyond!

Really good range (though not as many as Beers of Europe but a more diverse selection, especially imports). BoE pull ahead in ales/bitters (preventing HoTM being a one-stop, depending on what you like) but still excellent.

Little affordances such as being able to ask for dispatch on a particular day really help with scheduling.

There have been a few mishaps - generally the courier dropping a parcel - but these were all quickly corrected and I can promise that every online vendor I've tried suffers from this.

Generally the website is great (certainly better than BoE which doesn't allow out-of-stock to be excluded). Not quite as strong as Ghost Whale who do a better job of aligning the on-page selection with what is already present in your basket. Ghost Whale also putting key information upfront without forcing a click-through which saves time. An example would be showing the ABV on the card (although it does allow me to filter on it). A more refined front-menu and more extensive filtering options would be a benefit.

It's close between HoTM and GW but I've regularly found myself favouring the former of late.

One day a site will hook into my Untappd profile and prevent me from ordering beers I've already consumed but until that happens (or until Untappd allow it since I don't think their API supports), these guys...

I looked at the description of this tiny bar before we chose it. So for people who have left 1 star reviews about the stuffed animal heads, don't go in if offends you, or leave if you didn't know before hand. The bar staff were fun, helpful and advised us how to order, plus there is a chalk board to let you know. There is a drinks menu with prices, so again no need for 1 star reviews for price. That goes for food too. I will say don't choose to eat if you are in a rush. But, if you have the time to chill and enjoy your drink while the bar staff cook your food selection from fresh behind the bar, then worth the wait. My bacon brioche bun was well packed with award winning delicious bacon, and the bar only makes pence on the food. The idea is you enjoy the choice of drinks and real ale on offer. With the bonus of treating yourself in the shop downstairs. Again you shouldn't give a place a low review based on other visitors behaviour. If you have a sense of humour, are seeking something different which isn't a national chain in a historical building and love real ale, give it a go. The staff in the shop were helpful and friendly and we will now buy our mead...