The White Horse & Griffin

We recently stayed at The White Horse and Griffin in Whitby, and it was certainly an experience to remember! The hotel is housed in a very old building, which gives it a lot of character and charm, though it’s clear that age has left its mark. While the structure is understandably not in the best condition, our room was clean, the bedding fresh, and we had a comfortable stay. There’s also a bit of a spooky reputation surrounding the place, and while we didn’t encounter any paranormal activity, I’ll admit I was half-expecting to! Breakfast was a highlight for us – we all opted for the full English, and the portions were generous and well-prepared. It was a great start to the day and set us up for exploring Whitby. The only downside I’d mention is the smell in the bar area as you walk in. It had a bit of a musty, wet dog odor, which wasn’t the most pleasant. But given the age of the building, it’s something we could overlook. All in all, we had a lovely stay, and I’d definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a quirky, historic spot in Whitby.

Lovely pub restaurant in the old town. Good selection of dishes, with a focus on fresh fish and seafood. The highlight for us were the seafood platter and the fish pie. Decent range of wines in offer, lovely service too.

We visited as a group of friends. The service was poor with meals coming out with big delays in between for some people in our group. One of the waiters dropped cutlery regularly when picking plates up. The food was disappointing to the point some meals were inedible. Everything was overpriced. I am happy to pay for good quality food but from my experience here this time, I would have complained even if they had been charging half the price, it was very poor! Braised leek starter was plentiful but pretty tasteless & sloppy. Roasted vegetable risotto was stodgy & must have had a whole jar of harissa in it. It was so spicy it was inedible. Two other people in my party ordered the same main, one ate it as she regularly eats very spicy food but she suffered an upset stomach later that night & the next day. Another friend ate about 1/4 of hers & I ate maybe 2 forks full & we both had upset stomachs the next day. They did admit they’d put too much harissa in. The gluten free crackers with dessert were soft & tasted vile, I didn’t eat them after first tasting. My friend also said her fish pie was tasteless. The place itself looks lovely but food & service let it down. One of the female waiting staff was lovely & did her best to sort things out for us.

Witnessed a young lady staff member verbally destroy a younger staff member called Matthew for accepting payment for a food order and registering it to the wrong table. The young lady staff member was bullying Matthew and commenting to customers about his mistake rudely about Matthew. Matthew went out the front to ‘take a few minutes’ and on his return was shouted at across the pub in front of customers ‘you need to go out the back’ and ‘you need to ask me next time’. This made everyone feel very uncomfortable in the bar. This young female staff member then said to the rest of the staff in front of customers I finish in half an hour but I’ll be on the end of the phone in case HE!!!! messes up is bullying. Witnessing this kind of unprofessional behaviour—shouting, belittling, and speaking negatively about a colleague in front of customers—can definitely leave a lasting negative impression. It’s particularly concerning that this treatment was so public and seemed to make others, including customers, uncomfortable. In a hospitality setting, teamwork, respect, and professionalism are crucial for maintaining a positive environment for both staff and guests. No one should feel belittled or bullied, especially in front of others. The behaviour described does not align with what one would expect from a well-managed establishment, where staff should support each other to ensure smooth service and a pleasant experience for customers

Came in for dinner as walk-ins on Saturday night. They were only able to offer us a table in the upstairs dining room, which was quiet, and with a real fire. We liked the traditional atmosphere as we were there for the Steampunk weekend. Our main courses (mussels, and ragu of beef with tagliatelle) were excellent, the wine was reasonably priced, and the staff were friendly and helpful. Convenient for the rest of Whitby town sights

Came here for dinner last night. Steak very expensive for what it was (pretty tough and dry sirloin, £35), kids burger totally inedible. Would have been more forgiving had the service not been so awful; very abrupt and disinterested staff. Atmosphere was nice in the back room but the bar area was shockingly tomb like; cold and unwelcoming. I think if you’re pitching yourself in the bracket these guys are then you need to consider all the details that make a nice experience, a few candles and wooden tables doesn’t quite cut the mustard.

Visited 1st December 2024 for our Christmas Sunday lunch, 3rd time we have visited. Unfortunately this year we was very disappointed!! (6 of us) Beef was tough, we had to use steak knives but still couldn't cut through, burnt yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes. Vegetables and gravy were fine. Unfortunately the meal wasn't hot enough, plates not warm either. Not sure if a new chef? We had a drink in the wine bar opposite then no word of a lie got some chips and hate chips butties back at our accommodation. Service was excellent (a young man, sorry didn't get his name but did his very best). Also with it been Christmas they was no decorations upstairs so no real ambience, also couldn't hear the music being played in the background. Don't think we will be back next year which is sad really because we have enjoyed the meal previous years.

Nipped in for Sunday lunch. Food was great except the beef was far too tough. We told the waitress who apologised and said she'd talk to the kitchen. She didn't return. The rest of the food was delicious and we were hungry so ate everything except the beef. We again told the waitress the beef wasn't edible (far too cooked maybe) and she again apologised. When we went to pay we were asked for the full amount so we asked for a discount. The chap headed off to the kitchen then reappeared and knocked a tenner off (appreciated). We'd go back, it's a lovely place, but they need to up their customer service a bit.

This hotel's in an excellent location considering Church Street doesn't have traffic passing all night but is still (very much so) in a central location. The room was so warm, I thought I had night sweats on Halloween/All Souls Day, turns out the bedding and thermostat made for a warm night, at no point during my stay here did I feel cold. The staff... I confess, the young girl with the dark hair and dark eyes who never told me her name (because I never asked) and she never showed me to my room, I have a crush on her, when I first saw her I thought f', I like you; (My Whitby Crush) but I'm too chicken shit / shy to act on it, but, this hotel's the best I've used in Whitby on this trip (I've used 3 hotels here and am writing this from the third Hotel I'm using here that I'm going to review once I've checked out, the White Horse & Griffin is the best and only £10.00 more per night than the other 2 hotels) because the Wi-Fi doesn't have any parental control on it and you can watch adult content on it and this place doesn't try to treat you like a child putting on any nonsense porn blockers; so the Wi-Fi works and doesn't filter anything and respects you as an adult. The room is warm and the bed is warm and waking up on a cold winter's morning isn't felt in this hotel because it's so warm, it's nice, and there's no cars heard passing because the main road outside isn't really used by traffic. I stayed here on Halloween which arguably Whitby seems to live for or, is a big night of the year for this destination at the very least, so I heard a little bit of the festivities going on in the bar downstairs, but that's the only fault and it's a minor fault and it's Whitby's biggest day of the year *citation required, so all is forgiven but the friendly staff and warm room, location and Wi-Fi situation make this the best hotel I've used here. Also, there's some historical providence to this hotel.

LOVED IT SO MUCH ASKED THEM TO CATER OUR WEDDING!!! We were in town visiting the town of Whitby. I was told to try out the White Horse + Griffin for a drink. I was surprised by it's size of the bar + overjoyed by the quaint restaurant down below (few steps down). The charm was so inviting I made dinner reservations there that evening. We enjoyed the wine selection as well! I brought my mother, my fiancé, + my future aunt... I was surprised how fantastic the cuisine was. To quickly stereotype myself: I am an American who works in the culinary world- so I can tend to be snobby about my food. I was wowed by the experience + quickly contacted them for catering our wedding. Ed was our main contact. He spent a lot of time skyping with us + making plans. He worked with our budget + to be honest wowed all our guests. I would recommend them in a heartbeat! I wish we could host another event there! We had our rehearsal dinner at the restaurant... upstairs private dining area. It was perfect. The next day had our wedding breakfast at a centre across the way. There offsite catering was spot on! Best WEDDING menu + food ever offered. This was a unanimous consensus from all of our guests.

We ended up having lunch here by accident really - you know how it is when you're all starving, one of you wants fish and chips, the other wants a burger, then add a vegetarian into the mix and you have one of those standing in the middle of the road not knowing if you're ever going survive this enforced famine! The out of the corner of my eye we spotted the white horse and griffen - glanced at the menu and decided to give it a go! The food here is not cheap, it must've been the somewhere near payday as none of as seemed to mind (either that or the hunger had made us all delirious). Once seated we were offered a bread roll, I had an olive one, and oh wow, it was delicious. They serve traditional fish and chips, alongside steaks and various specials! I decided to try the cassoulet - a dish I had never even heard of, let alone tried, but there was sausage and duck mentioned so I was sold! It wasn't speedy food, we seemed to be waiting a while for our food, but were enjoying a cheeky glass of red wine so we didn't seem to mind! The lunch was served in a pan! a very pretty 'copper' pan complete with handle! I was impressed, even more so when I tasted it - totally divine. One of the nicest meals I've ever had the pleasure to try!

A pub, restaurant and hotel. I've dined here and stayed overnight. This is a well located hotel and restaurant, serving a good breakfast. Room wise, the one I've stayed in had an insanely large and well appointed bathroom. The bed however was not too comfortable and was probably in need of replacement.

Stopped in for a cozy warm bite. The food is terrible. I had steak and ale pie. It was a bunch of cut up pieces of meat that it tasted old. There was no gravy either. They brought out 2 of the 5 of our meals out about 15 minutes before the others. Maybe they were having a bad day. We will never come back.

This restaurant has all the ingredients for a great meal out except a chef! The location is great, the cosy, old-world feel is relaxing and, because it was only 6pm, the one waitress had plenty of time to be friendly and attentive to all six diners. However, back to the food: I played safe and went for the cod in beer batter, chips and mushy peas. How could any chef worth his salt cock up such a traditional seaside staple as this? Well, I don't know, but he did. The mushy peas were grey and tasteless. The chips were big and trendy and unappetising. The fish, however, was the worst of everything and could only be made palatable by being smothered in ketchup. If this were my restaurant I would get rid of the chef and send out for takeaways from one of the myriad (and far superior) outlets in Whitby. They serve Timmy Taylor's Landlord, which is always good news for me, or was always good news until I tasted it here. Yes, they even managed to ruin that! The beer here is served lukewarm.

Very atmospheric coaching inn in the centre of Whitby. Food is erratic in quality: can be very good or very average. Best stick to the tried and trusted favourites such as fish pie and fish and chips.