Pontefract has a pub-lunch scene typical of a West Yorkshire market town: straightforward food done well, without pretension. Expect fish and chips, steak pie, Sunday roasts, and the kind of menu that has not changed much in twenty years — which in this context is not a complaint. Tetley's and Timothy Taylor's ales are the local staples. Several pubs sit close enough to the castle to make a post-visit lunch a natural part of the day; check what is open near Castle Chain before you visit.