Harry's Bar occupies a building on Stonegate that dates from 1462 — which on a street as old as Stonegate barely qualifies as ancient. The bar is small, the wine list is good and sensibly priced, and the food is straightforward: charcuterie, cheese, simple hot dishes. It avoids the tourist-pub formula that dominates much of the city centre, which makes it popular with locals who want a drink somewhere that isn't trying too hard.
The atmosphere is quiet and intimate in the evenings, particularly mid-week. It shares the general character of the Stonegate area — narrow street, old buildings, uneven floors — but without the forced rusticity of some of the nearby pubs. The range of wines by the glass is better than average for York, which is not always a city where wine drinkers are well served.