Situated on an unassuming industrial estate on the outskirts of York, the Agility York street presence is rather understandably more akin to your typical play-barn than a restaurant but once inside and in the surprisingly spacious upstairs dining area things are just as comfortable as you’d hope and well separated from the more active areas, the noise from which didn’t impinge on our meal. We quickly rattled through the Tapas menu, also ordering from the children’s menu and settled in with a cold Estrella.

First to arrive was a generous platter of Spanish meats and cheeses generously scattered with olives and cornichon that was perfect grazing while the other dishes shuffled onto the table, starting with salt cod croquettes with a saffron dip that were crisped to perfection externally and unctuous inside with plenty of cod present and a deep hit of saffron to add breadth. Albondigas came next with a rich tomato sauce and generous notes of garlic while we also grazed on bread with olive oil and balsamic, a satisfying trio that’s slunk back from its ubiquity a decade ago. Green beans sautéed with more garlic and some pumpkin seeds dropped next along with calamari rings, something that can trip up this sort of menu. No such worries from Sam though as they were blessed with a satisfying crunch, soft calamari and a powerful lemon mayo for balance. That just left patatas bravas which had been executed to the same high standard with crispy potatoes paired against a good punch of heat from the tomato sauce.

This would all have added up to a top-notch tapas meal from a specialist restaurant, let alone a single night in what’s primarily a fitness/play destination but, in truth, knowing Sam and his pedigree that’s hardly a surprise. The menu full of tapas staples was not only well put together but great value and bodes well for the future. Next up is a Greek night on 6th July; on the evidence of this, it’ll be another great evening.

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Ambiente has become embedded as a firm favourite in the city thanks to its well judged balance of accessibility and value that doesn’t lead it to skimp on quality. I’ve eaten at both of the York branches many times over the years and can’t recall anything in the way of disappointment, so the news of their developing at home offering was welcome. This Dine at Home Family Feast comes in at £50 and is made up of five tapas dishes of your choosing from a selection and a paella kit that’s intended to feed a family of four, give or take making allowances for appetite. That price also includes a bottle of wine or a four pack of beer.

I think it’s fair to say that in some regards, tapas is a concept that lends itself extremely well to reheating at home but I certainly wouldn’t say the same about paella, something that in my experience doesn’t take well to reheating. To dodge that potential mis-step the paella comes presented in kit form, requiring a bit of engagement to bring to the table. Thankfully that doesn’t involve anything too taxing and presents the perfect opportunity to pop the accompanying tapas dishes in the oven. The paella is simple to prepare, really just involving combining a few bags of ingredients with some rice and water so everything comes to the table along with a glass of wine with minimal fuss.

As predicted, Ambiente at home hit all the notes that you’d expect from Ambiente, the selection of dishes doing everything I hoped. I should point out that the quantities were certainly generous, comfortably stretching to four portions (two meals for two people). The tapas dishes featured Ambiente staple “Albondigas”, pork & beef meatballs in tomato, chorizo and olive sauce, blue cheese and walnut stuffed mushrooms, shredded chicken with peppers and spices, roast aubergine stuffed with feta and some cubes of tender pork belly. With a bit of bread to mop up the sauces, this quintet made a very decent meal for two in itself and felt very much like a meal in Ambiente, even if it did brutally expose the cheapness of our crockery once again.

The paella also turned out very convincingly, the vegetarian version opted for here being not missing any meat or seafood elements. A generous hit of saffron helped things along and the result was another comfortingly flavoursome and hearty meal that gave a sense of occasion.

I’m not sure how much I like the term “new-normal”, its implication that the status quo we’d blundered our way to before was in some way normal but that’s certainly not to say I don’t want huge swathes of it back, with restaurants and hospitality predictably high in my list of priorities. This service from Ambiente is a welcome and accomplished glimpse back to some of the wonderful things we may have been guilty of taking a touch for granted a few months ago.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for this meal, opinions are impartial.

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When we visited to check out the new menu, we were leaving 4 week old baby YoaF out of our hands for the first time so resisted the temptation to linger in the front bar over a flight of sherry, rather settling straight into a snug corner table in the downstairs dining area for a chat about the new menu. There may be a few branches of Ambiente these days (Leeds and Hull joining the York sites) but the willingness to give distinct menus makes sure that while the DNA of the experience remains true throughout, each venue keeps a sense of individuality.

We kicked things off with a Spanish seafood platter to share which came with a generous portion of bread and “picos de pan” (reminiscent of breadsticks) to mop up a side of salt cod pate. Our server had raved about the new Cantabrian anchovies so I made a made sure I was rude enough to grab the first mouthful and confirm that the recommendation was more than just an employee’s hyperbole. The Boquerones that have frequently appeared on Ambiente menus for some time remain as delicious as one would expect good quality marinated anchovies to be but the newer variant brings boast worthy subtlety and depth along with the sharp anchovy. Elsewhere on the platter we enjoyed fabulous tuna belly and salt cured tuna along with tender thinly sliced octopus.

Having enjoyed our seafood, we moved onto a couple of hearty meat dishes. A “Bola de Cordero” slow roast lamb shoulder croquette on squash puree revealed plenty of rich, slow cooked shredded lamb to contrast with the crunchy exterior. Not the most subtle dish but absolutely satisfying. Next up came “Ragu Española” which put braised beef shin with pasta. I’d not expected to be so impressed with pasta on this trip but the short strands here were superb and made a luxurious dish with the generous and rich beef ragu it shared a bowl with.

For some vegetable relief we chose wild mushroom, kale and feta empanadas garnished with oven roasted grapes in masala and a balsamic beetroot with baby onion salad salad. The baby onions with the beetroot were dyed red by the root veg leading to a very red plate of food broken by dill garnish; any lack of visual variety being made up for by an abundance of flavour.

I was really impressed with the new menu that offered plenty of great, bold flavours at really sensible prices. Our lunch attracted a bill of less than fifty pounds including a glass of sherry each. While the standard for eating out in York has risen markedly over the last five years, Ambiente certainly hasn’t been left behind and the Goodramgate branch remains a welcoming place to enjoy great food and sherry.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for this meal; all opinions are impartial.

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The term Txoko comes from the Basque region and is used to define a formal or informal group who meet regularly to enjoy good food. This event was based around that theme, with communal seating putting strangers at ease, while a series of dishes to share came from the kitchen. With some wine thrown in too, this was looking like a pretty notable bargain at £35 for a ticket.

We were pretty much last arrive, despite being five minutes before the advertised time. Clearly the audience were enthusiastic about the evening, so we took the last seats at the end of the communal table and started off with a glass of Txomin Etxaniz, a light fruity white with a hint of fizz that formed a good basis for conversation along with bread, olives, balsamic and oil.

The wide range of dishes came in quantities appropriate to satisfy the group. There was certainly no need to compete for scraps of the most popular dishes. First to arrive were an artful swirl of cured sausage presented on a bed of smooth butter beans and bowls of roast new potatoes with spinach and Picos blue cheese. It was a pleasant surprise to find the cured sausage (Chisttora) more lightly flavoured than I expected and interacting well with the butter beans that were slow cooked to almost dropping apart while remaining moist.

Despite having inflicted a pretty stomach-churning blister on my hand while cooking them, I still adore pig cheeks (if you ever want to see the blister pics, just ask). The examples served here lived up to my high expectations, cooked in sherry and with a delightful sheen, and shredding with minimal effort when the diners jumped in to grab a share. They were served with an apple puree that contrasted on the plate but, perhaps unfairly, got lost in my enthusiasm for the meat.

The final plate of meat was a piece of Iberico pork served with sweet and sour braised peppers that suffered only from being served between those wonderful pig cheeks and the striking salt baked sea bream that was delivered immediately afterward. The meat was tender and not subject to any unnecessary fiddling to compete against the sharp peppers.

Alongside the pig cheeks, that salt baked sea bream deserved to headline the menu. This came complete to the table ready for our server to break the crust and help us flake the meat onto our plates; another example of good produce, well prepared and not subject to any further hyperbole. An approach I shall reciprocate here!

To accompany all this, we were served several wines that maintained a convivial atmosphere, amongst which was a wonderfully smooth Rioja that achieved consensus amongst the group as another highlight of the evening. As I recount this now, it’s even harder to believe that all this came for £35 a head, including a more generous quantity of wine than expected. Ambiente is always a nice place to visit, but this event represented even better value than usual and the chance to enjoy a well curated selection of food and wine. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend booking Txoko with Ambiente.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for my attendance. Opinions are as impartial as always.

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After a period of closure and the finding of a new tenant, the Minster Inn has been subjected to a sympathetic renovation that, thankfully, hasn’t ruined the character of the interior rooms and bar, but has introduced luxuries such as indoor toilets. Part of the refurbishment has sacrificed one of the small rooms in favour of a kitchen that now offers pizza and tapas. While I’ve not got around to following up that visit and proving myself right to the friend in question, I did have the chance to pop back with another couple of lovely people to see if the food was up to snuff.

While now offering food, the Minster Inn still works just fine as a pub. The front bar still houses friendly locals and the real ale is both varied and well kept. Back in my early days in York, this is somewhere I bumped into a chap who lived a few doors from me a couple of years previously…in Cambridge. It doesn’t feel any less friendly now.

When we got to ordering food, we chose three tapas dishes and a pizza to share. The prawn and chorizo pizza, marinated anchovies, stuffed peppers and garlic mushrooms weighed in at £24 with a couple of drinks. Very reasonable recompense for dinner for two and a beer each. There was a bit of a wait on food, but fair warning was given from the friendly servers.

When the food punctuated our conversation, the pizza presented well with generous toppings and thin crust. The tapas varied in promise from nicely presented mushrooms on toast to a modest portion of anchovy. Of the three tapas dishes, the mushrooms stood out, presented on fried bread and with a balsamic dressing. The mushrooms were richly dressed and contrasted well with the crisped bread. Stuffed peppers were less successful, throwing out a unexpected amount of heat that threw the whole table. They were by no means a terrible thing to eat, but didn’t deliver what any of us expected. The anchovies were salty and satisfying to go with a drink. It’s fair to say that none of this stuff is fine dining, but as a well priced way to supplement drinks with friends on a casual night out, this really hits the spot. It’d be remiss of me not to mention that the pizza had an unexpected bit of topping in the form of a shard of plastic, but no harm done and the server looked mortified beyond words when informed, quickly returning with complimentary beer to make up for it. If it wasn’t on the wrong side of town for me, I’d be back a lot more often!

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This week I was lucky enough to be invited to taste sherry with Ambiente in Leeds. As previously recorded here I’m a fan of their York restaurant so aside from anything else it was a lovely chance to pop across to Leeds and check it out. Set in a lovely building a few minutes’ walk from the station the restaurant is centred around an open kitchen – a trait which I immediately felt jealous isn’t shared in York.

The sherries were provided by Real Tesoro with fascinating and knowledgeable introductions from their representative Jaime Delage Estevez, a family member from Grupo Estevez. Starting with a beautiful light Fino paired with olives wrapped in anchovy and marinated pepper we caught up with some friends including the lovely CosyCoffeeShops to talk things through. In short order the group agreed that anchovies, peppers, olives and sherry were all good things.

After the light beginning, things stepped up a notch with the Manzanilla. Marginally stronger and darker but still a beautifully translucent drink things progressed well, accompany beetroot discs with goats cheese and fennel. Scraps of Iberico ham were passed around as we debated the place of sherry in British society…..as were salmon chunks, tomato with basil pesto, king prawn and chorizo skewers….in retrospect I feel even luckier than 24 hours ago.

A glass of Amontillado eased our transition to the darker more notably conditioned drinks and, pleasant though it was, didn’t make the impression that the Oloroso did. As the darker sherries took their place, effectively paired with barbecued lamb chunks, most agreed this one struck the best balance between complexity of flavour and refreshment. By now we were superbly well versed on the Solera system and making many new friends.

To polish the evening of sherry with Ambiente off we moved onto a PX Sherry (PX being one of the three grapes you make sherry with). We were warned this would be a notable step from dry complexity to intense sweetness. Tempering the sweetness we were presented with chunks of salty, sharp Roquefort. Working backwards to my personal preference, as someone who’s not drunk sherry intentionally as an adult before, I’d go for the initial FIno with which we were presented as an aperitif or the Oloroso to accompany tapas. The PX presented interesting aftertaste but I couldn’t help but feel the sweetness was overpowering.

Following a lovely evening, would I take the the advice and pair sherry with an entire meal? No. Saying that, I very much enjoyed what we tasted and the variety of flavours but I wouldn’t swap the flavour range we were presented with for the softness of a nice red against rare red meat. The whole thing certainly merits further investigation.

Thank you again to the always marvellous Ambiente for a lovely (and, for the sake of transparency, free) evening

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