I’ve dined at Cafe 21 a few times and always found it to be fair value, excellent quality and a lovely environment in which to dine that brings strong bistro vibes into the department store setting. As an aside any fears that this is “just” a shop cafe that can’t stand on its own strengths should be cast aside; Cafe 21 York would be just as at home situated entirely separately to Fenwick, and is part of the well regarded 21 Hospitality group. After navigating through Fenwick to the first floor it’s easy to quickly become comfortable in the restaurant space which feels well segregated from the eager shoppers who would be wise to call in to sustain themselves for further adventures in consumerism.

We were seated in a booth near the open kitchen that allowed us to keep a watching brief on the chefs at work – always satisfying – while we extracted some decisions from the menu. One doesn’t expect masses in the way of choice from a fixed price menu and each course here is represented by a triplet of options that provides enough in the way of choice while remaining a known quality for the kitchen’s costings. We plumped for soup and cured salmon to start followed by cod fillet and pork chop. Service on each visit I’ve made to Cafe 21 York has always been the right balance of conviviality and formality that the average Fenwick customer might expect, something repeated here as our order was taken and we were quickly into our lunch.

Soup is a mainstay of specials and fixed price menus for good reason thanks to its handy ability to use up leftover produce in a satisfying manner. The celeriac version on this menu was lifted by a dollop of truffle cream for a satisfyingly luxurious finish and the whole dish was well seasoned and with a well judged texture, and enough body to feel filling without moving a spoon through it becoming a chore. A few slices of blackberry cured salmon paired with pickled beetroot and a sharp citrus dressing made another satisfying starter and was a surprisingly generous portion, all the more so when the side plates of bread were considered.

With starters away, we were soon admiring our main courses with the cod fillet arriving atop a bed of crushed peas interspersed with green beans then crowned with a few pea shoots. Pork was more simply presented with a fresh salsa drizzled across it and braised cabbage on the side. Buttered new potatoes accompanied the fish to flesh it out into a substantial dish while the pork came with a portion of fries. Regardless of the value, there’s no fear of going hungry here! Both of these dishes were well rounded and didn’t have the sense of being cooked to a budget, the cooking of the pork in particular was very satisfying with plenty of caramelisation which didn’t come at the expense of tenderness.

Twenty five quid for three courses might have been tempting but it couldn’t overcome the practicalities of my mid-week lunch time appetite so dessert was off the cards. That doesn’t mean I won’t be back for another stab at it though. Being honest, this winter is going to be (yet) another tough period for hospitality so the businesses that are able to find ways to offer great value while still retaining a margin will be best placed. Offers like this may well be key to continuing to enjoy dining out over this period for many and Cafe21 prove here that they need not feel miserly.

Disclaimer – PR meal.

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Hudsons has been based in The Grand Hotel for some time and has become part of the hotel’s growing ambitions which include more rooms and a cookery school to join the second restaurant that followed Hudsons not long ago. As a result of this shuffling, Hudsons has moved across the corridor from its previous home since the last time I visited. This certainly doesn’t reflect a downgrade in status though and the new dining room is beautifully appointed and relaxing with plenty of space to allow diners their own space in which to enjoy either the five or nine course tasting menus on offer.

We were keen to make the most of the evening, so decided to tackle the full nine course option (£80) and get the broadest idea of what Hudsons offers since its move. Tasting menus offering that many courses are a real balancing act between showing off and over facing the guests with too many courses, so we took a breath before starting. Our first course offered assurance that the meal would stay on the right side of that line, taking the form of a modest cracker infused with seaweed and studded with elderberry vinegar and artichoke. Following that delicious mouthful was a soup course starring startlingly light celeriac that used lovage for range and a few pumpkin seeds for texture. This one was a bit of an open goal thanks to my fondness for all these flavours, but nonetheless executed perfectly and drawing equal admiration across the table.

With more substantial dishes ready to come, we next enjoyed beetroot smoked with hay along with quinoa and egg yolk. This one featured beautiful pearls of beetroot at the bottom of the bowl and beetroot accented buttermilk to go with the larger pieces of beetroot. As with celeriac, it’s a relatively easy challenge to make me enjoy beetroot, but a challenge well met here before we moved forward with some delightfully presented scallops served with potatoes and trout roe. The roe was a really neat addition to the dish, pairing well with the sauce. My only complaint was having to request a spoon with which to finish off the roe as it dropped between the prongs on my fork.

Next we enjoyed our first meat dish that put foraged mushrooms, pickled elderberries and chard with poached venison. The sharp pickled elderberries really accented the rich meat, making up another well realised plate that was appropriately portioned so that we could continue to enjoy every mouthful. The foraged Penny Bun mushrooms gave another welcome dimension to the dish which was presented hiding under chard leaves.

Punctuating the meat dishes was a fish dish that I think is something of a fixture on the menu under Executive Chef Craig Atchinson. Stone bass with langoustine, fennel and buckwheat felt familiar from previous visits and retained its delicate balance of flavours with the shellfish and fish talking happily amongst themselves against the fennel backdrop. A simply presented barbecue duck dish completed the savoury offering, making use of caramelised shallot and shiitake along with radicchio. This completed a happy sequence of dishes brought to life by our server who did a great job of placing context around the selection of wines chosen to go with our food. A blackberry and apple dish set a happy tone for the end of the experience before a dessert featuring chocolate, orange and almond mouthfuls finished things off with a reminder that the Chocolate Orange is one of the great things to come from York.

We felt that the evening struck a neat balance of drawn out indulgence against practicality, packing in a satisfying selection of dishes to a thankfully none too compressed timescale. Hudsons’ move across the corridor hasn’t compromised its character or quality; if anything, the wider context of the hotel’s continuing development gives an opportunity to let Hudsons settle into a broader community of businesses under one roof. There’ll always be a group of people who assume that a restaurant in a hotel is bound to be a lazy opportunity for up-selling residents, but it’s clear that The Grand and Hudsons both have wider ambitions that, on this evidence, will continue to meet the high standards they’re both setting.

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

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The new cheddar is aged 15 months and draws on the expertise gathered by the Creamery over its celebrated life. I was invited over to Leeds to try the new cheese over a launch event and tasting menu at Shears Yard. The event consisted of a tasting of the new cheese before Yorkshire chef Steph Moon was to put on a tasting menu based around the product. With Steph taking over the kitchen, there wasn’t an opportunity for Shears Yard to showcase its own chefs’ skills, but I noted the menu looked good and will try to get back when I have some time spare in Leeds.

We started off with a chat about the cheese aimed at reinforcing their commitment to producing a quality product. While there’s an understandable desire to tap into a lucrative market, it’d be counter-productive to rush out a product that doesn’t do justice to the business’s reputation. So many mass market cheddars are bland, interchangeable blocks of yellow with little to distinguish one from the other, but there’s not a hint of that here. Before getting into a full five courses designed to showcase the product, I was as restrained as possible with the tastings, but worked through enough cheese to ensure it hit the standards it was aiming for. Yorkshire Cheddar is very characterful, packing plenty of distinctive flavour and a good amount of strength with no hint of the own brand anonymity that can deaden so many cheese experiences.

Having tried the product in its normal state, it was time to let Steph show what she could do with it. It was going to take a bit of finesse to turn out five different courses showcasing the same ingredient without repetition but, as always, Steph was up to the challenge. We started with cheese straws that came with a melted cheese dip to provide adhesion when dipped in a bowl of seeds . This was followed by a delicate cheddar and white onion soup with cheddar croutons, accented with cream swirls and chopped herbs, which drew admiring noises from everyone around the table.

Cheese Straws

Cheese & white onion soup

Yorkshire Cheddar and spring onion cakes

The next target at which Steph aimed the cheese was cheddar and spring onion cakes with tomato relish. Discs of radish gave crunch to the plate before we moved quickly onto the next course which showcased fish. Beautifully trimmed asparagus accompanied cod with spinach and lemon to bring out the best of the fish which had a crispy cheddar crust. Finally we satisfied any remaining appetite through cheddar and apple scones with Yorkshire butter, supported by rhubarb, apple and clotted cream. By this point my ability to eat more was moderately well impaired, but Steph had done her usual great job in putting together a lovely sequence of dishes.

Cod bake with Yorkshire Cheddar crust

It was a nice touch to leave with recipe cards for everything we’d been served along with further samples. I made good use of both a couple of days later, putting together a pleasingly similar soup to that served to us. I really enjoyed the Yorkshire Cheddar, both as it comes from its packet and as an ingredient in each dish we were served. It’ll definitely find a place on my shopping list in future.

Yorkshire Cheddar and apple scone

Disclaimer: I was invited to attend as a guest of Wensleydale Creamery. No charge was made, opinions remain impartial.

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The idea for a social event was borne of a conversation with the lovely Caroline Biggs of Cambridge Food Festival fame who, new to York, thought it’d be a good idea to get a social movement going centred around a shared passion for good food. Krakatoa were happy to host and put together an interesting menu so all that remained was to find some people to come and appreciate it.

Having amassed a decent sized attendance for the evening it was a little surprising to see everyone arrive quite so promptly, judging people by my own standards I guess. Seated and ready to go after the one straggler arrived, whose tardiness was probably appreciated as a chance to get another drink in, I swallowed my nerves and accepted I’d have to at least briefly introduce the evening before handing over to the eminently more qualified Tim Potter, proprietor of the establishment.

Tim did a tremendous job of explaining the restaurant’s history and ethos before describing the menu they’d put together for the event, just enough detail to whet the appetite and appreciate the commitment of the owners without challenging the diners’ desire to push proceedings onward.

Food time then. When I’d spoken to Tim and Deeche about the evening, I’d asked if it was possible to have something not on the day to day menu. It seemed a shame to miss the chance for feedback to the owners from engaged food lovers, not to mention the chance to give those engaged food lovers something they wouldn’t normally have. Starters and mains were served together on a platter, Otak-Otak Ikan to start translated to a beautifully judged spiced fishcake, deep fried and served with a tamarind dipping sauce, it gave a hearty kick without overfacing the flavours – heat drowning out flavour is always a huge disappointment. The main of Soto Betawi (rich beef and vegetable stew) was an equally universal hit. Tender meat, abundantly rich flavour (fragrant and not too spicy) and perfectly judged rice… this needs to be a permanent feature on the Krakatoa menu in the very near future.

Dessert could really only be judged a qualified success. A coconut syrup milkshake with tapioca swirls was divisive, some attendees minesweeping leftovers, but others providing those leftovers. The bogey green swirls might be a bit challenging for the everyday menu.

As the diners melted into the night, sated and happy, we reflected on the evening’s success and the standard of the food. Authentic and unfussy but packed with flavour, Krakatoa hit the spot.Tim and Deeche hit the mark impressively well as we went through our courses. At the end of a lovely evening we’d all made new friends, enjoyed good food and started to formulate plans for the next one… watch this space.

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