The General Tarleton was built in the 18th Century as a coaching inn in Ferrenby, just a bit North of Knaresborough, and is just the type of establishment that one wants to see as the heart of village life. Ferrenby is a small village so it’s easy to overshoot your destination, but equally easy to execute a swift u-turn thankfully and rectify the error, as we may or may not have had to do. The bar into which one arrives is a welcoming space that would be very easy to slip into on an almost daily basis as a village resident, so we paused there briefly to kill the few minutes that had been unexpectedly liberated by light traffic. We then moved through to the separate fine dining restaurant in which to enjoy the tasting menu that’s available in the evenings from Wednesday to Saturday.

This fine dining restaurant is in a bare stone walled room with low ceilings in a secluded part of the building, with a wooden floor and a wood burner to keep us nice and snug. Smartly laid tables accented the higher end nature of this dining experience which looked to be great value at £55 for 7 courses with a generous wine flight doubling that to a still perfectly fair £110. First up was, predictably, that staple of a tasting menu, canapés! This time in the form of arancini, fish and chip bites and cured mallard blini amongst which the cauliflower arancini really stood out with a solid whack from the headline ingredient relieved by a parsley aioli. With a glass of Champagne to go alongside, I was well and truly ready to settle in for as much as could be thrown at me after a long day listening to builders working on our house.

The first more substantial course crowned a disc of gingerbread topped with pear to balance a lustrous chicken liver parfait which was paired with Sauternes, rather unusually featuring early on in a meal and bringing impact to the early stages of the meal before the fish course of seared sea trout. This neatly presented dish used pumpkin a couple of ways for a seasonal accent of sweetness along with some fondant potato and an appealingly glossy herb oil. The mouthful that really elevated this one though was a single tempura mussel that vanished with a deeply satisfying crunch, and a tinge of sadness that it wasn’t one of many.

Beef is a classic choice for a meat course on this style of tasting menu which was executed here with flair as sirloin and cheek were presented with celeriac fondant and puree. With a bold Rioja, they came together as a real crowd pleaser, a bit of cavalo nero taking on the jus nicely too. Next up came “Chefs Cheese on Toast” composing strata of fig, Tunworth cheese and brioche that was as indulgent as the port with which it was paired. All that remained were a brace of sweet courses that started with a lemon syllabub with champagne jelly and finished with a bitter chocolate mousse with brambles and a pistachio cake, both of which were beautifully presented and continued the themes of indulgent ingredients presented delicately.

The popularity of tasting menus has ebbed and flowed in recent years, taking a bit of a dip as a few high profile chefs moved back to a la carte only, but these days they seem as widespread in fine dining as they’ve ever been. In all honesty, my enthusiasm has always remained as strong as any other style of menu, the opportunity to let a chef run riot contrary my perceived preferences remains a unique way for a kitchen to express itself. Ralph’s Tasting Menu at The General Tarleton is a great value introduction to this kind of experience, sacrificing none of the details of the fine dining experience despite hitting that £55 price tag. The standard was high, featuring a few real stand out courses that stood comparison with the best, and the wine pairing was engaging and good value. It’s particularly pleasing that this style of experience could be found in the same building that also offered what looked to be solid casual dining as well as a comfy village pub.

(Disclaimer – PR invite)

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The Owl is the second venture from the creators of “Home”, a fine dining restaurant in the heart of Leeds that’s been earning plaudits since its launch a few years ago. While I’ve been lucky enough to pop by Home for an occasional chat with the owners, I’ve never quite made it round to going through its full dining experience, but I’ve heard enough good things to be confident in its standard, which I fully expected to be reflected upon at The Owl.

Lurking amongst its menus is a lunchtime grazing platter for two, which only runs to £30 and looked to represent fantastic value while hitting the majority of the dishes we’d have chosen anyway. With that decision made and a carafe of gewürztraminer selected as accompaniment, we settled into our seats to watch the chefs work in the small open kitchen, which also featured a couple of counter seats for a lucky few to get up close. The platter arrived after an appropriate interval in which to make friends with the wine and was strikingly served on a tray whose dimensions perfectly suited the constituent parts of the meal. First to catch my eye were the bite sized crumpets topped with smoked cod roe and wild boar jam which were quickly despatched, and truthfully should have been more than a single bite but for my gluttony. These were playful and made great use of their ingredients to start us off in memorable fashion. Next up oysters, never my favourite but improved greatly by being baked given a savoury topping. We then moved onto cottage pie. Cottage pie isn’t a dish I cook often and is ripe to disappoint based on my memories of the frozen versions I occasionally went for as a student. Obviously though this execution was many steps removed from those mundanities, topping red deer with an improbably smooth potato mixture to move lunch along indulgently and with great flair.

“The Owl” Caesar salad was next, topped with crispy coated quails eggs whose yolks were exactly the desired consistency and, making use of sharp anchovies, this was another bold dish of big flavours that still achieved equilibrium. Marinated Sea Bream with pickled onions was last to inspire debate about equitable portion distribution as we stretched our appetites out with accompanying bread and marmite butter.

Thirty quid for all that is sensationally good value. I’d not sully an establishment such as this with words like cheap, but euphemisms like accessibly priced seem fair enough. There was no hint of compromise to hit a price point, just well thought through dishes executed with confidence and flair to bring together what must surely be one of the best value lunch options in Leeds at the moment.

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I’ve visited here a few times over the years thanks to that proximity to Castle Howard, which makes Welburn an ideal point from which to start a walk taking in views of that iconic Yorkshire building. Now though, as part of Provenance Inns, I was curious to see if the village pub feel had been retained and if they’d struck the right balance between destination gastropub and friendly local. Welburn is just a short hop up the A64 and lives up to the stereotype of the pretty Yorkshire village, and while I’m not sure it has anywhere to fulfil my desire to pick up the papers locally, it’s now home to Dogh too, an attractive independent run cafe that’s worthy of a visit in its own right.

Entering The Crown and Cushion Welburn gives all the right signals, with a friendly server establishing we were dining and directing us through the bar to our table. The bar area was quiet on our lunchtime visit but was well set to welcome casual drinkers as the day went on and the dining room was a relaxing spot into which enjoyable food could be served. The menu featured a few dishes familiar to me from our recent visit to The Punch Bowl at Marton Cum Grafton (also part of Provenance Inns) as well some unique to this venue, so it didn’t take long to whittle it down to a few promising sounding dishes. I’d had my eye on the parmesan and asparagus tart but with that out of service for the day we ended up plumping for smoked salmon and prawn cocktail dishes to start.

A well kept and quickly delivered pint of Black Sheep was emblematic of well judged, friendly service as well as a precursor to a neatly presented first course. A classic prawn and crayfish cocktail is a dish that can easily become insipid, needing a good punch mixing into the sauce that holds things together. This was present in abundance though, the sauce underpinning the generous amount of seafood here. A few pickles and sun-dried tomatoes (why have these fallen out of fashion so much?) rounded this one off while treacle cured salmon took centre stage on the other plate. Shards of brioche crouton crunched nicely while orange, creme fraiche and fennel gave the dish a sense of breadth.

Pork belly and roasted cod had caught my eye for mains, the crab infused crushed new potatoes side pulling me particularly toward the latter which also came with a good sprinkling of samphire. Crab infused crushed new potatoes ran the risk of being nothing more than a crushing disappointment but starred on the plate, with a well judged crustacean hit lending the dish a broad appeal along with the well cooked cod. Pork belly is, and should feel like, an indulgence and this example didn’t disappoint as the centrepiece of a set of rich components. A sharp crunch of crackling jutted from the middle of the plate, working really well crunched into the pork and apple ragout that was just as much of a main event as the pork. Beetroot fondant was a welcome shot of earthiness that backdropped the plate along with some spring greens and a rich jus to round it out before we moved onto a dessert.

As is, or at least should be, common knowledge I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. Ice cream is an indulgence that Baby Fork has pushed me to in increasing quantities over the last few weeks though so an affogato was a decent way to to finish the meal, caffeine being another increasingly important part of life since her arrival! Ice cream and espresso was an easily understandable way to end a really enjoyable meal in a deservedly well established village pub. Every time I make my way to a village pub that sells itself on its food offering I’m nervous that the balance will be to much toward regulars drinking or attempts at fine dining to the exclusion of the former, but I’d no worries here. Should I find myself unexpectedly resident in the countryside surrounding York, this is just the kind of local pub I’d hope for, able to supply a decent pint to backdrop good conversation while easily slipping into restaurant mode when needed. If only it sold newspapers, I’d be well equipped for country living…

(Disclaimer – PR visit)

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Marton-Cum-Grafton is a picturesque village a short drive from York, just this side of the A1 on the way to Harrogate, that turned out to be a happy place around which to stroll with a few blue plaques to hunt out some snippets on its history. The Punch Bowl at Marton-Cum-Grafton is surely its main attraction though and makes a good first impression as you get parked up and start to have a think about what the menu might have in store. The interior is all low ceilings and exposed beams, furthering the village pub feel and a reminder that this site can trace its history back to the 16th century. There are also a wide variety of motoring themed pictures to distract the eye, not that I was distracted for long from the important business of lunch.

Scallops are something I feel haven’t been numerous enough in my life throughout lockdown so they were a no brainer amongst the starters along with an asparagus based special whose price included a donation to a charity specialising in supporting the deafblind and those with complex disabilities. With a portion of fish and chips duly ordered by the youngest person at the table, we were all set and before long tucking into our first courses. Scallops with pancetta and pea is deservedly a classic that doesn’t need mucking about with, the combination of generous size scallops with pea puree and pancetta was always going to be a winner and a touch of sorrel as an emulsion gave enough of a twist to make it distinctive without going too far. The asparagus dish hinged upon getting the crispy hen’s egg right and thankfully upon its bisection a soft yolk was revealed to go alongside the local asparagus. A side salad, crisp breads and a tarragon dip completed things while on the other side of the table, fish and chips were starting to disappear at a rate suggesting the recipient’s approval.

Next up came hake with a Thai twist courtesy of a sesame crust, prawn dumpling and a Thai coconut sauce which all came together nicely with a hint of originality and plenty of comforting flavours that showed a lightness of touch with spicing. The final dish we chose was headlined with a real star ingredient, Warrendale Wagyu Beef marking this one out as holding plenty of potential to be fulfilled. The beef rump took a confident first step to the plate living up to that potential, showing evidence of everything a quality piece of meat deserves such as seasoning, resting and being allowed to remain pink. Slowly cooked beef shin also filled a hollowed out roscoff onion with a big punch of flavour, making this a notably indulgent dish. Alongside these were a generous amount of pomme puree that was appropriately rich and a beer based sauce. Charred baby leeks and white onion puree gave a bit of sharpness to contrast and finish off this memorable dish.

With time and appetite limited, we skipped dessert and made tracks back to York, though there’s no inference to be taken about the selection of desserts from that. It was a real pleasure to tick The Punch Bowl at Marton-Cum-Grafton off my list finally and it really hit all the beats I would want and expect from a quality village pub. It can be tricky to balance offering food worthy of the trip with the right kind of atmosphere to satisfy locals just after a relaxing pint to finish the day, but that’s a balance well struck here. I don’t doubt we’ll be back for food when I’ve a gap in the new spots to try, but I’d also be here very frequently to take advantage of it as a local if I lived nearby.

(Disclaimer – Complimentary visit for PR purposes)

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The Bay Horse is a food led pub in the attractive village of Goldsborough that is now being helped along by the people who have helped put the village’s landmark Goldsborough Hall back on the map. It’s benefitted from a refurb’ that has turned it into an immaculately presented village pub offering food worth a journey which doesn’t sacrifice the sense of being able to call by for a pint, something crucial in a village pub.

I’m a sucker for an unusual starter so cracked on with devilled kidneys on toast, contrasting that with the much more conventional prawn cocktail on the other side of the table. This was productive in so far as being a reminder that I’m not terribly keen on kidneys, though I’d expected a good kick of spice to pull them further toward my preference which was lacking a touch. Prawn cocktail played things a little more safe and would have benefitted from another dollop of Marie Rose to bring out the best of this classic but was still a comforting dish.

While those starters were enjoyable enough, the mains raised the bar considerably, both the lamb and rabbit dishes we chose bringing out the best of their components. Lamb Henry isn’t a cut you see on the menu too often and this portion of lamb shoulder had been braised to the point of great comfort for the recipient, if not the lamb. Simply served with a nicely presented portion of mashed potato along with peas and red wine jus, each of those elements found a strong enough voice to make itself heard. The other main was a rabbit and wild mushroom gnochhi with plenty of shaved parmesan and fresh herbs, this one threw plenty of flavour at the plate, with the rabbit and mushrooms both being bold enough while cooked to best effect. I’ve eaten way too much overcooked, tough rabbit in my time but there was no sign of such a crime here. This was a hugely enjoyable and well refined gastropub dish.

To keep Baby Fork occupied through all this we ordered her a portion of chicken and chips from the children’s menu that was thoughtfully delivered at an appropriate time to occupy her while we got to work on our starters. There was no sign of laziness in the kids options and it was evident that the chicken was good quality breast meat – no supermarket nuggets here. It’d be nice to have the option of a smaller portion for a smaller child though; there was no chance of Baby Fork polishing off this lot and we were only going to distract ourselves from our mains so much. We finished off with a sticky toffee pudding that was packed with a happy smattering of dates and paired with a pleasingly unusual ice cream featuring stem ginger and caramel.

I’m not sure how it’ll feel to visit The Bay Horse, or indeed any pub, in the near future but the meal we enjoyed was a happy confluence of good service, delicious food and a memorable location. I don’t doubt that the amended experience will be true to those memories and I’m looking forward to returning.

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

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The Old House York is a venture linked to reputed street food and catering operation Shoot The Bull who also operate a venue called The Old House in Hull. The demise of The Wagyu Bar & Grill presented an opportunity to bring this brand to York and give this building an exciting new occupant. The front of the building, easily visible from the street through a large expanse of glass, acts as the main restaurant space through which one can access a more casual bar area, that I’d found very welcoming when I called by a few days before we were booked in for this meal. Don’t be put off by the restaurant facade though if you’re just after a drink; it’s a personable and relaxing place to while away time.

There was a nice buzz around The Old House York on the Saturday we went with pretty much every table apparently booked. The dining space isn’t overcrowded with tables, as can often be the case; other diners close enough to contribute to the atmosphere, but not the conversation. The restaurant menu is lengthy and varied enough to form the basis of some involved decision making with some interesting produce listed. There’s also a bar menu with a selection of small plates and burgers for a more casual experience.

Obviously I’d gone through the menu in detail prior to visiting, so ordering was a typically brisk affair with haddock scotch egg and Wagyu Bresaola first to be requested along with a couple of deep fried pickles to snack on. Scotch egg will always be a bit of a banana skin of a dish but this was an assured example, lighter than a meat version and with a soft yolk, and there was also a decent amount of haddock to enjoy with the creamed leeks. I was concerned that this would fall into the old fish cake trap of being bulked out with too much potato, but there was no sense of a lacking budget on this plate. The other starter of Wagyu Breseaola was equally generous and well developed with a blue cheese bonbon to shoot some salt through the plate. A light salad separated those elements without inundating the plate with redundant leaves and the meat remained the star attraction of this round with an abundance of flavour to go with its delicate texture. Those fried pickles made a satisfying few extra crunches of flavour too and would make a standard setting bar snack.

The main that I’d had an eye on was a game and chicken suet pudding, though the season dictated that it become a chicken and mushroom pie. Suet is all too scarcely seen, so there was no need to change course. The other main to make it through this tough decision was the 36 hour pork belly about which I’d heard good things. The chicken suet pudding did everything I hoped for, providing ample comfort and a real sense of indulgence without recourse to stodge or undue heft. The pork showed an equal lightness of touch and justification of that 36 hour investment, the meat yielding great globs of flavour and improbable softness. Swirls of crackling shattered satisfyingly in the mouth and while the dreaded pea shoot garnish made an appearance, it was only minimally invasive. Neither were the vegetable accompaniments with both of these dishes to be overshadowed, with carrot, parsnip and kale making a strong showing and given every chance to shine.

To round off the experience, we chose creme brûlée and beignets. The latter were delightfully light fluffs of deep fried satisfaction with caramel sauce and ice cream, though the brûlée was taken a bit too far, with the sugar top burnt to a touch of bitterness. While I didn’t mind the hint of black treacle that gave, it wasn’t what I expected and could well have been construed as a disappointment.

There were a couple of mis-steps with service during our visit though these were quickly rectified, cutlery and drinks reappearing with a slight nudge, which seemed to be amplified in the experience of a friend who happened to be dining there on the same night with a large party. I’m happy to write these off as minor annoyances in the early days of a notable addition to the food scene in York. The vast majority of the food was distinctive, well developed and memorably delicious while the environment was a buzzing spot to relax into. The Old House York might have inherited a sense of history from its location but it’s very much looking to the future of the food scene in York. I’m looking forward to watching it continue to find its feet.

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

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The Twine & Barrel York is a recently refurbished gastropub on Hull Road at Dunnington in a large building that had previously been closed for some time. It’s somewhere I’ve passed many times over the years, but has never presented a compelling enough reason to break a journey or undertake one specially. The refurbishment has created a comfortable place to eat that balances the need for a relaxing dining experience with the amenity a local pub should provide. While the food is pitched well above run-of-the-mill pub grub, this is somewhere the residents of Dunnington should feel comfortable stopping by for a pint at the bar. The food should hit the mark too with the appointment of Dan Graham as head chef. Dan is an accomplished chef who’s headed up high profile restaurants in Yorkshire as well as making it all the way to the finals of Masterchef: The Professionals.

The January Friday night on which we visited found the restaurant very busy when we arrived and became progressively more so throughout the evening, a mix of drinkers and diners happily creating a welcoming atmosphere. We started our evening at the bar, where we could ponder the menu and place our orders before taking up our table. This was a perfect vantage point from which to admire the surroundings and realise that all the details were spot on: wood burning stove present and correct along with details to reflect the twine branding sprinkled throughout the dining rooms without lapsing into forced affectation.

After finishing our drinks and placing our orders, we were led to the dining area, which while busy didn’t allow tables to be too crammed together. We’d plumped for a soufflé made with Fountains Gold and a celeriac veloute with mushrooms and truffle which were served quickly along with well matched glasses of wine. It’s been a little while since I had a soufflé and the wait was well rewarded here, the dish being just the right balance of rich flavour and light texture. A creamy spinach sauce finished it and left flecks of melted cheese around the edge of the plate to pick at. Celeriac, truffle and mushroom would need something bad to happen for there to be a problem with that combination and unsurprisingly nothing was untoward here. The sautéed mushrooms hid under the veloute to be wheedled out and enjoyed with the fresh bread served on the side. There could have been more of a punch of truffle but we greatly enjoyed both dishes, our anticipation for the main courses only increased by them.

After forcing ourselves to take on a couple more wines to pair with our mains, we were treated to baked cod loin with mussel and winter veg chowder and pork belly with black pudding croquette, creamed cabbage, apple puree and pork sauce. These were both the epitome of well presented, hearty gastropub food that put together just enough refinement with bags of flavour and hearty portions. The fish hit all the notes I had hoped for, the lightly curried broth and generous piece of fish working with spinach and root veg to make a deceptively filling plate of food. Pork belly is one of my favourite cuts when it’s done justice, something that is certainly achieved here. Black pudding bonbons are a great addition to the plate along with a stonking great shard of crackling that could have functioned as a shield in some weird porcine fencing contest. Creamed cabbage and a potent, though not overwhelming, apple sauce finished things off well.

Having already given our appetites a good work out, we opted to finish by sharing a creme brûlée. While not as comment worthy as the rest of the food we enjoyed, it worked just fine as an end point to the experience with a glass of dessert wine and was a happy example of the dish.

It’s really impressive to see a new hospitality business so busy in the traditionally tricky post-Christmas period, all the more so when it’s been busier than expected since opening and still managed to cope with that pressure and not drop standards. This was an extremely enjoyable meal with dishes that combined flavour and presentation without losing site of the need for a pub meal to be appropriately hearty or getting too caught up in over complicating things. I look forward to seeing The Twine & Barrel York continue to flourish.

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

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