Harrogate Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: A “bustling” ambiance that “gives a lift to the spirits” is the chief plus-point of this brasserie offshoot of the ever-expanding London luminary. Even fans concede it’s “expensive for what it is”, and “could be said to be a little formulaic”, while a couple of other reporters noted meals that were positively bad.

“You haven’t had afternoon tea ’till you’ve been to Bettys” – “a peerless institution” for over a hundred years, which “has not really changed” and where a visit “is likely to involve you in a long queue for a table (which says it all)”. “Go there hungry” to make the most of the brunch, sandwiches and cakes – all “beautifully presented in opulent surroundings”.

“After so many years of excellence” this old-school Montpelier seafood destination “is pleasingly unchanged in its brilliance”. Run by the Carter family since 2018, it “can always be relied on” to deliver “superb results”. In particular, “nowhere does the classics better (fish soup, smoked haddock Florentine, fish pie, delicious oysters, perfectly cooked Dover sole…)”. All this, plus “sensible wine and pleasant service”.

“Pastries of the highest quality” elevate this Scandi-style café beyond the high street norm – “and they do a mean coffee”. Owner Paul Rawlinson’s other Scandi venture, the restaurant Norse, closed down after four years in 2018, but the café is thriving as it approaches its tenth anniversary this year.

2021 Review: “A very traditional Yorkshire chippie” which doesn’t offer anything fancy but “just good fish ’n’ chips” (the former “huge and well-battered”, and “you can go for more exotic if you wish”); “a little tip – avoid early evening when the ‘pensioners’ special menu’ is served – it will be heaving!”

“All Asia is here”, at the longstanding and “wonderful” restaurant underneath the Studley Hotel – “from spicy Thai to Chinese and Korean”. Fans say there’s been “no drop in standards”, with favourites including many “outstanding noodle and rice dishes”. Top Tip: “if you like an open buffet, the Sunday lunch is always good (if you can make your way past diners going for second helpings!)”.

Limited but very positive feedback yet again for Stefano Lancellotti and wife Sara’s traditional Italian of nearly a quarter century standing, where the cooking focuses on dishes from the Emilia Romagna region.

The modern brasserie at this Georgian stately home set in 300 acres (complete with golf course) didn’t inspire a huge volume of feedback this year, but all of it was positive. It’s open all day from breakfast, and in the afternoon you can enjoy tea in the adjoining conservatory.

This “lovely hotel” is so proud of its own produce that it named its main restaurant Horto, Latin for kitchen garden, and charged young head chef Callum Bowmer (who arrived for two weeks’ work experience in 2010 and never left) with the task of creating showcase menus from it. The resulting meals are “really enjoyable”.

2019 Review: A “consistently good” rustic-chic inn dating back to the 16th century; “the food is well-presented and flavoursome” and there’s a “warm welcome” to go with it (backed up by the roaring fire).

An all-day dining space in the heart of Harrogate, serving up a "pan-European" menu; exec chef, Josh Whitehead, was a semi-finalist of the 2016 MasterChef: The Professionals.

Frances Atkins, one of the most prominent British chefs of the century and the first woman in the UK to earn a Michelin star, has launched a new venture, accompanied by chef Roger Olive and front-of-house manager John Tullett – her team for more than 20 years. Paradise café is in a garden centre near Harrogate, less than 20 miles from the Yorke Arms, the old coaching inn on the Yorkshire Moors where she made her name