Haxby, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

A popular little bistro around the corner from the Minster (with views from its garden at the back) that fans claim “would be worthy of awards if it had more than 8 tables and tablecloths”. In business since 2002, “if anything it improves”: last year, Ian Pragnell, son of co-founder and self-taught chef Chris, joined the team to add lunchtime openings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Top Menu Tip – “excellent goat’s cheese and tuna starters, lamb and pork main courses”.

Limited but all positive feedback this year on Adam & Lovaine Humphrey’s bright dining room, which bills itself as ‘Delicious, Different & Central’ and whose somewhat eclectic menu-style has been imported from their original ‘Arras’ (which was in Sydney, Australia). In the evening, there’s a five-course menu for £90 per person – at lunch and pre-theatre shorter, cheaper options are available.

“Perfect from start to finish” say fans of the “stunning food and amazing wine list” at the Banks family’s converted pub in the city-centre, where “innovative preparation methods transform humble and not so humble ingredients to make everything into a delight”, choosing from a ‘Core’ menu at £95 per person, or a ‘Signature’ one for £145 per person. The Telegraph’s William Sitwell – a man who is hard to impress – agrees, saying in his May 2025 review his meal was “heavenly”. But while all reports in our annual diners’ poll do acclaim the cooking, the prices are increasingly becoming a major turn-off – sceptics feel that “the environment is underwhelming and doesn’t feel like the special occasion demanded by the bill”, or that “for all the hyperbole, the food is good-only, leaving poor value for money”.

The Mannion clan first opened this venue as a greengrocers’ three decades ago; its current incarnation is as a “charming café-deli that consistently delivers on quality, atmosphere and indulgence” (be it Full English breakfasts or pork belly sandwiches), and offers “very efficient and friendly” service to boot. There’s also a sibling in Helmsley (the Easingwold spin-off having closed in summer 2025).

High-profile North Yorkshire chef Andrew Pern opened this city spinoff from his famous Star at Harome a dozen years ago, on an attractive site beside the River Ouse. These days, it attracts limited feedback and such as there is remains rather up-and-down.

“This iconic tea room is in a league of its own” and “almost as charming as the Harrogate original” (it was built later, in 1936, with its interior modelled on the Queen Mary). It can be “a pity that it is overwhelmed by tourists with the resultant queues” but this is a trivial quibble – for practically all reporters it’s an “old favourite that never fails” and “it’s rare to be disappointed here”. Cosset yourself with afternoon tea, sandwiches, scones and patisseries galore, or there’s always the opportunity to eat here all day from the ‘Grande Breakfast’ onwards. “Always go there when in York and always delighted!”

2022 Review: The York branch of Richard Caring’s glossy Ivy chain generates most enthusiasm for its attractive interior, which makes it a pleasant spot to while away an hour or two – including over afternoon tea – especially if you can nab a table by the full-length windows (difficult to guarantee, since tables are allocated on arrival).

“There’s nothing pretentious or exclusive about this delightful and relaxed restaurant”, run since 1990 by Michael Hjort and his wife Lucy (who also run the Chopping block) – “food and wine is what they are about and that is what they deliver” either for their fairly short à la carte menu (three courses for £85 per person in a fairly classical modern British style) or tasting menu (seven courses for £98 per person).

2022 Review: “A great place for a civilised lunch” – so long as you don’t expect culinary fireworks. This impressive William & Mary country house on the outskirts of York is owned by the National Trust (and was once the residence of traveller and writer Lady Mary Wortley Montague, who introduced the practice of smallpox inoculation to Britain after witnessing it in Turkey).

“Abbey Inn occupies an idyllic spot opposite the ruins of Byland Abbey” – with “amazing views” thereof – and provides “a beautiful location, if a fair way off the beaten track”. Taken over by Tommy Banks and his family in 2023, it’s “not really into its swing” as one of the top-50 most commented-on destinations outside London in our annual diners’ poll. Quibbles about the cooking last year have dissipated, and practically all accounts are of “excellent, fantastically tasty high-end pub food that outshines nearby rivals and comes thoroughly recommended”. Top Menu Tip – “Very much to-be-enjoyed fish pie, full of tasty fish; superb glazed lamb shoulder”.

2024 Review: “Great pub food and proper Yorkshire hospitality” are the defining features of Rob & Gill Thompson’s whitewashed inn, a fixture in the village for almost four centuries. “Everything is a big cut above the average – highly recommended”.

“Amazing food and amazing service” inspires fans of the Banks family’s famous inn with rooms on the edge of the North York Moors, near their 160-acre farm, which won fame in 2012 when Tommy Banks became the UK’s youngest chef to win a Michelin star. Now their empire has grown, there is room for quite a hierarchy in the kitchen nowadays, with Tommy Banks working with Executive Chef Callum Leslie and Head Chef Alice Power to deliver their tasting menu at £175 per person (£135 per person at lunch). Despite the high level of expense, it’s a consistently well-rated formula. It’s one that’s being refined too – with fish, for example, no longer a feature (‘In our continued commitment to sustainability and hyper-local sourcing, our chefs have taken the decision to focus exclusively on land-based ingredients for our tasting menu… to bring together everything from our own farm and garden, foraged wild ingredients and preserved seasonal produce’).

“A beautifully located small hotel opposite the village pond with garden views, comfortable bedrooms” and “good food from a short menu” – Jacquie Pern’s former village smithy has been a North Yorkshire staple for more than 15 years. Ratings did not hit the heights here this year – with a couple of up-and-down reports – but change was afoot following our annual diners’ poll with the arrival of new head chef Adam Westgarth, whose appointment aims to herald a new direction in the kitchen, working closely with a local farm providing regenerative crops, heritage breed livestock and wild game.

“When in York head here!” – Andrew Pern of the famed Star Inn at Harome’s much-hyped (when it was opened by HRH King Charles III a couple of years back) dining room occupies a superb central location in a former 1830s school. “They put a lot of thought into the wine as well as non-alcoholic choices for the driver who pulls the short straw” while the classic British cooking is “very satisfactory” by most accounts, and less pricey than one might expect, whether you go for the two-course Sunday lunch (£30 per person) or the seven-course tasting menu for a bargain £49 per person. For a more casual visit, the rangy outdoor terrace is “the best place for coffee if the sun is shining as the Minster view is sublime”. Top Tip – “a good central location for a business meal”.