Ilkley Restaurant Guide

“Afternoon tea IS Bettys!". This old-fashioned tearoom is “always worth the queue” for its epic teas and fine spreads of pastries and sarnies. It’s also “a great place to meet over a very good breakfast. Coffee, understandably, is excellent!”

2022 Review: A “very good value, high-quality place in Ilkley” where Joel Monkman’s large and small plates of British seasonal fare continue to win plaudits three years after its founding; also on the menu, lunchtime BBQ Buns and hearty Sunday roasts.

“Well worth the trek while on a trip ‘up North’”, noted a Wimbledon-based reporter on this esteemed and “always enjoyable” foodie destination. Set in one of the town’s oldest buildings, it first became a restaurant in 1962 and was cradle to the talents of the young Marco Pierre White prior to its last 19 years of ownership by chef Simon Gueller and his wife Rena. There’s a three-course menu at lunch – dinner is 6 courses plus canapés, amuse-bouche and bread – and fans say the kitchen “absolutely nails it”.

The Duke of Devonshire’s Bolton Abbey estate in Yorkshire provides a “stunning setting” for this “traditional, French-inspired” dining room, within a well-known luxury hotel. Ratings are very good all-round for Chris O’Callaghan’s cuisine, which is bolstered by an “open-plan wine cellar the staff will be happy to show you round” (look out for some famous vintages). Top Tip – “one of Yorkshire’s top afternoon teas”.

2022 Review: The “good brasserie food” in this more relaxed – and considerably more affordable – option than the formal Burlington restaurant at the “splendid Devonshire Arms Hotel” on the Bolton Abbey estate, makes for a “great experience in a great location”.

“With its attentive staff and lovely setting by the river”, Alessandro & Sofia Elena Tocca’s “wonderful Italian restaurant” draws an appreciative crowd and is “a favourite of many locals”. One of Wharfedale’s most consistent performers for two decades, it has blossomed since moving into an old weir-side mill five years ago.

2021 Review: “Hockneys in view” as you dine are the most famous attraction of this noisy but atmospheric venue: a large, post-industrial space in the UNESCO-listed Salts Mill complex, open from breakfast on for a coffee or fuller meal (Saltburger, Caesar salad, etc).

“Very good cooking at these prices” is the attraction at this “brilliant” venue, on the Leeds & Liverpool canal, which occupies part of an old Victorian warehouse. Chef-partner Paul Huddleston has an impressive CV and fans say “a visit is a must when in the area”.

Mohammed Sabir was still working as a bus driver in Shipley when he launched his Kashmiri curry business as a mobile takeaway from his Commer van, the ‘Spice Box’ in 1976. The next year he opened his first bricks-and-mortar restaurant Aagrah, which still wins consistently solid marks for its food and has nine branches across Yorkshire.

“Always reliable for tasty and reasonably priced French food”, this handy venue is one of twenty remaining branches of a national chain launched 29 years ago (six more closed down in 2020).