Norden Restaurant Guide

MasterChef 2015 winner Simon Wood opened his debut open-kitchen concept two years later, offering only tasting menus. It is achieving solid ratings now that the initial hype has died down, with fans largely agreed that it’s “expensive, but great for a special night out”. A data manager from Oldham before his TV triumph, Simon is still refining his venue, most recently converting its private dining room into ‘Homage’ (rhyming with ‘fromage’), a tasting bar to pair cheeses and chutneys with wine and beer. A spinoff restaurant ran in Chester for two years, and the WOODKraft daytime café operates in Cheltenham.

“Great food and also a sense that they are putting back into the community” inspires support for this pub-with-rooms on the village green. Run as a youth-focused social enterprise, supporting young people to access training and paid work experience, it has won a string of awards over its almost ten years in operation. In summer, its ‘Incredible Edible Beer Garden’ comes into its own: almost an acre in size and with lots of interest as well as outside seating.