York, Sandwiches, Cakes, Etc Restaurant Guide

2024 Review: This deli-café in a former grocer’s shop is “worth the queue” for a coffee and a treat, while the “surf ’n’ turf lunch is also very good”. Success has led to spinoffs in Helmsley and, last year, in Easingwold (where it’s called OPC after the old police cells on the premises).

This “deservedly venerable institution” is “a must for afternoon tea (lunch is good too) when you’re in York”, with “excellent cakes and pastries, extra sandwiches if your need them”, and “great old-fashioned service” – “we had to wait for a table on a Sunday afternoon in February, but it was well worth it”. Opened in 1936 as a spin-off from the 1919 Harrogate original, its classic interior was modelled on the ocean liner Queen Mary. Top Tip – “go for the full works in the upstairs room: wow, it’s in a class of its own”.

Just round the corner from the Minster, this “delightful bistro” on indie-shop-lined Gillygate is an “enjoyable and lively” sort of spot that parlays top-quality Yorkshire ingredients into its “interesting and well-executed menu” (and is open evenings-only or for Sunday lunch). NB – it’s very wee inside (“do book!”), but in summer months there’s a lovely garden backing onto the city walls.