Bolton Abbey Restaurant Guide

This “elegant” hotel dining room (FKA The Burlington) in a “beautiful Daleside setting” at the Duke of Devonshire’s country getaway is a bright and relatively relaxed – given the poshness of the surroundings – spot overlooking the gardens and wider Bolton Abbey Estate. Chefs have come and gone over the years (including notables Michael Wignall and Peter Howarth), as have the Michelin stars, but for “as good a Full English as you can enjoy”, fancy afternoon tea or their new summer seafood tasting menu, there’s much to like – and “staff are happy to show the open-plan cellar” that fuels their “very extensive wine list”. The premises also hold a more informal brasserie and bar.

Seemingly “sailing on unperturbed by changes in ownership and chef” – Adam Frontal has owned it only since 2022 and Aussie chef Brayden Davies was appointed in early 2024 – this ‘Gavroche of the North’ inspires ratings in line with its historical performance, and one regular notes that “if anything, it seems to be harder to get a table these days: I‘ve tried a couple of times recently without success”. Located in one of the town’s oldest buildings, it has operated as a restaurant since 1962 and – unlike the cooking – the interior is very “traditional” if with some updating that’s not universally popular (“It might seem a bit fuddy-duddy to moan about tablecloths, but in such an old-fashioned environment, polished table tops seem out of place”). Foodwise, though, it’s ever-more “contemporary” and there’s a feeling that recent innovations are for the better (“new chef, new tasting menu, very much to our taste”). “As well as the inevitable hike in prices, the style seems to have changed, with only one main course (but served in 2 or 3 parts)”. Service is generally “good and knowledgeable”, particularly from sommelier Didier Da Costa (who has been in post since 2009). Top Menu Tip – “the traditional Box Tree soufflé for dessert is still superb”.