Haxby Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: Now in its ninth decade, Nick & David Miller’s veteran chippy outside York remains on tip-top form, winning consistent high ratings for its excellent fish ’n’ chips and top service.

This famous chippy with old-school décor (est. 1989) is the flagship of a seven-strong Yorkshire empire – and a reliable “go-to on a long journey up the A1”. The main event is “great and traditional fish ‘n’ chips” with a focus on haddock but a long list of other scrumptious fish to eat. If you don’t fancy staying on site, you can demolish the victuals overlooking the wharf and Wetherby bandstand nearby.

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.

2021 Review: “When all you want is an old-school burger”, these US-based arrivals of recent years really “hit the spot” – you can “build your own”, with “tons of accessories”; plus “seriously addictive fries”, “thick milkshakes”, and “more soda flavours than is reasonable”. “The eat-in experience is as depressing as McDonald’s”, though, in fact perhaps more so – “some branches have a strangely gloomy ambience” – but fans feel that “if you don’t mind 1980s-rock, a trip can still be surprisingly fun”.

“A great find” in a “quiet enclave tucked away from the bustle of touristy York” – Adam & Lovaine Humphrey’s “friendly” modern venue offers “very high-quality food” that is “attractively plated, generous, neither over-fussy or daunting – and there’s no upselling of sides”. The “light and airy, minimalistic” dining room owes much to their previous restaurant in Australia, and divides opinion: some “love the dramatic stripe artwork relocated from Sydney”, while others find it “smart but slightly bland”. There is also a Little Arras bakery and café (hence the “yummy sourdough”).

“Such imaginatively constructed cooking” (“truly outstanding and innovative, and no duds which is unusual on a tasting menu!”) continues to generate high enthusiasm for the Banks family’s converted pub in the city centre, which is nowadays rivalled locally only by Skosh in terms of the number of reports it generates in our annual diners’ poll and is among our top-50 most commented-on venues in the country. “A very well constructed wine list to match the food” is also a feature that inspires praise. Even fans, though, can find it “overpriced”: “great food… but you have to pay for it”.

“Tasty North African dishes” inspired by owner Tarek Abdeladim’s Algerian background have won a loyal following for this “reasonably priced” two-floor venue; the small plates range from chicken tagines to hummus and cassoulet, while the thing to drink is the Los Moros pale ale, created specifically for the spot by Brew York. The Shambles Market food stall where it all began (before expanding to this permanent home three years on) is also still doing a swift trade, with one reporter this year approving its “very good” falafel and chicken wraps.

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).

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 “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”.

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).

2021 Review: A beautifully restored rail carriage at the National Railway Museum makes a unique location for a luxurious afternoon tea. It has received the odd recommendation so far: more reports please!

From a small bar in Malton in 2007, Zoe & Tim Sinclair have created a five-strong Yorkshire tapas chain of which this outpost 2010 was the first. It now has two other siblings in the city: “opt for this one if you want more of the old York building vibe”. It’s one of the most commented-on businesses in York in our annual diners’ poll thanks to its “well-priced tapas that’s a cut above the standard, with excellent wines and sherries too” and it “gets very busy and noisy due to its popularity”. Arguably, though, “the menu is far too big – some dishes are poor, some are very good”.