Haxby Restaurant Guide

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.

“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.

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”.

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”.

“Tucked away off the main street and without a sign outside, it may be difficult to find but it’s well worth seeking out” this trendy decade-old haunt from the owners of the Stone Trough Inn in Kirkham Abbey. The venue “specialises in beef, especially ex-dairy cows”, be it Finnish Sashi beef, or Galicia’s famous blonde cattle; add in a “buzzy atmosphere” and “attentive” service, and it “makes for a meat-eater’s heaven”.

An “ancient building in central York” (traditional ale house downstairs, restaurant upstairs) is the stage for the Hjort clan’s Anglo-French outfit – a reinvention of their previous local, Melton’s. Alongside keenly priced fish dishes, they also lay on an “incredibly good (and good- value) Sunday lunch” – replete, bien sûr, with the local Yorkshire pud. Macabre PS – the ropes in the interior nod to its 18th-century days as Ellerker’s, who provided the hangman’s nooses for York prison (cue the now-obscure doomed phrase “For me there is no hope – was Ellerker’s made this rope”).

Launched back in 1990 by Roux-trained Michael Hjort, who directs the York Food Festival, and wife Lucy, who takes care of FOH and wines, this British bistro is, say fans, “still the best place to eat in York for a sensibly priced meal”. As well as the à la carte menu (at three courses for £80 per person), there is also a “superb tasting menu with well thought-out wine flight expertly and amusingly described” if you want to push the boat out.

“The views are stunning of the ruins of Byland abbey across the road” at this “delightful location” and Tommy Banks and family are “to be congratulated for rescuing the Abbey Inn and transforming it into a cosy thriving pub and restaurant”: after one short year, it is one of the top-20 most commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll. “It may serve pub classics, but they are done very well, with quality ingredients and presentation” and most reports acclaim “a fantastic renovation and a great reinvention”. Where disappointments occur, it’s “perhaps because expectations were too high” – at the end of the day this is a “popular and crowded” gastropub, and the odd foodie finds the menu a little “limited”. Most reports, though, are upbeat: “staff are very personable and knowledgeable” and the general reaction is that “from all the PR we just expected to encounter pub grub to a very high standard. And we did… but with a subtle Tommy Banks twist”. Top Menu Tip – “The Sunday Roast is very good, the addition of tasty pulled beef in the Yorkshire Pudding (or pulled pork for my partner) was a great idea”; “the Herdwick lamb shoulder main and artichoke sticky toffee pudding are highlights”.