British, Modern Restaurants in Ilkley
1. The Fell Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Skipton
Burnsall Village - BD23
The restaurant at The Devonshire Fell holds two AA Rosettes and is the place to be to enjoy truly exceptional cuisine. Immensely popular with locals and guests alike, the restaurant has an elegant, relaxed atmosphere with sweeping rural views and stunning décor.A...
2. The Angel
British, Modern restaurant in Hetton
Michael Wignall is fully re-establishing this beacon of the North as one of the country’s best dining destinations. It was one of the top-10 most commented-on destinations outside London in our annual diners’ poll this year, and one or two local cognoscenti “go so far as to say that Michael’s food is now almost the equal of Simon Rogan’s”. The pub was long famous (for example, featuring in ‘The Trip’ in 2010) but has really re-established itself since Wignall’s 2018 purchase and his ongoing improvements. “It has a fabulous setting in the national park” and has received a “Scandi-interior make-over” which is “taking it further upmarket”. “When he first took it over it was really very, very good. Four years on, it is much, much better” although prices are on the march too, with the evening à la carte at £105 per person and the evening tasting menu at £160 per person. This is “faultless cooking with intense flavours that takes your breath away”, sometimes with “stunning Japanese influences” and with “strong British ingredients”. “Superb!” Top Menu Tips – “how can you get so many textures and flavour from little carrots” – “lots of utterly delicious components, and a real tour de force of kitchen technique”; “noteworthy Japanese-style milk bread served with lardo, local butter and the smoothest smoky taramasalata”; “not often these days that the main course is a real star (as the main lump of protein in a meal, the starters are often more exciting, I find), but this pigeon really was cracking stuff”.
3. Bettys
Afternoon tea restaurant in Harrogate
1 Parliament Street - HG1
“You can’t go to Harrogate without a visit to this Mecca of traditional afternoon tea” – a “quintessentially English experience that is not to be missed”. The flagship of a family-owned business launched in 1919 and now with four other branches across North Yorkshire, it also serves breakfast and lunch which nod to founder Frederick Belmont’s Swiss origins with a menu including bircher muesli, Alpine macaroni and potato rösti – but it is the “heritage and great bakery” which pull in the crowds. Top Menu Tip – “great fat rascals and Yorkshire curd tarts”.
4. Shibden Mill Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Halifax
Shibden Mill Fold - HX3
“Lovely surroundings and great traditional food” have won a large fan club for this well-known former mill, which has ‘only’ been a pub since 1890. “Nestled in a valley in West Yorkshire, it caters to those wanting something a little extra-special and those loving traditional Yorkshire value” with “elevated pub cooking”. It’s a particular favourite for those who stay the night.
5. Sous le Nez en Ville
British, Modern restaurant in Leeds
Quebec Hs, Quebec St - LS1
This “very Gallic” and “traditional basement bistro” in the city’s financial district is just the job for schmoozing clients over a boozy lunch. Founded by Robert Chamberlain and Andrew Carter in 1991, “nothing has changed for many years” – “we weren’t there for business, but judging by the loud conversations around us there were plenty of others who were”.
6. The Owl
British, Modern restaurant in Leeds
Lockside. Mustard Approach, Mustard Wharf - LS1
A report of “the best meal of the last year” is indicative of the quality of the food at this modern canalside venture in the city centre, which originally opened five years ago at Kirkgate Market. Chef Mark Owens, who trained at Le Gavroche and was head chef at the Box Tree, sends out a souped-up gastropub menu featuring the likes of beef & oyster sausages. Founder Liz Cottam closed her flagship restaurant, Home, last year.
7. Rhubarb
British, Modern restaurant in Harrogate
Cheltenham Crescent - HG1
Launched in early 2024 above Sukhothai, an “ambitious newcomer” from young chef Varun Khanna (ex-of Sat Bains’ acclaimed venue in Nottingham), whose Asian background inflects this high-end British fine-diner; by early reports, “the food is really good, the tasting menu is excellent and the lunchtime menu is an absolute bargain” (three courses for £29).
8. Paradise Café at Daleside Nurseries
British, Modern restaurant in Killinghall
Ripon Road - HG3
“Chef Frances Atkins has found her mojo again at this lovely garden centre” near Harrogate – and her legion of fans, still mourning her 2020 departure from the legendary Yorke Arms, are thrilled: “I can’t believe how exciting it is to watch Frances Atkins in the open kitchen preparing my lunch!”. What you get is breakfast, lunch, tea and occasionally supper of “Michelin-quality food in interesting combinations, using quality ingredients, but without the pretensions of a star”. It’s “a simple, clean and tidy venue”, “peaceful and efficient, with a good ambience” – “this is how you run a restaurant”.
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