Skipton Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: Passed from Northcote’s Ribble Valley Inns group to Brunning & Price in 2018 (and promptly refurbed), this poshified gastroboozer is a “lovely place to visit” for its “agreeable surroundings with nooks and crannies” and “excellent food and service”.

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.

The more casual (and vividly hued) dining option at this hotel owned by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire turns out “good food” of a brasserie bent, featuring plenty of produce grown on the estate and in the hotel’s kitchen garden. A “great open-plan wine cellar” and terrace add to its charms.

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”.

2022 Review: A “very good value, high-quality place in Ilkley” where Joel Monkman’s large and small plates of British seasonal fare continue to win plaudits three years after its founding; also on the menu, lunchtime BBQ Buns and hearty Sunday roasts.

2023 Review: “Afternoon tea IS Bettys!". This old-fashioned tearoom is “always worth the queue” for its epic teas and fine spreads of pastries and sarnies. It’s also “a great place to meet over a very good breakfast. Coffee, understandably, is excellent!”

2021 Review: This nautically styled old Harry Ramsden’s remains “very popular with Boundary Mill shoppers” owing to its “great fish ’n’ chips and service” (not to forget the textbook mushy peas.

2021 Review: “Hockneys in view” as you dine are the most famous attraction of this noisy but atmospheric venue: a large, post-industrial space in the UNESCO-listed Salts Mill complex, open from breakfast on for a coffee or fuller meal (Saltburger, Caesar salad, etc).

“How lucky are the good folk of Fence and thereabouts to have such a wonderful restaurant on their doorstep – a go-to when in this neck of the woods”. Fans say chef Tom Parker offers “possibly the best-value Michelin Star food in the country”, served in a proper pub from a nine-course menu (in the evenings) for £85 per person.

2023 Review: Mohammed Sabir was still working as a bus driver in Shipley when he launched his Kashmiri curry business as a mobile takeaway from his Commer van, the ‘Spice Box’ in 1976. The next year he opened his first bricks-and-mortar restaurant Aagrah, which still wins consistently solid marks for its food and has nine branches across Yorkshire.

2021 Review: This “lovely gastropub in the pretty village of Downham, under the shadow of Pendle Hill” is part of Jocelyn Neve’s Seafood Pub Company – the interior has been “completely renovated”, but retains a proper atmosphere with its “roaring fires”. Views on its performance diverged a little last year: most reports suggest the “excellent fish and seafood is definitely worth going for”, but a couple of mixed reports (“good but not as good as it was”; “trying hard but no organisation”) sound a warning note.

A “fantastic setting beside the River Wharfe” provides the perfect backdrop for “good Italian food and friendly service” from Alessandro & Sofia Elena Tocca, who have established a strong local following over more than 20 years. Their Italian take on the classic Sunday roast is a highlight of the menu.

2021 Review: “Honest Yorkshire portions of high-quality local ingredients” set the tone at this remote seventeenth-century inn near Pateley Bridge, run by Ray & June Carter for more than 30 years. They serve copious amounts of game shot in the immediate area, and have fishing rights on the River Nidd. The décor either “needs a refresh” or is delightfully old-fashioned, according to your taste.

2023 Review: “Always reliable for tasty and reasonably priced French food”, this handy venue is one of twenty remaining branches of a national chain launched 29 years ago (six more closed down in 2020).

“Called in for Sunday lunch after a muddy walk. Found a warm welcome and fabulous food” – this “lovely” pub, microbrewery and inn on the green of a village bordering the Forest of Bowland continues to inspire good feedback for its variety of menus: from a lunchtime sandwich and pub-grub menu to a more ambitious à la carte and tasting selection in the evening. “Not so much dog-friendly… they adore dogs!” Top Menu Tip – “brilliant goats’ cheese panna cotta”.