Wass Restaurant Guide

“Great pub food and proper Yorkshire hospitality” are the defining features of Rob & Gill Thompson’s whitewashed inn, a fixture in the village for almost four centuries. “Everything is a big cut above the average – highly recommended”.

“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”.

“Rock on Tommy” say fans of the Banks family’s famous destination out on the edge of the North York Moors near their 160-acre farm, which came to prominence in 2012 when Tommy Banks became the youngest chef in the UK ever to have won a Michelin star. Nowadays the kitchen is under the immediate stewardship of Alice Power, who has been in the kitchen since 2021 and took over in February 2024 as head chef here. At £175 per person in the evenings, it serves a “superb tasting menu” that’s “plate-lickingly good”: “full of flavour and creativity and beautifully plated”. That’s the majority view in any case, including a number of regulars who “adore eating here” and some of whom declare it their best meal of the year. But ratings were nearly dragged down by a minority for whom the experience is “over-engineered and overpriced” (“we had been looking forward to this and we are no strangers to tasting menus having eaten this year at Gravetye, Lympstone, Gidleigh, Whitebrook and Morston Hall; but, to our surprise many dishes were unbalanced with too many ingredients either overpowering a dish or leading to a clash of flavours. Service was, however, friendly and informal from delightful and knowledgeable staff”).

Paul & Liz Jackson took on this converted pub – nowadays a restaurant with rooms – in 2012 and it continues to win strong feedback in our survey. One reporter mused whether the previously noted Asian inspirations “have been toned down somewhat”, but overall the food is “excellent” alongside “very attentive and precise service”.

2021 Review: “Splendid cafe/restaurant in a charming building overlooking Helmsley's picturesque stream that’s on another plane altogether from Helmsley’s other establishments”. Sibling to the York original it serves “delicious, wholesome café food”: “the selection, especially from the specials board, is always interesting, and uses lots of local seasonal ingredients”.

2021 Review: This extended fifteenth-century inn (nowadays with nearly fifty bedrooms) sits at the heart of this very attractive market town. Its Gallery Restaurant (named for its dual purpose during the day as an art gallery) has quite a reputation, and – despite sustained gripes over the years that it’s rather pricey – all reports rate it good or better.

“We were sad when the Rattle Owl closed in York, but delighted when the chef and front-of-house team opened this venue in Helmsley” – Tom Heywood & Laurissa Cook opened this small venue with just six tables fed by an open kitchen with a strong emphasis on “using as much local produce as possible and minimal wastage”. There’s a four-course tasting menu for £55 per person or an eight-course option for £95 per person, both providing cooking that’s somewhat “different from the usual”. In particular “the drinks pairings are superb”, and incorporate some “lovely, well-chosen wines”.