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RestaurantsNorth YorkshireHettonBD23
Hetton, BD23 6LT

survey result

Summary

£135
£££££
5
Exceptional
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

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”.

Summary

£104
£££££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“The original gastropub” – this North Yorks inn has been famous for decades for cuisine that’s unusually accomplished for a pub (featuring, for example, in The Trip, in 2010) and was purchased in 2018 by current owner Michael Wignall, who swept aside its former old-fashioned looks in favour of a stylish, if perhaps “clinical” new interior (“I’ve lost an old friend, but found a bright, young thing!”). All reports agree that he has successfully re-established the place on the UK’s foodie map: the “really interesting and unusual cooking features some unusual pairings and over three hours engaging staff popped up everywhere and are willing to discuss the food, its preparation and its great presentation, all at a very reasonable price”. At dinner, choose from a three-course menu for £110 per person, or there’s a nine-course tasting option for £165 per person.

Summary

£104
£££££
5
Exceptional
4
Very Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“A stark – and welcome – makeover from the Angel in its previous very traditional guise” has helped Michael Wignall put his stamp on this famous northern inn: often cited as the UK’s original country gastropub, which he purchased in 2018. “Having enjoyed Michael Wignall's cooking at his former outpost, The Latymer, we were interested to see how it might translate to North Yorkshire: very well, we thought, with no lack of sophistication and ambition, but losing any of the possible pretension expected in a Surrey hotel”. “Thank heavens! He’s a great chef who does not insist you eat what he chooses, but who offers a choice of dishes, all of which tempt and intrigue”: “really exceptional food”. If you stay over, “the breakfast is a joyous surprise” too.

Summary

£104
£££££
5
Exceptional
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Once upon a time, The Angel at Hetton was often acclaimed as the first country gastropub”. Having then started to sink into relative obscurity, it was purchased by Michael Wignall in 2018, who introduced cuisine that’s “now much more refined, not to mention much more fancy schmancy. But by god, it’s good”, as report upon report attests to “an experience that gets better and better… even if the prices are rising accordingly!” Change has also come to the building, where “some might say that the guts have been ripped out of a traditional pub”. Indeed, to some tastes, “the new decor is a little too austere for the building and rural location”. Solid ratings, though, bolster fans who are “impressed by the uncompromising confidence of its contemporary approach and reassuring choice of solid, well-crafted wooden furniture. And open fires add a visual warmth even if you are not seated close to one”.

For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

Have you eaten at The Angel?

Owner's description

Michelin starred dining, in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. 

The Angel at Hetton is widely regarded as the UK’s original gastropub. For many years it has held the reputation of being the destination establishment in one of the most exquisite corners of the North Yorkshire Dales. Famous for its food as well as its warm, welcoming atmosphere - it has maintained a strong following among locals as well as with customers from all over the world. 

The Angel’s fortunes took an exciting turn in September 2018 with the arrival of a new management team. At the helm is chef patron Michael Wignall. Michael and his wife Johanna have a combined vision to keep everything that the Angel was famous for; fantastic food, a warm welcome and a deep connection with the dramatic Yorkshire landscape – and make it outstanding. 

Two Michelin-starred chef Michael Wignall has reimagined the pub’s offering and created a fabulous new menu for the 40-seat restaurant. With a style that’s casual and contemporary, the new Angel is all about great food and great hospitality – and it aims to give people a relaxed experience no matter who they are or where they choose to dine, Angel or Cove. 

Michael Wignall delivers food that wows on every plate. His ever-evolving style creates unique dishes full of flavour, underpinned by a contemporary, less formal approach to fine cuisine. Describing his food as ‘modern, technical and meaningful’, each element brings flavour or texture, enticing diners to experience new combinations and ingredients.

What the Newspaper Critics are saying

The Independent

Lilly Subbotin rustled up a rather gushing review of her stay at Michael Wignall’s well-known Yorkshire Dales inn, kicking off non-chronologically with her tribute to its “precise, beautiful and meticulously thought-out brekky”.

Dinner, presumably the main event, “is a total delight from start to finish, and in all honesty – faultless. Seriously, I have tried to think of a criticism and I can’t. Even the things that sound pretty bizarre – such as white chocolate, caviar and eel – are exquisite.”

Particularly memorable were a tomato dish “where they ferment tomatoes for a whole year” and a lamb dish incorporating “several tiny pieces done all different ways”.

Lilly Subbotin - 2024-09-08

Prices

Availability 2 courses 3 courses coffee included service included
Lunch   £85.00
Dinner   £105.00
SundayLunch   £85.00
  Cost Availability Courses
Menu1 160.00   7

Traditional European menu

Veggies Pudding
£0.00 £0.00
Drinks  
Wine per bottle £35.00
Filter Coffee £0.00
Extras  
Bread £0.00
Service 10.00%

Restaurant details

Highchair,Menu,Portions
No dress code
40
Yes

The Angel Restaurant Diner Reviews

Reviews of The Angel Restaurant in BD23, Hetton by users of Hardens.com. Also see the editors review of The Angel restaurant.
david h
Best restaurant I’ve been to this year . ...
Reviewed 1 years,

"Best restaurant I’ve been to this year . Everything was great. "

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Hetton, BD23 6LT
Opening hours
Monday12 pm‑1:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑8 pm
TuesdayCLOSED
WednesdayCLOSED
Thursday6:30 pm‑8 pm
Friday12 pm‑1:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑8 pm
Saturday12 pm‑1:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑8 pm
Sunday12 pm‑1:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑8 pm

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