York, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

This deli-café in a former grocer’s shop is “worth the queue” for a coffee and a treat, while the “surf ’n’ turf lunch is also very good”. Success has led to spinoffs in Helmsley and, last year, in Easingwold (where it’s called OPC after the old police cells on the premises).

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”.

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.

2022 Review: The York branch of Richard Caring’s glossy Ivy chain generates most enthusiasm for its attractive interior, which makes it a pleasant spot to while away an hour or two – including over afternoon tea – especially if you can nab a table by the full-length windows (difficult to guarantee, since tables are allocated on arrival).

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.

“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”.

“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”).

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.

2022 Review: “A great place for a civilised lunch” – so long as you don’t expect culinary fireworks. This impressive William & Mary country house on the outskirts of York is owned by the National Trust (and was once the residence of traveller and writer Lady Mary Wortley Montague, who introduced the practice of smallpox inoculation to Britain after witnessing it in Turkey).

Andrew Pern, longtime owner of the acclaimed Star Inn at Harome, is the mastermind behind this superbly set restaurant, which was opened amid popping flashbulbs in April 2023 by King Charles III (as he’d shortly become) and then Queen-in-waiting Camilla. While the rangy outdoor terrace is an undoubted draw – offering the best views of the Minster in town – the inside (a former 1830s school turned upscale dining room) is also a delightful location in which to sample the old-fashioned British-style cooking, within reach of mortals thanks to regular deals including the current two-course Sunday lunch for £30 (or three courses for £35). Given the venue’s obvious tourist appeal and the glut of reports it spawned after opening, there was mystifyingly little feedback from reporters this year, but what there was remained positive.

2023 Review: One of the North’s better wine bars – this small venue hosts an “amazing selection of wines,” backed up by a “short menu full of really good ingredients and tasty non-standard pizzas”. It’s a spin-off from Le Cochon Aveugle just up the street, whose closure announced last year came at the height of its renown and came as a shock to many. Owner Josh Overington said the Cave would carry on as usual.