(ad – pr) Sandburn Hall is one of those institutions near York that’s remained very much on the periphery of my experience over my years in the city, my contact being limited to picking people up from work nights out. That being the case, I’d never set foot in the place, so when the offer came through to try out their relaunched restaurant, Tykes at Sandburn Hall, I was more than happy to accept. Sandburn Hall is a quick buzz up the A64 and has ample free parking, so it is generally convenient to pay a visit to, with the financial offset against York city centre parking more appealing by the day. Tykes restaurant might have been my destination, but there’s plenty more to see and do across the ample grounds, featuring a golf course and holiday lodges, while there are other bar areas to seek out too.
Tykes at Sandburn Hall itself is an airy and relaxed space with plenty of comfortable seating, as well as an outdoor space where some dogs were happily being exercised during our visit. We had a semi-circular booth to eat in, which let Little Fork indulge her mischievous side as she peeked over the back of it to spy on our fellow diners. The menu presents a decent range of choices, with a couple of fish and vegetarian options alongside meat dishes. I find it hard to resist a scallop, so that ended up as one half of the starters alongside a game terrine, both of which were at the table after an appropriate pause to take delivery of drinks. The sweet scallop was accented nicely by the bacon jam and given a touch of sharpness from the pickled shallot rings that adorned it, while the dill notes in the cream sauce added freshness. This wasn’t reinventing the wheel unnecessarily, and was well executed and delicious. The game terrine came enrobed in leek and topped with gently pickled baby carrots with crisps of brioche for texture, as well as elements featuring sage and prune. The earthy notes all came through strongly, and I liked the coarse texture of the terrine, all of which added up to another solid dish doing a good job of showcasing what it promised.
From the ten or so main dishes on offer we plumped for one fish and one meat, with chicken and salmon supremes pushing their respective chests through the tape first. The chicken supreme came with confit onion, onion puree and pomme Anna with some broccoli for a fresh note. Tender chicken did the job nicely and there were notes of truffle to enjoy but the star was the onion; simple things cooked nicely are always going to do it for me. The salmon teamed up with well constructed lemon and dill gnocchi, hemispheres of courgette and a creme fraiche-based sauce coming up with a well resolved balance of freshness and indulgence. With a Bar Billiards match to get back to in the centre of York, we didn’t linger long but did have time to put away affogato for dessert.
All the dishes we had were well conceived with a few points of difference to catch the eye while making good use of quality produce. The restaurant setting is relaxing while the broader offering of the grounds also makes for a nice place to walk off an indulgent meal. The ample free parking also makes for a compelling reason to visit if you live to the north of York Centre given the ever-increasing cost of parking in the city these days. Tykes at Sandburn Hall has a lot going for it.
