Arras York

York can be a slightly backwards looking city, happy to rely on existing glories rather than pushing forward. This can be reflected in the restaurant scene. When places are established there’s an attachment, justified in many cases, that can last for some time after the place in question has disappeared which can become unwelcome baggage…

CSONS at the Green Cafe

Recently we were invited to a wedding near Cardiff by a good friend so decided to break the journey with a couple of days in Ludlow. I hadn’t made any particular plans to go out and eatOn a trip while there as we were staying in a beautiful Dovecote opposite the castle that leant itself…

Vegan with The Whippet

The Whippet Inn has been well established in York for some time as one of the best places to go for a meat fix. Its expertise in charring meat to the right point is difficult to argue with but that specialism makes it rather less appealing for the ever increasing vegan population. With that in…

Press Kitchen York is go!

The combination of Fossgate and Walmgate has long been a hotspot of restaurants in York, one of the first areas in the city to really find itself embedded in the food culture, which has gone from strength to strength over the last few years. With that being the case, it’s a little unusual to hear…

The Cat’s Pyjamas (closed)

Leeds is only a short hop on the train and, while I do get there semi-regularly, there’s a good list of places that I’ve yet to make it to. Included amongst these is The Cat’s Pyjamas, which counts Jay Rayner amongst its many fans. Thankfully the opportunity to check it out has now landed a…

Raithwaite Estate

The pending arrival of a baby really does focus your mind on all the ways in which your life is about to change. Along with local and domestic concerns about maintaining cleaning and social routines in your community, there are numerous questions raised about the practicality of travellRaithwaireing and holidaying with a baby that are…

Yorkshire Cheddar at Shears Yard

Wensleydale Creamery is something of a Yorkshire institution, offering plentiful samples of its eponymous cheese at its visitor centre. Its Wensleydale is well established as a superb cheese and now, after some serious research and recipe development, they’ve expanded their range to offer Yorkshire Cheddar. This is not an endeavour that has been taken lightly…

Welcome Spark York

York isn’t short of history. There’s a huge amount to learn about the history of our beautiful city. From Viking Jorvik, through Roman Eboracum and Victorian expansion to the present day, it’s easy to find most aspects of our history reflected in tourist attractions dotted across the city. Recent times have seen a reduction in…

A Nook in York for street food (closed)

There are widely documented concerns about some of the main shopping streets in York, some being blighted by empty units and a general malaise compared to more prosperous economic times. I don’t doubt that, in time, there’ll be solutions found to reverse this trend, but in the meantime some streets on the periphery of the…