It’s not a great time to be managing one’s finances is it? Everything is getting more expensive for all manner of reasons, which is putting a shock through the supply chains on which hospitality relies and shrinking margins to the point at which businesses will have to shut or pass on costs to the customer.…
A food tour can be a great way to get to know a city. I’ve taken advantage of them a few times to get my bearings, including particularly memorable experiences in New York and Amsterdam while I recently had a great look around Leeds with Leeds Food Tours that introduced me to a few places…
While York has certainly taken a hit from the economic problems that Covid has inflicted on the country, it is not in the parlous state that some internet commentators would have you believe. Of course we’re not unscathed and there’re a few notably empty units, but a recent trip to Peterborough really reinforced in my…
Being about 40 minutes or so from York, Helmsley is a deservedly popular local town that is the focal point for many day trips from our city. Its combination of scenery, attractions such as its castle and walled garden and nice places to eat and drink make it an obvious choice. Amongst those places to…
One of the privileges of running this site is to meet people at the beginning of their journey in the hospitality industry and see them grow to realise their potential. Over the years I’ve lost count of the number of well intentioned people opening concepts that are too ambitious, subtly flawed to remove viability or…
For the last half decade or so I’ve felt like I’ve known Leeds pretty well. Occasional invites have rolled in to tempt me over for a meal, or gigs crop up that I fancy a look at that also justify a pre-event feed. One way or another, I’ve been a semi-regular visitor for a couple…
An adventure doesn’t have to be big, expensive or distant to be impactful. As we settle further back into normality it feels like each activity we’ve not had to enact in a couple of years can almost be an adventure in itself, let alone anything unfamiliar. With that low bar, the prospect of taking Little…
Sometimes, though admittedly rarely, I really don’t know what to expect when I get invited to a new place to eat. My finger is generally firmly on York’s pulse when it comes to new openings but every so often something will sidestep into view that I’m not entirely sure what to make of. In this…
A good country pub is a joyful thing. Getting out of the city, though York is hardly a sprawling metropolis, to stretch one’s legs before enjoying a pint and a hearty meal is a basic pleasure for which there is little substitute. York boasts plenty in the way of quaint pubs, many of which have…
York might look like it’s been frozen in time when viewed from many angles, but it doesn’t take much scratching of the surface to start uncovering the ways in which the city has changed as buildings are repurposed and residents impose their personalities upon them. Buildings find themselves subjected to the whims of those changing…