Clucking Oinks

(ad – pr visit) If you follow me on any social media channel you’ll almost certainly have noted my affection for Clucking Oinks. Way back in 2017 I ran a few street food events at The Fulford Arms, one of which featured fantastic fried chicken from the Clucking team and since then I’ve been lucky…

Tasca Frango

Isn’t it wonderful when you get to see nice people come up with a good concept and product that’s rewarded with success? Spark has been the platform for a number of businesses in York, food and otherwise, to move from its safe confines out to brick and mortar premises and the latest among this number…

Pastelle events

(ad – invite) These are straitened times if you’re into dining out. The cost of fine dining has, understandably, gone through the roof to the point that it’s surprisingly easy to drop well in excess of a couple of hundred pounds on a treat meal and the kind of place I aspire to eat the…

Reappraising Kennedy’s

(ad – pr) Back in lockdown, much as I hate to think about that period, I was sent a variety of meals to try at home from businesses hurriedly trying to reinvent themselves under the most dire of circumstances. Amongst these was Kennedy’s who sent me a Sunday roast that turned out to be a…

The Wright Place Wine Tasting

The more things change, the more they stay the same. York has built its reputation on large elements of its attraction having remained unchanged for a great many years, but there’s part of the city that holds a mirror up to that and looks forward. The nature of the hospitality industry, whose operators are always…

22 Yards

York does rather well for wine these days. Since Pairings started blazing a trail for quality wine in relaxed surroundings, there have been a few others recently enter the fray with places such as Howl, 2ManyWines, The Wright Place and Jorvine all throwing their corks into the ring. The latest to join this group is…

Izakaya

Spark has done a lot for the hospitality scene in York both directly and indirectly. As a venue to be able to reliably grab decent food in a relaxed, family friendly setting, it’s broadened the city’s offering greatly and as a launchpad for new businesses it’s made a strong contribution to the wider offering and…

Forest at Galtres Lodge Sunday Feast

A Sunday roast, done properly, should present more opportunities than for just eating. It should be an enabling factor in letting your Sunday afternoon expand toward early evening as you go through a few courses and graze on leftovers. I’ve always been of the view that having a Sunday roast in a restaurant can be…

The Whippet with OpenTable

Third party booking apps or websites are not something I’m in the habit of using. I’ll lean into the easy utility of Just Eat or Deliveroo when I’m feeling lazy and can’t be bothered to breach my own threshold for food but generally if I want a table at a place in York a few…