A foraged feast with Mr P (closed)

Any opportunity to eat food from a Michelin Starred chef is a thing to be grasped with both hands. A set menu for a very reasonable price with input from a well-reputed forager makes the occasion even more special, so the idea of dinner cooked under the watchful eye of Andrew Pern featuring ingredients from…

Hudsons at The Grand

It’s a tough thing to build a reputation as a restaurant when you’re based in a hotel. For reasons that have always been slightly beyond my grasp, the challenge involved in convincing non-residents to make a few steps from their usual route is a significant one regardless of the quality of the restaurant in question.…

Roots York Launch

It’s something of an understatement to say that the last few years have seen an upwards trajectory for The Black Swan at Oldstead and the Banks family. Since taking over the kitchen at Oldstead, Tommy Banks has retained its Michelin star, won Great British Menu twice and seen TripAdvisor name the restaurant the Best Fine Dining…

A crafty evening with Prashad Indian Vegetarian

It’s remarkable how long one can spend abortively trying to visit a restaurant. In 2010 Gordon Ramsey hosted a program by the name of “Ramsey’s Best Restaurant” which saw him facing off restaurants of different specialisms until one was crowned the nation’s favourite. Bristol’s Casamia took the win that time round, but I was thoroughly…

Feed Leeds

Over the last year or so, I’ve kept hearing word of a young chef in Leeds who’s been earning a reputation for putting together indulgent dishes that don’t let themselves be constrained by any particular genre or convention. Jonathan Hawthorne’s name has become hot property in Leeds for some time as his regular XO Supper…

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…

The Park on Bootham (closed)

Bootham is a fine street from which to find the centre of York. A series of spectacular buildings and hotels are dotted along the road that features the handsome St Peter’s School, which famously counts Guy Fawkes as an alumnus. The striking hotels along the thoroughfare don’t, in general, do a good job of shouting…