Tour de Yorkshire: where to eat and drink along the route
We've found the best places to eat and drink along the Tour de Yorkshire 2018 route – sunny beer gardens, hip coffee shops and proper country pubs
Watching Tour de Yorkshire 2018? Here's where to eat along the Tour de Yorkshire route to watch the cyclists.
Find out the best restaurants, pubs and cafés along the route and where to watch the cycling race, from Beverley to Doncaster, Barnsley to Ilkley, Richmond to Scarborough, and finally Halifax to Leeds.
Click here for plenty more tips for a foodie road trip in Yorkshire...
Tour de Yorkshire stage 1: Beverley to Doncaster
(Via Hornsea, Catwick, Beverley, SKidby, Holme on the Wolds, Pocklington, Howden, Fishlake, Auckley)
The Westwood, Beverley
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Housed in a Grade-2 listed Georgian courthouse, this restaurant focuses on modern British cuisine. Local produce is a big focus, from local Waterford Farm's grass-fed beef to wild sea bass from the shores of Skipsea. Hearty dishes of pan-roasted Yorkshire lamb and duck breast are served with wild garlic buttered new potatoes and creamed spinach.
Puddings are equally comforting, from chocolate fondants with peanut brittle to chocolate caramel tart served with milk ice cream from Cherry View dairy farm, just three miles down the road.
The Pipe and Glass, South Dalton
Set on the Dalton Estate, this Michelin-starred country gastropub serves British dishes. Pop into the bar area for a bottle of Two Chefs (an ale that was developed by head chef James and produced by the Great Yorkshire Brewery) and a ham sarnie with piccalilli, or settle into the elegant restaurant for a dinner of braised onion with wild mushrooms and cheddar rarebit or a plate of the first-of-the-season English asparagus with crisp hen egg. Be sure to explore the lush gardens and herbarium where you’ll find rosemary, lovage, violas and myrtle growing.
The Wellington, Lund
The Wellington, or ‘The Welly’ as locals call it, overlooks the village green and is the place to stop off for pub classics. Serving both a pub menu and a restaurant-style dishes, there’s something to serve everyone.
Cosy up by the roaring fire for hearty dishes of beer battered haddock and chips as well as roast pork, stuffing and apple sandwiches. There’s always a Timothy Taylors cask ale available, as well as craft beers from other local microbreweries.
The Kings Head, Barmby on the Marsh
Dating back to the 1800s, this traditional village pub focuses on British pub classics from sausage, mash and onion gravy to chicken pies and scampi. The dinner menu offers slightly lighter dishes including sweet pickled asparagus with serrano ham as well as a brie and chutney tart. Nestle into the bar and order one of the four real ales on offer.
Check out this article from our friends over at Cycling News, including route information and a lowdown on the contestants...
Tour de Yorkshire stage 2: Barnsley to Ilkley
(Via Penistone, Swinton, South Elmsall, Pontefract, Castleford, Harewood, Otley)
The Wentbridge House Hotel, Wentbridge
Set in the picturesque village of Wentbridge, The Wentbridge House Hotel is a perfect stop off to enjoy both traditional bistro and fine-dining food. After a stroll around the gardens, settle down in the brasserie for plates of brill served with buttered courgettes and new potato fondant, or a Dovecote Park steak burger topped with smoked applewood and aioli.
Make sure you leave room for a portion of sticky toffee pudding served with roasted banana ice cream or a slice of white chocolate and ginger cheesecake. If you're in the mood for a tipple, their gin menu features over 20 options, including four from Yorkshire.
The Chequers, Ledsham
Dating back to the early 1600s, this traditional British pub is true to its character with low beams and roaring open fires. Dishes are pub classics, from steak and mushrooms pies to gammon steak served with egg and chips.
For dessert, order a plate of three Yorkshire cheeses or a bowl of jam sponge with custard. If the weather is good, make the most of the lovely beer garden and order a pint of bitter from Leeds Best.
Hidden Harewood dinners at Harewood House
Head to the Harewood estate in Yorkshire and enjoy a tasting menu, eaten in various hidden corners not usually accessible to the public. Executive chef Josh Whitehead has created a menu that makes the most of the Harewood produce to be enjoyed in the grounds over four nights this May. The ingredients used will be grown, foraged and reared at the estate, including lamb from a flock of Hebridean black sheep.
The White Hart, Pool Bank
From hearty pies to dinnertime sharing platters, The White Hart serves modern food in upmarket surroundings. Sink into one of the velvet seats and order Mediterranean mezze plates of falafel, harissa hummus, roasted peppers and flatbread or chargrilled lamb and balsamic koftas. If you’re there on a Sunday, be sure to try the roast pork loin with Bramley apple butter and crackling, and a side of smoked beef dripping roasted potatoes, honey-glazed carrots, Yorkshire puddings and bottomless gravy.
The Box Tree, Ilkley
The handsome sandstone building dates back to the 18th century, but The Box Tree has only been a restaurant for a mere 56 years. Simon Gueller and his wife Rena became custodians of this West Yorkshire institution in 2004, following in the footsteps of several chefs including Marco Pierre White, who worked in the kitchen when he was 17.
The Michelin-starred food may be rooted in the classics, but it’s light and contemporary, backed up by service that’s staunchly oldschool.
“I take that description as a real compliment,” says Rena. “At a time when everything is being stripped back and simplified, we enjoy training young people in the old values. Someone has to, or it will die out. Giving good service doesn’t cost a thing.”
Tour de Yorkshire stage 3: Richmond to Scarborough
(Via Wensleydale, Leyburn, Bedale, Northallerton, Thirsk, Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside, Pickering, Scarborough, Filey and Cayton)
Wensleydale Heifer, West Witton
A gastro pub with rooms on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, the Wensleydale Heifer serves everything from tapas and snacks to lobster and steak. Seafood is a real focus, with starters including chilli salt squid with fennel and red onion salad; turbot pakora with cucumber riata and a classic prawn cocktail. Fish-focused mains are kept classic too, so order a fish pie topped with potato and cheddar crust, grilled sea bass served with truffle and parmesan risotto or Black Sheep beer battered haddock goujons and chips.
Black Swan at Oldstead
A 2.5-acre allotment in picturesque Oldstead provides The Black Swan with the ultimate kitchen garden. Everyone from the chefs to the owners of this Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms mucks in to tend Minnesota midget melons, oyster leaves that taste of the sea and myriad other fruit and vegetables.
Nestle in to a booth in the cosy bar area and enjoy sherbet-y rhubarb schnapps with meadowsweet, lemon balm and rhubarb vinegar along with intricate amuse-bouches – razor clams with broad beans, peas and pea flowers; tiny crisp potato skins filled with goats cheese, wood mushrooms and lemon verbena; and diced veg with herb oil and lemon mayo topped with charred beetroot leaf.
Move in to the dining room and bag a table by the window overlooking the vast kitchen garden while Tommy and his team work away in the open kitchen preparing ingredients picked that same morning.
The highlight of our tasting menu was a beetroot steak that had been roasting in beef fat on the grill since 8am that morning. And a scallop tartare with celeriac crisp and apple was fun: served on a bespoke plate made by a potter in York, when you’ve finished you lift the plate to reveal a second scallop dish, this time roasted in citrussy butter with olive-textured spruce tips and celeriac puree.
Mannion & Co, Helmsley
Owner Andrew Burton used to cook in the Michelin-starred kitchen of the Star at Harome, not far from here. At Mannion the menu is more relaxed and Mediterranean, inspired by Andrew’s regular charcuterie– and wine-sourcing trips to Italy and Spain. We tried wild mushrooms on sourdough with kale, duck egg and mushroom ketchup for lunch.
Vine House Café, Helmsley
Set on the outskirts of Helmsley Walled Garden, a five-acre idyll blooming with fruit trees, peonies, clematis, cornflowers and much more, The Vine House Café is a lovely way to enjoy the gardens and its wildlife.
The menu focuses on simple, homemade dishes such as seasonal soups (spring veg, feta and mint), open sandwiches (chicken with a spicy peanut sauce or ham with homemade pickles), and beautiful salad boards (the Yorkshire salad includes local pork pie, ham, cheese and pickles). For dessert, order a pot of Yorkshire tea, or coffee roasted in York, and a freshly baked cake and take in the peaceful scenery.
Hunters of Helmsley
Set in a prime location on Helmsley’s Market Place, this corner shop is so much more than a deli. Punters queue at a hole in the wall to wait for scoops of locally made Brymor ice cream (or, in winter, to enjoy hot, deep-filled topside of beef sandwiches, made to order). If you’re into your craft beer, this is the place to indulge in a spending spree, with over 40 locally brewed bottled beers in stock (we liked Riggwelter and Scarborough Fair).
The Star Inn Harome
At this 14th-century thatched inn it’s a tough choice of tables between huge oak benches overlooking the kitchen garden and a snug little nook in the low-ceilinged bar. Either spot is ideal for a gin and tonic made from Whittaker’s Gin, distilled in Nidderdale using local bilberries, hawthorn and thyme.
In the kitchen garden the team grows broad beans (used, among other things, for a delicious lovage-buttered pea, broad bean and asparagus soup), baby leeks (served alongside elderflower-scented Norfolk quail ‘osso bucco’), and lavender (just a dash of which is added to sheep’s milk and strawberry eton mess).
Willowgate Bistro, Pickering
Husband and wife team, Matthew and Gemma Bird, opened this tiny bistro at the top of the hill in Pickering just two weeks after their son was born, and their passion and dedication really shows. Choose an aperitif from the tiny wooden bar in the corner of the room and listen to soft jazz as you peruse the short and well thought-out menu.
Matt runs his kitchen just as you would do at home – he buys meat every morning from Horseley’s butchers next door but one, and pops across the road to Taylor’s greengrocers to gather his fruit and veg. The menu focuses on simple but imaginative home cooking with clever twists. Locally shot pigeon breast is served on parsnip puree with air-dried bacon popcorn. Pan-fried sea bream and crunchy sautéed vegetables are spiced up with a fragrant, homemade Thai green curry sauce. Chicken comes as a mini chicken kiev with creamy celeriac puree and more crunchy greens.
Magpie Café, Whitby
Overlooking Whitby harbour, this North Yorkshire restaurant is the place to go for fish and chips, and it’s hard to miss with queues going down the road. Choose between locally sourced cod, haddock, hake or skate and be sure to get a box of chips and a side of mushy peas, too. Either sit in or get a portion to takeaway to the beach with you.
Tour de Yorkshire stage 4: Halifax to Leeds
(Via Hebden Bridge, Laycock, Skipton, Middleham, Masham, Pateley Bridge, Otley, Leeds)
The Tempest Arms, Elslack
Set in rolling countryside close to the Yorkshire Dales, the Tempest Arms is a village pub serving excellent food. Order the Elslack plough, a platter of pork pie, homemade scotch eggs, Lancashire cheese and roasted ham all served with Angela’s farm bread and butter, or the cheese and pâté plate that comes with homemade chutney, pickles and fruit cake for a lunchtime snack.
The Red Lion, Burnsall
Originally a 16th century Ferryman’s Inn, the Red Lion bar and restaurant boasts an idyllic location on the River Wharfe. A traditional dining area decked out with oak floors and log burning stoves is the place to cosy up with a bowl of honey and shallot lamb stew or a pork loin steak with black pudding and apple sauce. If you fancy something lighter, order a ploughman’s platter of pork pies, ham hock terrine, cheese, apple, pickled beetroot and a scotch egg.
The Blue Lion, East Witton
Nestled in the heart of Wensleydale, the Blue Lion has been open in the Yorkshire Dales for over 20 years. There’s a real ale bar stocking local beers including Black Sheep Brewery as well as a cosy dining area. Pub classics are taken to the next level, from slow-cooked pork belly with sarladaise potato and black pudding to pan fried seabass with braised fennel, beetroot and orange salad. Leave space for a portion of apple and raspberry crumble served with vanilla custard, or a sticky toffee pudding with rich clotted cream ice cream.
The Black Sheep Brewery, Masham
Paul Theakstons family had been in the brewing game for five generations when he opened Black Sheep brewery in 1992. Built on traditional values and using rescued equipment to brew their ales, the focus was, and still is, on taking time to create the best beer possible. The range includes kegs of pale ales and larger as well as bottles of dark stout and cans of dark IPA.
The Timble Inn, Timble
Hidden away in the village of Timble, this country pub with rooms, housed in a 18th century coaching inn, is a cosy place to settle for the night. Start with a pint of Dark Horse bitter in the bar area before a dinner of pan-fried Yorkshire chicken breast with butternut squash and chorizo risotto, venison loin with fondant potato or roast cod served with mussels and cabbage.
Leeds
The Tour de Yorkshire 2018 finishes in Leeds, providing the perfect excuse to explore Leeds' independent restaurants, coffee shops and bars.
Click here to find our favourite places to eat and drink in Leeds
Our friends over at Bike Radar give us 30 benefits of getting out on a bike...
Written by Ellie Edwards, with contributions from Alex Crossley and Lucy Gillmore
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