Try elephant’s foot buns, feather-light puri, cocktails made from just-picked nuts, bottles of local beer, Scandi-meets-Japanese cuisine, and handmade donuts in the Steel City
Looking for Sheffield restaurants? Check out our ideas for eating and drinking in the Steel City, from West Bar to Endcliffe Park and beyond… For more exciting restaurants and weekend ideas for food lovers, check out our best UK city breaks and the UK's best artisan bakeries. Now discover the best restaurants in Nottingham, best restaurants in Newcastle, best restaurants in Belfast and best restaurants in Leeds. Best places to eat and drink in Sheffield Orange Bird Modish Hillsborough restaurant, much-liked for its friendly vibe and the creative vim of chef Matt Duggan-Jones. Sharing dishes draw on Matt’s South African heritage and cleverly utilise global flavours in creations such as his caramelised aubergine with masala butter, cherry molasses, curry leaves and coconut labneh, or a braai-barbecued pork rib chop, seasoned with an hibiscus-tweaked braai spice mixture and served with plum, green tomato and black cardamom jam. theorangebird.co.uk Bench Owners, chef Tom Aronica and drinks expert Jack Wakelin, are a dynamic duo. Their Nether Edge HQ, Bench, is the kind of cool and casual neighbourhood restaurant where on-point cocktails and interesting natural wines are served with unusually good, creative small plates. Think ember-roasted beetroot, blood orange and chimichurri, or cured trout, salted kohlrabi, roe and grapefruit. benchsheffield.co.uk Pearl at Park Hill Located amid the famous brutalist 1960s estate that rises behind Sheffield station, Pearl is the Bench team’s new wave ‘local’ for this recently regenerated neighbourhood. Primarily a bar (good beer, cocktails, natty wine and large sun terrace, too), Pearl’s plates menu is a colourful carte of, for example, spanakopita, merguez-stuffed onions or grilled artichokes with saffron aïoli. Neighbouring sister venue, Bench La Cave, is a daytime bakery, led by Dan Ward, and, at night, a wine bar serving Parisian-style grazing plates. pearlatparkhill.co.uk Napoli Centro This cute, compact 16-seater pays homage to Naples in myriad colourful artefacts (from football scarves to vintage drinks ads) and memorable Neapolitan-style pizzas. Delicious to the last bite of their billowing cornicione rims, Napoli Centro’s 48-hour proved bases are topped with vibrant combinations such as fior di latte, capers, olive and anchovies or fennel sausage, friarelli, chilli flakes and smoked provola cheese. napolicentro.co.uk Depot Bakery A neighbour of Peddler Market (where you will find Depot on coffee-and-cake duty), this industrial unit bakery-café is much loved for its sourdoughs and sweet bakes: from cinnamon brioche knots to an epic salted caramel brownie. Its diverting brunch dishes include, for example, brioche french toast with bacon, maple syrup and fried eggs, or eggs florentine. Depot has a second café venue in Hillsborough Park. thedepotbakery.co.uk Peddler Market The once industrial area of Kelham Island and Neepsend is, these days, equally busy with bars, food venues, apartments and office space. Peddler Market is a monthly indoor-outdoor warehouse street food party with DJs, live music, artist-maker stalls and discerning booze options. In December, Peddler will host its 100th Sheffield event. peddler.market Ashoka Established in 1967, this distinctive Indian restaurant is, today, a spry, modern space. One that serves an innovative puri dish, seasoned with Sheffield’s beloved condiment, Henderson’s Relish, but which keeps it traditional where it matters. For example, using a charcoal-fired tandoor to cook its grilled meats. Expect dhals of soul-stirring depth and mains, from Persian-style lentils to a ‘railway’ curry of lamb and potatoes, which make deft, layered use of whole and freshly ground spices. ashoka1967.com Leah’s Yard Grade II-listed Leah’s Yard is now an attractive hub of modern independent endeavour, with food and drink a feature at Barks Wine Shop; beer shop slash micropub Hop Hideout and deli-café Mesters Market – showcase of local produce, Mesters Market includes the Marco @ Milano counter, where chef Marco Giove serves Italian sandwiches, pastas, risottos and more. Bean-to-bar chocolate maker, Bullion (which runs tours at its Kelham Island production facility) also has its Chocolate Bar café here. leahsyard.com Cambridge Street Collective After impressing at Neepsend’s Cutlery Works, food hall creator, Blend, last year launched this three-storey, 1,200-seat, city centre extravaganza. 20 kitchens offer a smorgasbord of food options, from Ethiopia and Eritrean dishes (House of Habesha) to Greek pitta wraps (Gyros Express). Further entertainment runs from DJs and an augmented reality darts zone, to kids’ crafting sessions and cooking classes at the Blend Culinary Foundation. cambridgestreetcollective.com Elm By day this handsome space (raw plaster walls, stylish 20th-century furniture) serves great coffee, elevated grilled cheese sandwiches and tinned fish with sourdough toast and citrus-herb butters. At night (Wed-Sat), talented chef, Nathan Wall, offers a four- or seven-course menu of fascinating dishes. These have ranged from kombu-cured trout with roasted sesame, citrus ponzu, broccoli purée and radish, to a cheese scone with Sheffield honey and Baron Bigod cheese. elmsheffield.co.uk Foodie experiences JÖRO Luke French is that rare chef who, in tasting menu dishes of scallop with kampot pepper, aged beef fat, spruce and finger lime, or trout with kinome leaf and a sea buckthorn and yuzu kosho beurre blanc, can elicit excited double takes at his innovative deployment of flavours. Previously in the city centre, Jöro now has a semi-rural home at Oughtibridge Mill. This new site includes guest apartments, a bar (serving snacks) and an outdoor BBQ kitchen. jororestaurant.co.uk Sheffield Beer Week Sheffield is one of Britain’s great beer cities, home to many charismatic pubs (three personal faves being Shakespeare’s, Rutland Arms and The Fat Cat) and acclaimed breweries ranging from evergreen cask beer ace Abbeydale to Saint Mars of the Desert, adventurers at beer’s creative outer reaches. Annually, in March, this abundance of great ale is celebrated in a week of tours, talks, tastings and food events. sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk Public A former public toilet by the town hall, this small, subterranean space is now one of Britain’s best cocktail bars. Laid-back and coolly retromodern in its design, Public offers a very Sheffield take on cocktail culture. No bling, no gimmicks, no VIPs. Crisply executed drinks wow on quality and creative brainwaves such as drawing mango notes from raw butternut squash infusions, or adding savoury depth by washing bourbon with prosciutto fat. publicpublic.co.uk Foodie neighbourhood Sharrow Vale On and around Sharrow Vale Road, this inner suburb offers a concentrated cluster of indie shopping, green space (Endcliffe Park) and great food, from hip bakery, café and grocer Tonco, to legendary chip shop Two Steps, which dates to the 19th century. Foodies can fill their totes at Porter Brook Deli, discerning wine, spirit and beer store Starmore Boss, or coffee roaster and speciality tea retailer Pollards, on Ecclesall Road. Look out for Sharrow Vale Market too. Refuel as you go with a flat white (Corner Store or Porter Coffee), exceptional doughnuts at bakery-café Eve Kitchen, a glass of wine at The Harritt or pints in the charming The Beer House or fellow micropub, Loxley Brewery’s No 3 Sharrow. At fishmonger JH Mann you can buy fresh fish and eat lunch (Tue-Sat, 11am-3pm). Choose your seafood and have it cooked and served with sides of, for example, salt cod mash, lobster sauce, dhal or seasonal vegetables. Looking for brunch? Local fave, Made by Jonty, has you covered. Later, head to Porter Pizza (for stellar Neapolitan-style pizza) or Six and a Half, a hot 2025 opening where live-fire cooking creates dishes such as harissa venison with mint yogurt and crispy spiced onions. More UK restaurant guides Best restaurants in Deal Best restaurants in Birmingham Best restaurants in St Albans Best restaurants in Bristol Best restaurants in Edinburgh Best restaurants in York Best restaurants in Whitstable Best restaurants in Oxford Best restaurants in Cambridge Best restaurants in Margate Best restaurants in Manchester Best restaurants in Glasgow Best restaurants in the Lake District Best restaurants in Brighton
25 small towns across the UK that every foodie should visit
From Welsh market towns with creative culinary gatherings to Yorkshire boroughs that are home to artisan roasters and gin distilleries, these are 10 of the best foodie towns across the UK for a staycation
Looking for UK staycations? Want to know the best towns for foodies? Check out our guide for the must-visit UK towns that every foodie should visit. Filled with must-try restaurants, bakeries and bars, there is something for everyone in 0ur gourmet picks – from an island getaway in Jersey to picturesque Bruton in Somerset's green rolling hills. For more travel inspiration, find out the best unique UK holiday cottages for foodies and check out our best gastropubs with rooms. Feeling active? See our picks of 10 unique walking holidays for foodies. If you're planning a summer holiday, check out our UK summer travel ideas. Totnes, Devon The market town of Totnes in Devon has some of the most progressive organic restaurants in the country. The Bull Inn is driving the charge with its ecological and social impact pledges, including commitments to “field grown, not flown”, mindful meat, seasonality and supplier-led organic food. Its inventive menu includes such dishes as roasted courgettes, whipped tahini, preserved lemon, pumpkin seed picada and basque cheesecake with plums. Eversfield organic farm shop & café has a menu of all-day brunch classics such as toasted banana bread with seasonal compote and Turkish eggs with warm chilli butter. The Totnes Sunday food market is the biggest in Devon offering up fine produce from local producers. For a taste of fine-dining, head to Gather which showcases locally sourced and wild foraged ingredients from Devon’s fields, shoreline, rivers and hedgerows. Where to stay: not just a restaurant, you can also stay at The Bull Inn. There are nine chic, minimally-designed rooms to choose from plus a four-bed self catering apartment (with it's own private terrace) that is ideal for larger groups. Doubles from £165, check availability at booking.com Alnwick, Northumberland The market town of Alnwick, famous for its historic castle, is quietly becoming something of a culinary hotspot. New fine-dining restaurant Sonnet serves up a tasting menu inspired by ingredients from small local farmers, producers of rare-breed meats and British fine food makers. Alnwick Brewery Co & Taproom has been producing traditional brown ales and IPAs since the 1860s, and is a lively hangout that regularly hosts food trucks from local establishments like Caribbean Ren’s Kitchen. The Bistro at The Cookie Jar is a relaxing restaurant serving up local produce in dishes such as tempura cod cheeks with spicy pea purée and chorizo crisps, and homemade ice creams and sorbets. And Jasper’s Bistro, in nearby Amble, is an intimate seafood restaurant with just six tables, specialising in locally landed lobster, crab and langoustines, with an excellent wine list. Check out our full guide to the best restaurants in Northumberland for more. Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth in Cornwall is famous for its scenic natural harbour and stunning views, and is now also something of a culinary hotspot. Perched on the rocks overlooking Swanpool beach is new seafood restaurant Beach House Falmouth, which is centred around a menu of fresh, local and sustainably sourced seafood. It serves delicious dishes like whole grilled Falmouth Bay crab with garlic butter, shell-on wild prawns with ’nduja, and fried oysters with aïoli. Harbour House, just over the bay in Flushing, is a waterside pub with a focus on seasonal dishes and local drinks. Its menu includes Fowey scallops from the grill, beef short rib cottage pie, and kedgeree scotch eggs with curry mayonnaise. Located between Mylor and Flushing, Food Barn is a weekly market with more than 20 stalls that champion local, sustainable food from traders like Allet Dairy, Penny’s Pies, Loveday distillery and Ruby June’s Indian Kitchen. Sabzi’s Deli serves up Cornish and British produce cooked into Middle Eastern-inspired dishes, like local roasted Savoys with sumac, butter beans and fresh herb chutney, and spiced roasted carrots with whipped tahini. Settle, Yorkshire Dales This historic market town and the villages of surrounding Ribblesdale and Malhamdale are cultivating quite the food scene. In Settle, foodies are buzzing about the hip, crisply executed small plates at chef Iain Graham’s The Nettle restaurant. Elsewhere, refresh at High Street Coffee, micropub Millers @ Bar 13 or the Talbot Arms freehouse. For food shopping visit butcher and expert pie maker, Drake & Macefield, homewares store (and cute café) Car and Kitchen, Tuesday’s town market and Settle Artisan Market (second Sunday, monthly). Heading into the surrounding countryside, Lay of the Land is a small garden centre whose café, led by chef Jimmie Lay, is much-loved by discerning locals. As is Town End Farm Shop, a crucial outlet for regional artisan foods, including owner Chris Wildman’s charcuterie. Just a few miles from Settle, Austwick is home to the well-regarded hotel restaurant The Traddock and nationally significant food hub The Courtyard Dairy. The dairy retails up to 50 carefully matured cheeses from small farmhouse producers, houses a cheese museum and hosts events and cheese-making courses. It also shares its Crows Nest Barn location with pizzeria Rind, natural wine shop Buon Vino and artisan bakery Ambry. Folkestone, Kent The coastal town of Folkestone in Kent offers a unique blend of creativity, seaside charm, and hidden foodie hotspots which are lesser known than some of its trendy seaside neighbours such as Margate and Rye. The Folkestone Harbour Arm is home to an outdoor array of shipping containers which have been converted into independent food businesses, offering everything from fresh oysters and champagne to global street food, all set against the backdrop of stunning sea views. Highlights include poffertjes (mini Dutch pancakes), and inventive cocktails. For a relaxed family meal, head to Rocksalt, where local produce takes centre stage in dishes like Romney Marsh lamb and Folkestone-caught mackerel. Folkestone's Creative Quarter, brims with live music, tapas, cafés and Kentish beers and wine. In the evening, discover strong and perfectly-formed cocktails at The Potting Shed which will transfer you back-in-time to the vibrant 1920s. Where to stay: Shoreline Holiday rentals are the ideal base for exploring Folkestone. Each property is thoughtfully styled, offering luxurious yet cozy interiors, well-equipped kitchens, and private balconies with sweeping views of the English Channel. Perfect for families and couples alike, there’s two and four-bedroom beach houses on offer, all within walking distance of beaches, galleries, and restaurants. Jersey, Channel Islands A short hop from the UK (or France), Jersey, famous for its prized potatoes, oysters and rich custard-yellow cream – is having a gourmet revival. Restaurant pêtchi, from island-raised chef and Great British Menu finalist Joe Baker, is leading the charge. Its menu celebrates the abundance of the island’s local seafood with dishes such as Chancre crab and seaweed tarts, and a signature wood-roasted lobster rice. JEJE, housed in St Helier’s historic fish market, specialises in fresh sushi and Korean-inspired dishes made using the daily catch. Over on St Ouen’s Bay is SANDS, whose menu is inspired by Australasian and Californian coastal cuisine, with homemade tacos and sodas like its apricot/cardamom and lychee/vetiver. And for a nightcap head to The Porter’s Store, a stylish speakeasy with live music and cocktail masterclasses on offer. Reigate, Surrey Reigate has had an influx of foodie establishments in recent years, making it well worth a visit. Lebnani – from chef Jad Youssef – is leading the charge. Its menu is inspired by the food of Beirut with traditional meze and charcoal grills designed for sharing, using the finest spices, herbs and grains from Lebanon, combined with local ingredients. Chalk Hills Bakery makes artisan breads that use traditional long-fermenting methods, each kneaded by hand, including sourdough with potato, rosemary and nigella seeds. The Chapel is an independent café specialising in perfectly brewed coffee, open sandwiches and sausage brioche rolls using meat from local family butcher Robert & Edwards. And New Gurkha Kitchen serves up authentic Nepalese cuisine, like Gurkha aloo (potatoes with turmeric and cumin), Kathmandu chicken and Nepalese-style chow – stir-fried noodles with spices. Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire Famous for its spirited community ethos which has attracted writers and artists for decades, Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire is now a hotbed for culinary creatives. At its heart is Kitchen 91, a micro-bakery and dining room in a converted weaver’s warehouse specialising in Italian cuisine with sustainability at its core. Independent cooperative Valley Organics sells ethically sourced ingredients from local producers, and Goo Cheese has a range of more than 100 British and continental cheeses with an emphasis on lesser known cheesemakers. Stylish contemporary restaurant Coin is the best spot for dinner, serving small plates such as Crown Prince squash, rocket, Loch Arthur yogurt and smoked almonds alongside an extensive list of natural wines. For a night cap, lively bottle shop Drink (open until 10pm) has a range of regional craft ales, fruit sours and cloudy gose beers from across the county. Bruton, Somerset Picturesque Bruton is nestled among Somerset's green rolling hills and has become a something of magnet for unconventional chefs and arty culinary creatives in recent years, turning the once quiet market town into a foodie hot spot. At the Chapel – a Grade II listed restaurant-gallery-hotel hybrid – takes pride of place in the centre of Bruton high street, serving a Mediterranean menu that heroes West Country produce and a wine store filled with organic, biodynamic vintages. Durslade Farm Shop showcases artisan makers and growers of Somerset in the chic Hauser & Wirth Gallery. The Newt country estate hosts seasonal gastronomic events such as foraging masterclasses and artisan cyder tasting in its orchard. And Michelin-starred restaurant Osip, fronted by chef Merlin Labron-Johnson, has removed all menus entirely – asking diners to put their faith in the hands of its masterful chefs. Where to stay: Number One Bruton is a revamped Georgian townhouse that offers 12 bedrooms and a sense of playfulness behind the polish. In the Georgian townhouse itself, designers Frank & Faber have decorated the bedrooms with a tasteful riot of pattern on pattern, plus period fireplaces and gilt mirrors. For a more modern feel, a trio of cottages behind the main house (overlooking the courtyard garden) have simple white bathrooms, quarry-tiled floors and neutral colour schemes, reflecting their former status as workshops. Breakfast, taken in Osip (see above), is totally unique in terms of its offerings. Try vanilla-spiked rice pudding topped with homemade granola and a spoonful of toffee-ish milk jam; still-warm boiled egg cradled in a little nest of hay; pheasant terrine and chutney on freshly baked sourdough; or a sliver of jammy pear and quince tart. Check rates and availability at numberonebruton.com Lyme Regis, Dorset Affectionately known as the pearl of Dorset, thanks to its beautiful bay, the areas surrounding Lyme Regis are also rich in culinary delights. The Seaside Boarding House, overlooking Lyme Bay, champions local Dorset produce and has a guest series with a host of exciting chefs including Jeremy Lee, Rick Toogood and Abby Lee. The Parlour at Bredy Farm offers Italian small plates like Tuscan fish stew with Dorset clams and courgettes alla poverella. And Rachels in West Bay is a beach side hut with fresh local seafood platters, moules and chowder, plus it gets our vote for the best fish and chips in the area. Stockbridge, Scotland Perched on the Water of Leith river and blessed with eye-catching architecture, this hip, upmarket inner suburb is a very pleasant 25-minute walk from central Edinburgh. Beyond its period charms (check cobbled Insta fave, Circus Lane), it is also a tasty place to eat. Acclaimed fine dining restaurants eòrna and Avery, which previously operated in San Francisco, rub shoulders with ambitious gastropub, the Scran & Scallie, cool basement small plates joint, Skua, and the Last Word Saloon, sister bar to legendary cocktail spot, Bramble. Wine geeks will love pace-setting wine bar, Smith & Gertrude (do not miss its grilled Montgomery cheddar sandwich) and the shopping opportunities at treasure trove, Raeburn Fine Wines, Vino and newcomer, Communique Wines. To accompany those wines, food shop at Stockbridge Market (Sundays) or cheesemongers IJ Mellis or George Mewes. Before the steep climb back into Edinburgh, refuel on next-level croissants at revered bakery, Lannan, or take a moment in craft beer haven, Stockbridge Tap, or Edinburgh Cider Co’s The Cider House. Aldeburgh, Suffolk Aldeburgh, a small seaside town in Suffolk, is famous for its annual food and drink festival, and something of a hot gastronomic ticket. The Lighthouse serves simple home-cooked fare with a neighbourhood vibe – including its very own Lighthouse 77 gin, which includes botanicals such as heather and liquorice. Sea Spice is a beautiful restaurant that combines local Suffolk produce with flavourful Indian cooking. The beach is lined with shacks selling boxes of prawns and smoked fish from local artisans including Butley Oysterage. And, like all great coastal towns, there’s the iconic Aldeburgh Fish & Chips made the traditional Suffolk way – fried in beef dripping! Be it colour palettes and decorative touches inspired by the Suffolk countryside or a guest pantry where you can pour yourself a complimentary cocktail, every detail of six-bedroom The Suffolk has been carefully considered. Enjoy the rooftop sea-view terrace, then head down to the restaurant, where chef Tom Payne makes impressive use of Suffolk produce, such as Gressingham duck or Dingley Dell pork. From Butley Creek oysters to lemon sole in Pernod garlic butter, seafood is prominent. Check rates and availability at the-suffolk.co.uk Malton, Yorkshire There’s so much going on in Yorkshire’s food capital of Malton right now. Those serious about their food won’t be disappointed. Over a four year period, 26 food and drink businesses have set up shop here. Many cluster around Talbot Yard – a former stables – which now houses an artisan roaster, Roost, the Bluebird Bakery, the Groovy Moo gelateria, macaron-maker Florian Poirot, the Rare Bird Gin Distillery and a butcher, Food 2 Remember. Other dates for the diary include the Malton Harvest Food Festival in October, and the monthly food markets. These events bring together the wider area’s exceptional producers’ including Malton Cider, cheese from Botton Creamery, chutneys from Sloemotion and lots more. Where to stay: Talbot Inn (owned – like much of Malton – by aristocrat Tom Naylor-Leyland and his glamorous wife and Vogue-contributor Alice) has relaxed décor, in a glamorous, playful sort of way. Ex-Lucky Onion stalwarts, Georgie and Sam Pearman, spruced up the 26-bedroomed Talbot, bringing a modern style to the imposing 17th-century coaching inn, resulting in oak-floored rooms where modern art and antique finds rub alongside ancestral portraits. Eating is when and where you want. Already savoured the views of the watermeadows from the plant-draped Garden Room? Curl up by the log fires in the Snug, or slouch into a leather armchair beneath the wall-mounted wild boar in the navy-walled Upper Bar. Wherever you sit, jeaned and Converse-sneakered waiting staff miraculously appear. Doubles at Talbot Inn from £96 per night, check availability at booking.com Studland, Dorset The village of Studland, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, is gathering a reputation as a beach destination with discerning culinary clout. Shell Bay Restaurant & Bistro – on the tip of the Jurassic Coast – is a scenic sunset-watching spot that specialises in open-fire cooking. Its exciting menu champions local lobster, bass and Poole Bay oysters, with dishes including fire-roasted miso and yuzu cod and pepper soft-shell crab with smoked pineapple chilli sauce. The Pig on the Beach has a walled kitchen garden and is committed to home-grown produce with its 25-mile menu, serving veg picked that morning and transformed into dishes such as marinated beetroot with spiced hazelnut crumb and blood orange. Across the water from Studland in Poole is Thirteen from head chef Alex Naik, whose tasting menus combine locally sourced and foraged ingredients – courses might include the likes of mushroom tom kha soup with seaweed noodles, velvet shank and oysters, and thyme panna cotta with orange jelly, ginger gel and clementine powder. And Bankes Arms is a pub by the sea that’s also home to the award-winning Isle of Purbeck Brewery – serving up the likes of Studland Bay Wrecked, Solar Power, Fossil Fuel and Purbeck IPA. Moreton-in-Marsh, Cotswolds In the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the market town of Moreton-in-Marsh makes an ideal base for a ‘foodie’ trip. A short hop from popular villages and towns such as Daylesford (famous for its organic farm, shop and restaurant), Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold, it benefits from good public transport links including direct trains to London. The main street is lined with handsome stone buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, many of them shops, tea rooms, pubs and places to eat. There are plenty of places to stay the night, including the White Hart Royal, a former manor house where King Charles I took refuge during the Civil War. The main public building is the Redesdale Hall which holds antiques and craft fairs, and there’s a weekly Tuesday street market. When it comes to eating out, Henne is highly regarded by the locals with its inventive and sustainably driven menu using hyper-local produce. If it’s artisan bread and patisserie you’re after, Otis & Belle bakery is exceptional and The Cotswold Cheese Company sells countless local cheeses. A short drive out of town is the Michelin-starred Royal Oak at Whatcote. Tisbury, Wiltshire In Wiltshire’s pretty Nadder Valley, Tisbury is more village than town yet still packs a punch when it comes to eating and drinking. On its edge the Grade I thatched Tithe Barn has been converted into Messum’s, a contemporary art gallery where the Mess Restaurant offers much more sophisticated fare than your standard museum café. In the morning Genius Coffea, on the High Street, is the first port of call. For sustenance to go with it, continue on to Tisbury Deli where the shelves prop up goodies from croissants to pork pies. Pick up a bottle to go with your supplies from <The Beckford Bottle Shop, where you can try-before-you-buy and get expert advice from staff. Pythouse Kitchen Garden should be on everyone’s radar too; not only for the first-rate restaurant but because the company’s glamping village, tucked away in the orchard, is the perfect place to stay. Where to stay: Pubs in the area are plentiful but few focus on food; the exception is The Beckford Arms where you’ll need to book to get ahead of the locals who come for a Beckford Bloody Mary and stay on for Sunday lunch. Doubles from £91 per night, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com North Berwick, Scotland There’s a food revolution underway in the seaside town of North Berwick, just half an hour from Edinburgh by train along the East Lothian coast. Millennials priced out of the city have de-camped to the coast bringing with them a demand for flat whites and sourdough – which they get at Steampunk Coffee Roasters and the <Bostock Bakery. The croissants at the latter are so good that NOMA’s René Redzepi sent his pastry chef from Copenhagen to learn from Bostock’s Ross Baxter. For seafood, try Lobster Shack – a seasonal operation on the harbour that cooks its catch from the neighbouring Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery between Easter and October; the lobster and crab bisque is exceptional and the Shack is licensed so you can order a glass of crisp white to go with it. A blustery and beautiful walk out of town brings you to shipping container turned coffee shop DRIFT, perched on an outcrop above Canty Bay; sit in and order the bacon and egg sandwich with herby aioli. Where to stay: Stay just out of town, in Gullane, at The Bonnie Badger, Tom and Michaela Kitchin’s restaurant with rooms. Doubles from £236 per night, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com Deal, Kent Kent’s coastal towns are smartening up, luring in a hip London crowd who steer south on fast trains. Whilst foodies still love Whitstable, Deal is the buzzy new kid on the block. Find everything from Kent’s favourite chippie, Middle Street Fish Bar to date-night-dining at Victuals & Co. where the Raid the Larder menu on Sunday evenings is particularly good value. The Deal Dining Club is an institution and its Friday and Saturday night set-menu feasts always sell out; typical events include a Taste of Kent, with a menu boasting Canterbury cheese puffs, Kentish brown shrimp, local pigeon, home-smoked haddock and rhubarb crème brulee. It’s BYOB so pick up a bottle beforehand at Le Pinardier, a French wine bar and shop with an array of predominantly natural wines. Where to stay: Cross the road to The Rose where the seasonal cocktails are invented by local forager and chef, Lucia Stuart, who also runs excursions such as a Berry Bonanza Wilderness Picnic via The Wild Kitchen. As well as a bar, restaurant and pretty courtyard garden, The Rose has eight artfully-designed bedrooms. It’s worth staying for breakfast – the sourdough toast with pear and ginger jam is scrumptious. Doubles from £167 per night, check availability at booking.com Orford, Suffolk The Suffolk town of Orford may have kick-started its foodie reputation with the opening of the renowned Pump Street Bakery (a visit to its Suffolk-pink premises for breakfast pastries is a must) but the business has done a pivot into artisan chocolate-making so save space to try one of their artisan bars too. Proximity to the shingly coastline means the town is also home to two excellent seafood spots, fixtures since the 1950s – Butley Oysterage, a smart restaurant serving up plump oysters and griddled prawns dripping in garlic butter, and the sister shop, Pinney’s, where you can buy smoked fish, potted crab and angels on horseback to take away. If you’re visiting in September, Orford also makes a great base for exploring Aldeburgh Food Festival – confusingly not in Aldeburgh town but, rather, at nearby Snape Maltings, the Victorian red-brick malt kilns turned world-famous concert halls that sit amongst the reedbeds on Suffolk’s river Alde. It’s a great setting to learn, among other things, how to make bread courtesy of Marriage’s Bakery Room. Where to stay: Orford’s pub, the The Crown and Castle, promises smart bedrooms overlooking Orford’s 12th century castle, or there’s the Wash House Studio B&B – stay in a sweet shepherd’s hut or the converted wash house next to the coastguards cottages and wake up to find a breakfast hamper covered with a gingham cloth on your doorstep in the morning. Doubles at The Crown and Castle from £122, check availability at booking.com Abergavenny, Wales Abergavenny Food Festival takes place each September and is one of the most creative and dynamic culinary gatherings in the UK, also one of the longest running. Regulars come for talks by Diana Henry and Bee Wilson, Dinner Party masterclasses with Rosie Birkett and Elly Pear, vegan BBQing tips from Matt Pritchard, debates on sustainable farming, a children’s cookery school and outdoor feasts based around wild cooking. Beyond the festival, you’ll find a quiet market town packed with independent shops like The Angel Bakery, which serves seasonal fruit pastries and perfect artisanal baguettes. Pair one of the latter with a ploughman’s hamper from The Marches Deli (it includes three Welsh cheeses, local chutney, Cradocs crackers and Welsh ale). The top table in town for breakfast and lunch is at The Kitchen at The Chapel where soda bread is baked each morning and might be served with pumpkin, butter bean and olive oil soup and a local craft cider, while the Michelin-starred Walnut Tree Inn is just outside town. Where to stay: Stay at Old Lands in one of three pretty holiday cottages set within converted stables and barns on an old family estate. There’s a walled garden and an on-site micro farm shop and guests can book children into Forest School, go on a nature walk or take a rowing boat out to an island on the estate’s lake. Check rates and availability at old-lands.co.uk Clitheroe, Lancashire The Lancashire market town of Clitheroe, in the Forest of Bowland, is the hub of Lancashire’s Ribble Valley. You’ll find a heaving cheese counter at Holmes Mill, Clitheroe’s monumental new food hall, and regional produce galore at Booths. Dip into independent food shops, such as Cowman’s Famous Sausage Shop, which sells over 70 varieties. Then go for a walk on Pendle Hill, followed by lunch at the Assheton Arms in Downham. Where to stay: Stay over at Freemasons At Wiswell, just south of town. As well as a chef’s table experience the dining pub has added bedrooms; enjoy Herdwick lamb with aubergine and miso purée, and a superlative vanilla slice, then stumble into bed. Or head half an hour out of town to remote Dale House, a 400-year-old farm. One of its owners used to work as a chef for the Roux brothers so expect standout breakfasts and sumptuous (zero-mile) dinners, such as venison haunch steak with blackberries followed by homemade eccles cakes. Doubles from £160 per night, check availability at freemasonsatwiswell.com Porthleven, Cornwall Almost as far southwest as you can get in England, Porthleven is a pretty Cornish port that greets you with waving sailing flags and colourful buoys bobbing in the water (and a medley of carefully curated food stalls if you time a trip to tie in with the annual Porthleven Food Festival each spring). It may be a tiny town, but the food scene is growing at pace here – think Padstow thirty years ago. Current highlights include Origin, a coffee roasters that started here but now has shops in Shoreditch, Edinburgh, the British Library and Southwark too. Next door is Kota Kai which serves Thai tapas and forms a more relaxed little sister to Kota restaurant, up the road. Run by half-Maori, half Chinese Malay chef, Jude Kereama, Kota (meaning ‘shellfish’ in Maori) serves Cornish seafood with Asian and Kiwi influences; think pan-fried hake, crab ravioli, Cornish mussels and tiger prawns in a vegetable dashi broth or Porthilly oyster tempura with wasabi tartare. Try the tasting menu and then stumble upstairs to bed. Where to stay: Kota has two bedrooms above it so you don’t need to leave town. Alternatively rent a picture-perfect thatched cottage on the nearby Trelowarren Estate, also home to the excellent New Yard restaurant. Bridport, Dorset It’s over fifteen years since Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall turned the spotlight on field-to-fork dining in Dorset, with the River Cottage, and West Dorset is now a firmly foodie pocket of the UK. Exciting things are happening in the market town of Bridport. A vibey Asian street food joint might be the last thing you’d expect to stumble on up a small-town alley, but Dorshi is exactly that. The name (“Dorset-sushi”) stems from the founders’ days spent doing a roaring trade out of a food truck. Now in a bricks-and-mortar restaurant the menu is all about dumplings, buns, zingy salads and noodle bowls. Likewise the Soulshine Café is on-the-button with superfood spirulina smoothies, oat milk lattes and a vegan full English on the menu – meat-eaters needn’t worry you’ll find sausage sarnies here too. For a sweet treat visit Baboo Gelato where the ice cream is award-winning – try the plum sorbet. Just outside the town visit Washingpool Farm, home to one of the region’s best farm shops (it stocks its own veggies as well as other local produce, like North Perrott apple juice and Dorset Cereals. Where to stay: Stay further up the sands at the Seaside Boarding House, a hip hotel with unrivalled views over Lyme Bay, elegant modern cooking and a grown-up line in cocktails. Ashburton, Devon Dartmouth and Salcome might get all the attention in Devon’s southernly corner, but look inland for fewer crowds and great food spots. Ashburton, on the edge of Dartmoor, is home to the famed Ashburton Cookery School where over 40 classes are offered from a five-day patisserie week to a three-hour Indian cook-to-go and a recently introduced range of Christmas classes, from festive breadmaking to party canapés and chocolate advent calendar workshops. If you’d rather leave the hard work to the experts, the award-winning Ashburton Deli is the place to go, stocked with the best produce from across the West. Ten minutes’ out of town, meanwhile, brings you to Riverford, the organic farming champions – visit their home turf for lunch or supper at The Riverford Field Kitchen where the set veggie menu is about as close to farm-to-fork as can be. Where to stay: Stay at the Live and Let Live pub where there’s excellent provenance-orientated food and three bright and airy bedrooms. Kendal, Lake District But for its eponymous mint cake, Kendal is not known for its food. It is overlooked entirely by many visitors who, alighting at Oxenholme station or racing past from the M6, head straight for the Lakes’ better-known hot spots. This is a mistake. The food and drink scene in this handsome market town is on a flavour-packed roll at casual dining spots such as Comida, Marra 46, Pappy’s Texas BBQ, Baba Ganoush and exciting small plates restaurant, Ramble, run by wine-maker, Northern Wine. It is home to two mega breweries, Lakes Brew Co, which hosts street food traders at its monthly brew-tap, and Fell (check its bar and new arts venue, Glisky). Kendal also boasts award-winning butcher, Roast Mutton, a carefully curated, twice-monthly farmers’ and artisan-makers’ market (second/last Fridays), and, just outside town, one of Britain’s best bakeries, Lovingly Artisan – a neighbour to, among other food businesses, Plumgarths farm shop. Is Kendal Cumbria’s tastiest town? Quite possibly. Where to stay: 20-minutes drive from Kendal, Gilpin Hotel & Country House in Windermere offres luxurious bedrooms with lakeside views, and an on-site Michelin-starred restaurant that puts an Asian twist on Cumbrian dining. Doubles from £335 per night, check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk Words by Daisy Allsup Photographs by Clare Hargreaves, Weekend Journals, Rhiannon Batten, Helen Cathcart, Keiko Oikawa More travel guides Best country house hotels in the UK Best health and wellness retreats Best hotels in London Best UK boutique hotels Best hotels in the Cotswolds Best Cornwall hotels Best hotels in the Lake District Best London hotel bars to visit Best romantic hotels in the UK European hidden gems: hotels off the beaten track Best Paris hotels Best Spanish hotels Best Italian hotels Best restaurants with rooms in the UK Best Amsterdam hotels
Check out our guide to the best independent coffee shops, bars and restaurants in Leeds. From trending bakeries to perfect date-night dinners, Leeds has a thriving independent food and drink scene
Looking for restaurants in Leeds? Yorkshire’s largest city combines glitzy clubs, bars and Victorian arcades with an arty undercurrent that buzzes with live music, proper pubs and independent shops and stalls such as The Corn Exchange. Leeds’ food and drink scene has evolved over the years, adapting to the city’s diversity, and it now boasts some of the best independent places to eat and drink in the country. From trendy new-wave coffee shops to craft breweries, casual dining restaurants to street food trucks, Leeds has become a serious foodie hub. For more exciting restaurants and weekend ideas for food lovers, check out our best UK city breaks. For more regional dining recommendations, discover the best restaurants in Manchester, best restaurants in York, best restaurants in Newcastle and best restaurants in the Lake District. Best places to eat and drink in Leeds Bavette – for a French bistro In little over a year, this new wave French bistro has established itself in the affections of handsome Horsforth, a town-slash-suburb just north of Leeds, and won wider regional and national acclaim. Chef Sandy Jarvis executes the classics in style (onion soup, cassoulet, shellfish bisque, crème brûlée), while manager and sommelier Clément Cousin pours interesting low-intervention wines, including some made by his family in the Loire Valley. Bavette is the kind of neighbourhood restaurant we would all want on our doorstep. bavettebistro.com Eat Your Greens – for veg-forward small plates Fundamentally, a bar-restaurant serving tasty veg-forward plates, natural wine and A1 craft beers, this hip, friendly space is also part provisions store, a platform for local DJ talent and hosts various foodie events. It’s a busy fulcrum of good things, basically. A keen focus on seasonal, local and organic produce underpins a menu of sharing plates that might range from smashed potatoes with umami chilli salt and garlic aioli or beetroot, pickled red onions, confit garlic ricotta and beetroot tahini, to osso bucco with creamy polenta and a rich bone marrow, tomato and red wine gravy. Last year, EYG opened a stand-alone shop and café, Greens Grocers, also in central Leeds. This summer, it will run one-off events in its riverside outdoor space, including a Greens & Friends barbecue series. eatyourgreensleeds.co.uk Holding Patterns – for quality coffee and cocktails This community-minded, bar-café hybrid – fittingly located in what was once a radio station – is a haven for music, coffee and book nerds alike. Opened in late 2024, it has a 60-person capacity main space as well as a cosier, book-lined nook in the back. Expect DJ sets and artist performances every Friday and Saturday night, while daytimes are for reading and chilling out, all to a perfect soundtrack, of course. Drinks offerings include coffee from Yorkshire’s Casa Espresso, Top Cuvée curated natty wines and a roster of classic cocktails – make ours a rum old fashioned, please. holdingpatternslds.co.uk The Swine Bistro – for comforting dishes Expect crisply executed, comforting dishes from exec chef and co-owner Stu Myers, such as sea trout, clams and borlotti; braised rabbit with Dijon mustard sauce, crispy bacon and broad beans; or homemade venison and red wine sausages, pickled pear, salsa verde and puy lentils. Award-winning roast dinner expert, Kirsty Cheetham, has been appointed head chef at the Swine, so look out for its Sunday lunch services. theswinebistro.co.uk The Empire Café – for an all-dayer Tucked down a ginnel in the city-centre, this compact all-dayer has gained a huge rep for its breakfasts, rotisserie chicken, creative, seasonal sharing plates and good cocktails. Said chickens, served with chicken schmaltz potatoes, rotate in an open rotisserie which helps them self-baste in their juices. Diners then add a flavoured “lather” (say, smoked garlic and hot honey or Kashmiri butter), and a crumb. Wider dishes are eclectic and exciting, from bacon-fat glazed ribs to, for example, a reblochon nata with chestnut purée or barbecued venison vindaloo. The Empire team is about to open a second venue, a pub, The Highland Laddie, out in the inner ‘burbs of Burley. empirecafeleeds.co.uk Chef Jono at V&V – for date night Comprising just eight tables, Jonathan Hawthorne’s intimate, tasting menu restaurant is date night gold. The chatty staff encourage a relaxed atmosphere, as the open kitchen dispatches dishes such as bone marrow crème brûlée, chilli lobster and crab bisque with passion fruit, or mushroom tiramisu. With its porcini sponge, white chocolate and shiitake ganache and coffee and cep caramel, the latter is, says Jono: “A very modern take on a classic.” chefjonoatvandv.co.uk Sarto – for fresh pasta Foodies from two local independents, Layne’s Espresso and The Brunswick, teamed up to open a fresh pasta-focussed spot in central Leeds. A speckled quartz counter takes centre stage in the bright, canteen-style restaurant. Hop onto a stool and peer over hunks of parmesan, jars of gobstopper-sized olives and freshly baked sourdough loaves to watch head chef Ian Chapman, aka Yanni, and his team whip up plates of handmade pasta. Mushroom marsala was the highlight on our visit – springy trompette, chestnut and baby oyster varieties tossed with marsala cream through folds of fettuccine. Or try Yanni’s unusual slow-cooker lamb rigatoni with chopped mint covered in nutty Sheep Rustler cheese. Bookend your pasta with a pumpkin, sage and Cornish cheddar arancini to start, and a portion of creamy tiramisu for dessert. Beer drinkers have a choice between European stalwarts Birra Moretti and Amstel, or try the local North Brewing Co Triple Fruited Gose Sour. Negronis are short and punchy, just as they should be, and there’s a succinct Italian wine list heavily weighted towards Venetian and Sicilian varieties. sartopasta.uk North Star Coffee Shop & General Store – best coffee shop in Leeds This calm, contemporary glass-fronted space at Leeds Dock is a hangout for local chefs and business owners on their days off. Gather with friends around one of the large wooden tables or nestle into a cosy nook to enjoy a moment of peace with your coffee. North Star has travelled the globe to find the best beans in the business, and it rotates its offer of not one, but two contrasting single origin espressos to ensure they satisfy varying taste buds. Baristas use geeky coffee equipment to bring out the best of the beans – delicate Ethipioan coffee is dripped through a Kalita filter and served in a glass carafe, and the toffee notes of the Colombian batch brew is blasted out of a huge jet on the counter. There’s even a tap that provides water in three different temperatures to let loose-leaf Storm teas shine. The adjoining roastery is a constant flurry of activity, with the state-of-the-art coffee roaster turning away and sacks ready to be filled with the day’s beans and carted off to coffee shops and restaurants across Yorkshire. northstarroast.com Nova Bakehouse – from sourdough loaves to pizza by the slice Down on Leeds Dock by the River Aire, Sarah Lemanski and Hannah Mather’s bakery draws a crowd for everything from its sourdough loaves to Saturday’s pizza slice options, such as fennel salami with fermented hot honey. There is a bench on which you can perch, nibble and watch the open-plan bakery at work. Alternatively, potter with your cinnamon-dusted madeleines, knock-out salted caramel brownie or, that Nova classic, the morning cake. Nova’s take on a light, US-style soured cream coffee cake, the morning cake features a tonka bean infused layer of cocoa powder and an almond crumble top, memorably stencil dusted with icing sugar sunrays. novabakehouse.com Wen’s – for Chinese food This family-run Chinese restaurant is owned by the Wen family, with Yorkshire-Chinese lad Chao on front of house while his parents make everything from scratch in the kitchen downstairs (the sound of a doorbell lets the restaurant know that dishes are ready). Dough is pulled with a machine brought over from China to make noodles, and then stir-fried with steak strips, large spring onions grown in the garden and soy sauce. Chao greets guests with the tea of the day constantly brewing on a little stove behind the trinket-lined counter (we tried Chinese pu-erh). Authentic Chinese and Szechuan dishes include pan-fried whole sea bass topped with chilli mince pork, sweet, spicy kung pao chicken with crunchy peanuts and plenty of lip-smacking Szechuan peppercorns, and fried rice studded with pieces of Chinese sausage and seasonal vegetables. @wensrestaurantleeds North Brewing Co. Leeds City Tap – for Yorkshire beers Try unique ales and bitters in North Brewing Co’s city-centre taproom. House headliners include award-winning Transmission IPA and crisp American pale ale Sputnik, along with tropical session brew Sea of Kindness. Peruse collaborations such as a grapefruit sour with Square Root, and the Buxton Brewery’s dark, malty Smoked Imperial Stout (also reduced into a syrup to make a smoky old fashioned), or choose from a fridge of guest beers in colourful cans. If you’re peckish, order pillowy-soft bao buns or braised beef donburi bowls from Little Bao Boy’s hatch beside the bar. northbrewing.com Laynes Espresso – best brunch in Leeds This trendy coffee shop showcases blends from roasters around the world, as well as the best from London and even the city’s own roaster, North Star (see above). Learn the tricks of the barista trade at one of its on-site workshops, grab an espresso on your way to the station down the round, or sit in and savour the smooth texture of one of the best flat whites in the country. Take time over one of the exotic dishes on the brunch menu, from shakshuka with dukkah and harissa butter, to sweetcorn fritters with halloumi, chimichurri, poached eggs and pickled chilli. In-house baked goods are to die for – cinnamon rolls, cardamom and almond cake, and coffee cake made with the house espresso – while additional treats from local baking company, Noisette Bakehouse (more info above), plumps up the sweet treat offering with salted caramel brownies and rye flour cookies. laynesespresso.co.uk Bundobust – for Indian street food and craft beer This innovative restaurant and bar combines vegetarian Indian street food with a huge range of craft ales. A bustling place where food is served in disposable bowls with biodegradable cutlery, it offers a casual dining experience with small plates and low prices. With no curry option, or meat, Bundobust is a world away from old-school curry houses, but dishes such as vada pav (a fried spicy mashed potato ball served in a brioche bun) and bundo chaat (a samosa of pastry, turmeric noodles, yogurt and tamarind chutney) have gained cult status. Try the onion bhajis: aromatic with garam masala and ajwain, filled with lush onion and cauliflower, the batter lifted by threads of spinach. On the drinks front, this bar provides a platform for independent brewers such as Kirkstall Brewery and Northern Monk, and offers limited edition ales and collaborations. Its menu is succinct, tempting and all-vegetarian, from spicy nuts to masala dosa, a mini crêpe with potato and onion dry fry, lentil soup and coconut chutney. bundobust.com Zucco – for Italian food Nonna’s polpette and spaghetti; rabbit, pancetta, white wine and potatoes; and almond and raspberry polenta cake – these are just three reasons why locals flock to Zucco, tucked away in one of the leafier suburbs of Leeds. Run by brothers Rosario and Michael Leggiero, it’s a cool and contemporary place with black and white floor tiles, white subway wall tiles and a beaten tin ceiling. And if that look sounds slightly familiar to fans of a certain well-known chain, then it won’t come as too much of a surprise that Michael was manager at Polpo’s short-lived restaurant at Leeds Harvey Nichols. zucco.co.uk Friends of Ham – for Spanish tapas Pop in to Yorkshire beer, wine and charcuterie specialist, Friends of Ham, for sharing platters and small plates. Choose from the extensive charcuterie list - we tried Barbaresco salami from Piedmont, prosciutto from Parma, and popular British bath chaps, made from the pig’s cheek. Small dishes include spicy 'nduja on sourdough toast with cornichons, traditional Spanish anchovies, and ham hock and black pudding terrine. Wines are curated with the utmost care. Take the Renata Pizzulin Clagnis as an example, a subtly spiced, fruity Italian red wine made by a couple as a weekend project in the northeastern Friuli region of Italy. This is what we loved most about Friends of Ham, the care and attention in sourcing the best of the best and serving it unpretentiously in a warm and friendly environment. friendsofham.com Ox Club – for modern British food There’s a lot to like about Ox Club, a modern British restaurant in Headrow House, a former textile mill built in the early 1900s. It feels and looks great: warm lighting, cool rustic-industrial design. The staff are bright, its craft beer list is unusually interesting and the pricing is keen. The focal point is the Grillworks grill imported from Michigan – it’s used to cook everything from hanger steak to guinea fowl, hake and razor clams. Expect delicate accompaniments such as buttermilk polenta with tea and molasses brine; creamed flageolet beans with bacon jam; or Jerusalem artichoke with mushrooms and ymerdrys (a Danish sugared rye bread crumb). Although vegetarian options are limited, the side dishes are all innovative and vegetable-based: try brussels sprouts with bacon and cured egg yolk, coal-roasted beetroot with muscovado walnuts, or kale with chard, cider and golden raisins. oxclub.co.uk Words by Alex Crossley, Tony Naylor and Mark Taylor Photographs by Victoria Harley, Simon Fogal, Sara Teresa, Tom Joy More UK restaurant guides Best restaurants in Deal Best restaurants in Birmingham Best restaurants in St Albans Best restaurants in Bristol Best restaurants in Edinburgh Best restaurants in York Best restaurants in Whitstable Best restaurants in Oxford Best restaurants in Cambridge Best restaurants in Margate Best restaurants in Manchester Best restaurants in Glasgow Best restaurants in the Lake District Best restaurants in Brighton
Yorkshire foodie guide: where to go and the best restaurants in Yorkshire
From the buzzing cities of York, Leeds and Sheffield to picturesque villages and historical towns, discover where to go, stay and eat in Yorkshire
Looking for Yorkshire restaurants? Read on for our ultimate Yorkshire guide – the must visit foodie villages and major cities, plus where to eat and where to stay when you visit. From the buzzy cities of York, Leeds and Sheffield to foodie hotspot of Malton and pretty Yorkshire villages, there is plenty to visit on a Yorkshire road trip. For more like this, check out our guides to the best restaurants in the Cotswolds, best restaurants in Cardiff, best restaurants in Bath and the best restaurants in Cornwall. We've also visited the best country house hotels in the UK for rural breaks on historic estates. Where to go in Yorkshire Malton There’s so much going on in Yorkshire’s food capital of Malton right now. Those serious about their food won’t be disappointed. Many of the food hotspots cluster around Talbot Yard – a former stables – which now houses an artisan roaster, Roost, the Bluebird Bakery, the Groovy Moo gelateria, macaron-maker Florian Poirot, the Rare Bird Gin Distillery and a butcher, Food 2 Remember. Dates for the diary include the Malton Harvest Food Festival in October, and the monthly food markets. These events bring together the wider area’s exceptional producers’ including Malton Cider, cheese from Botton Creamery, chutneys from Sloemotion and lots more. Where to stay in Malton: Talbot Inn (owned – like much of Malton – by aristocrat Tom Naylor-Leyland and his glamorous wife and Vogue-contributor Alice) has relaxed décor, in a glamorous, playful sort of way. Ex-Lucky Onion stalwarts, Georgie and Sam Pearman, spruced up the 26-bedroomed Talbot, bringing a modern style to the imposing 17th-century coaching inn, resulting in oak-floored rooms where modern art and antique finds rub alongside ancestral portraits. Eating is when and where you want. Already savoured the views of the watermeadows from the plant-draped Garden Room? Curl up by the log fires in the Snug, or slouch into a leather armchair beneath the wall-mounted wild boar in the navy-walled Upper Bar. Wherever you sit, jeaned and Converse-sneakered waiting staff miraculously appear. Doubles from £96 per night, check availability at booking.com York York has radically upped its food game in recent years, so visitors now can enjoy both this beautiful city’s many historic attractions and its compact, dynamic dining scene. Chef Tommy Banks’ restaurants, The Black Swan, The Abbey Inn and Roots, share a core DNA with heritage ingredients grown and creatively preserved at the Banks family farm at Oldstead. But each venue is distinctive. At Michelin-starred Roots, Banks and head chef Will Lockwood blend influences (hyper-seasonal Scandi, modern British, high-end fine dining) in deliciously original ways. Visit 22 Yards for a relaxing space that smoothly blurs the lines between wine shop, bar and restaurant, then stop at Partisan for brunch the next morning – its gorgeous cake counter is visible from the street and, behind that, a vintage-styled café and art gallery serves memorable plates of, for example, shakshuka, eggs benedict and seasonal french toast variations. Where to stay: with over 500 self-catering options, you're spoilt for choice on where to stay in York to give you maximum time to explore the city. Base yourself near the station if you're visiting by train, find romantic apartments for a couple's getaway or charming haylofts with a private terrace. Check out where to stay in York on airbnb. Leeds Yorkshire’s largest city combines glitzy clubs, bars and Victorian arcades with an arty undercurrent that buzzes with live music, proper pubs and independent shops and stalls such as The Corn Exchange. Leeds’ food and drink scene has evolved over the years, adapting to the city’s diversity, and it now boasts some of the best independent places to eat and drink in the country. From trendy new-wave coffee shops to craft breweries, casual dining restaurants to street food trucks, Leeds has become a serious foodie hub. Head to Sarto for fresh pasta and strong negronis, Nova Bakehouse for the ultimate neighbourhood bakery and Home for a British tasting menu. See more of our best restaurants in Leeds. Where to stay in Leeds: feel like a local with a self-catering stay in Leeds. From sleek apartments to modern lofts and charming homes for all the family, there are plenty of options for all your city break plans. Check out a range of places to stay in Leeds on airbnb. Sandsend This small, picturesque fishing village on the edge of the North York Moors National Park comes with a charmingly rugged beach and a rich history. It’s right next to Whitby in North Yorkshire, and affords some great views of the town’s historic abbey, a few miles south. Once you’ve acquainted yourself with Sandsend’s own beach and taken in the views of the 7th-century cliff-top abbey in neighbouring Whitby, follow the coast down there and climb the 199 steps to see the ruins up close. Then, take that newly roused appetite to Whitby Deli and check out the counter full of fresh meats, cheeses, as well as the shelves lined with wine, craft beer and top-notch ingredients to take home and cook with. Where to stay in Sandsend: Estbek House is a restaurant-with-rooms housed in an 18th-century mansion on the edge of the beach. There are five individually styled rooms here, all sympathetic of the building’s regency roots. The kitchen team take regular deliveries of fresh North Sea lobster, Whitby cod and diver-caught scallops, which all compete for your attention on the sustainability-focused, seafood-championing menu created by co-owner-chef Tim Lawrence. Check rates and availability at estbekhouse.co.uk Sheffield Try elephant’s foot buns, feather-light puri, cocktails made from just-picked nuts, bottles of local beer, Scandi-meets-Japanese cuisine, and handmade donuts in the Steel City. Napoli Centro offers buzzy, Neapolitan pizzeria vibes with 48-hour proved bases, seasonal specials and a selection of tempting fritti. For unique fusion cuisine, head to Jöro to experience a Scandi-Japanese fusion tasting menu. Ashoka is a beloved Sheffield institution on bustling Ecclesall Road which opened in 1967, and is one of the best places to go for a curry. Start with crispy poppadoms piled high with chopped onions, cucumber, coriander and chaat masala, plus a ‘1960s pickle tray’ of punchy dips, before moving onto toweringly puffy, light-as-air puri filled with the likes of spiced chicken liver, or cubes of potato tossed with Henderson’s Relish. See more of our best Sheffield restaurants. Where to stay in Sheffield: base yourself in buzzy Sheffield as a centre point for a Yorkshire tour. From cottages on the city outskirts and cosy holiday homes to sleek apartments in the city centre, there is a wide range of self-catering options. Check out a range of places to stay in Sheffield on airbnb. Famous for its spirited community ethos which has attracted writers and artists for decades, Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire is now a hotbed for culinary creatives. At its heart is Kitchen 91, a micro-bakery and dining room in a converted weaver’s warehouse specialising in Italian cuisine with sustainability at its core. Independent cooperative Valley Organics sells ethically sourced ingredients from local producers, and Goo Cheese has a range of more than 100 British and continental cheeses with an emphasis on lesser known cheesemakers. Stylish contemporary restaurant Coin is the best spot for dinner, serving small plates such as Crown Prince squash, rocket, Loch Arthur yogurt and smoked almonds alongside an extensive list of natural wines. For a night cap, lively bottle shop Drink (open until 10pm) has a range of regional craft ales, fruit sours and cloudy gose beers from across the county. Where to stay in Hebden Bridge: make the most of stocking up on local produce with a self-catering stay in pretty Hebden Bridge, the perfect base for cooking up your own dinners with local cheese and bottles from Drink. Check out a range of places to stay in Hebden Bridge on airbnb. Helmsley For a pretty Yorkshire stop, visit Helmsley Walled Garden, a five-acre idyll blooming with fruit trees, peonies, clematis, cornflowers and much more. On the outskirts, 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. If you’re on the hunt for picnic provisions, pick up a chubby hunter (Yorkshire’s answer to rock cakes) and a pot of rhubarb and tomato chutney at Hunters of Helmsley deli in the town’s market square. Alternatively, stop for lunch at the Vinehouse Café, inside the refurbished Victorian glasshouses that overlook Helmsley’s walled garden, for a rustic lunch. Beneath a sprawling vine, try the homegrown spinach and pea soup, served in vintage crockery. Mannion and Co is another café-deli spot, with a relaxed Mediterranean menu. On the outskirts of Helmsley, The Star Inn at Harome is a Michelin-starred restaurant set in a 14th-century inn that is a must-visit on a foodie tour of Yorkshire. Seasonal, produce-led menus change regularly, with a decadent tasting menu or à la carte available. For a tasting menu experience, book a table at Pignut. This intimate, modern space, decked with natural touches and local pottery, has a buzzy vibe, warm service and great playlist. The menu is experiential, zero-waste, hyper-seasonal and unforgettable. Chef Tom Hayward uses namechecked local ingredients and his flavours pack a mega punch – standout dishes included an evocative beef and onion tartare, schwarma Castle Howard lamb with pumpkin and silky chicken liver parfait with Yorkshire forced rhubarb. The wine list is inventive and included English options from nearby York. It’s an investment at £100pp, but offers good value for the standard of cooking and hospitality. Where to stay in Helmsley: after you've stocked up on picnic provisions and deli goods, spend a night in Helmsley in a pretty cottage, farm stay or even converted train carriage for a self-catering break. Check out a range of places to stay in Helmsley on airbnb. Pickering Book dinner at Willowgate Bistro for a cosy evening centred around Yorkshire produce. The menu focuses on simple but imaginative home cooking with clever twists. If you're self-catering, stop at Cedarbarn Farm Shop and Café. A trove of Yorkshire produce, this deli and farm shop on the outskirts of Pickering is an ideal spot to stop off at if you’re looking to pick up a few foodie souvenirs to take home with you. Rosebud Preserves jams, Yorkshire honey, Cartwright and Butcher butterscotch crunch biscuits and Wold Top Brewery ales are all popular sellers. There is also a pick-your-own farm in summer and a mini railway experience. Where to stay in Pickering: The White Swan Inn, a 16th coaching inn is an ideal, centrally located, stop for anyone doing a foodie tour of Ryedale. Rooms in the inn’s converted stables are clean and comfortable with squishy beds, heated stone floors and giant televisions. In winter, snuggle into a squishy sofa below exposed beams in the guest lounge, The Bothy. Help yourself to complimentary Yorkshire tea, coffee and homemade biscuits, or choose your tipple from the honesty bar and put your feet up by the log fire. Breakfast is sourced locally – Whitby smoked kippers, Doreen’s black pudding triangles from Dalton, house-soaked prunes and apricots, and sausages and bacon from Marleys Butchers in nearby Helmsley. Go for a full Yorkshire or try something ever so slightly lighter – smoked haddock kedgeree or eggs benedict. Check rates and availability at white-swan.co.uk Goathland Known for it's nostalgic steam train and historical railway station (which acted as Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter films), the pretty village of Goathland is worth a visit if you're touring North Yorkshire. Where to stay in Goathland: Stay at The Farmhouse, a stylish b&b that also has two luxurious self-catering cottages (our pick is the Instagram-worthy Potting Shed, a cute timber-framed building with sheepskin-draped sofas and a table out on its terrace that’s made for breakfasting outdoors). Check rates and availability at thefarmhouseyorkshire.co.uk More travel guides Best country house hotels in the UK Best health and wellness retreats Best hotels in London Best UK boutique hotels Best hotels in the Cotswolds Best Cornwall hotels Best hotels in the Lake District Best London hotel bars to visit Best romantic hotels in the UK European hidden gems: hotels off the beaten track Best Paris hotels Best Spanish hotels Best Italian hotels Best restaurants with rooms in the UK Best Amsterdam hotels
The UK is awash with fantastic street food stalls selling everything from Venezuelan arepas to vegan kebabs, so we've rounded-up our pick of the best available
Want to try the best street-food in the UK? Here's our pick of the best food trucks, stalls and market halls, with culinary delights ranging from vegan kebabs, British-Indian comfort food, loaded cheesecakes and more. For more street food inspiration check out the best street food in London. Best street food in London and South East The Orange Buffalo, various locations Deemed the best wings in London by its loyal fans, The Orange Buffalo is the product of school friends, Nick and Mike, who travelled across America and decided to bring a piece of it back. In 2012, The Orange Buffalo became the UK’s first dedicated buffalo wing food truck, selling glistening wings, stacked burgers and funky variations including a spin on brunch (fried chicken benedict, anyone?). Locations in Soho, Tooting and Hoxton. theorangebuffalo.com Click here to read about the best street-food stalls in London Pockets, Netil Market Head to Netil Market in East London for your lunchtime Pocket fix (and thank us later). This little falafel stall delivers on big flavours, with its soft and springy pittas full of flavourful layers: think crispy hot falafel, cabbage salad, lashings of sauce and hummus. The final topping comes in the form of a potato slice, coated in batter and fried. instagram.com/pockets_uk Guasa, various locations Guasa is bringing a Venezuelan food experience to the London street food scene. Try its popular artisan Venezuelan arepas made with naturally gluten-free white corn, with fillings spanning teriyaki-style jackfruit, marinated chicken, buffalo beef and more. Yuca fries, served golden and crispy, also grace the menu, as well as Venezuelan rum and cocktails with a twist. guasagroup.com Eat Lah, various locations Malaysian street food stall Eat Lah is based across a handful of London street food markets, including Design District Canteen, Victoria Park and Brockley Market. The bright blue stall is famous for its hot fresh nasi kerabu, a blue-hued rice salad topped with plenty of veg and garnished with herbs, grated coconut, fish crackers and its own spicy sambal. eatlah.co.uk Best street food in the South West Big Nath's BBQ, Bristol Find Big Nath serving homemade locally sourced sweet smokey BBQ at Bristol's Harbourside. Expect smoked beef brisket, chimichurri chicken and dirty fries loaded with mac and cheese, pulled pork, mustard, pickles and crumbled sausage. For pud, there's deep-fried Oreos topped with Hersheys chocolate sauce. bignathsbbq.co.uk The Smoked Vegan, various locations Head to Bristol's Harbourside market to find The Smoked Vegan serving plant-based and home smoked street food, including 24-hour jerk, 10-hour smoked tofu tacos, beetroot and black-bean burgers, and smoked BBQ jackfruit gyros. bristoleats.co.uk/the-smoked-vegan Ah Ma's Dumplings, Bristol Anita Cheung is on a mission to popularise fresh, delicate, full-flavoured Cantonese cooking. A regular at several Bristol markets, Anita’s silky, ginger-laced prawn, scallop and leek dumplings or her slow-roasted pork belly bao will wow everyone who tastes them. ahmasdumplings.com The Little Taquero, Bristol Bristol-based street-food truck The Little Taquero serves up Mexican and Central American-inspired dishes. Expect soft corn tortillas piled high with refried beans and tender pork shoulder or pieces of snapper fish topped with spicy jalapeño and guacamole. thelittletaquero.co.uk Best street food in the Midlands Phata Phat, Birmingham Catch Phata Phat serving its colourful British-Indian comfort food at various markets across the Midlands, with lip-smacking dishes including butter chicken poutine, loaded lamb keema fries and cauliflower poutine. Check out its Instagram for highlights and event updates. phata-phat.co.uk Urban Cheesecake, Herbert's Yard Urban Cheesecake serve fully loaded cheesecakes out of a converted horsebox at Herbert's Yard, a street food venue, cafe, market and community space from the team behind @digbethdiningclub. They're the most popular sweet trader at the venue. Tuck into what has been described as “Black Forest gateau on steroids” – a cheesecake loaded with black cherry, chocolate brownies, chocolate ganache and crumbled chocolate. instagram.com/urbancheesecakeuk Buddha Belly, Hockley Social Club Find this award-winning Thai street food vendor at Hockley Social Club every Thursday-Sunday, with standout dishes including deep-fried mango and sriracha wings, Thai-fried chicken, beef massaman and, for vegans, the Southern Thai vegan curry – a warming bowl bursting with bamboo shoots and plenty of crunchy veg. buddhabellystreetfood.co.uk Habaneros, Birmingham Located in Birmingham's Great Western Arcade, catch Habaneros dispensing top-quality burritos Monday to Friday, packed with slow-cooked beans, salsas, hot sauces and chipotle slaw. Look out for specials such as slow-cooked mutton or try its tasty pulled pork. It uses free-range Saddleback pigs from 19 Gales farm near Tamworth. instagram.com/habanerocafe Find out where else to eat and drink in Birmingham Best street food in the North Cubanitos, Manchester Spicy latino hot dogs, hot pressed Cuban sandwiches and pico de gallo all grace the exciting menu at Cubanitos, inspired by Cuban/Miami surf street food. Find them in the city centre or at various street food markets. instagram.com/cubanitosmcr Chit 'n' Chaat, Liverpool You can find Chit 'n' Chaat putting its unique spin on popular Indian dishes across Manchester's many food markets, with flavours inspired by parts of both North & South India. Mumbai’s most famous street food snack is a must – a layered Bombay grilled sandwich filled with spiced potato, cucumber, cheese, tomato and chutneys. instagram.com/chit_n_chaat/ Döner Summer, Sheffield, Leeds, York and more Expect funky, inventive and 100% vegan spins on junk food at Döner Summer, with burgers, kebabs and explosive 'combo boxes' – try the Hot Hunny combo box, where spicy 'buttermylk fried chick’n' is coated in Hot Hunny sauce, topped with fresh chilli and sesame, skin on fries dusted in spicy seasoning and jalapeño slaw, finished with spring onions and sesame. instagram.com/donersummer Eat like a Greek, Manchester Transport yourself to Greece with Ruth Petralifis and husband Michalis's grilled souvlaki meat wraps. The meats is sourced locally, but marinated in organic olive oil, herbs and spices from the Petralifis’s family farm on the island of Samos. Find out where you can find it next eatlikeagreek.co.uk. Manjit's Kitchen, Yorkshire Such is Manjit's Kitchen's popularity these days that you'll find the team serving its signature vegetarian Punjabi street food both in Leeds Kirkgate Market and in its own permanent store on Kirkstall Road. The menu is a modern twist on favourite flavours, with paneer tikka flatbreads and parsnip crisps with Desi ketchup. @Manjitskitchen Click here for more places to eat and drink in Leeds The coolest street food markets and halls across the UK… Arcade Food Hall, London Centre Point's Arcade Food Hall by JKS Restaurants favours table service over queues, with tempura prawn sandos, shawarma wraps and jelly trifles on offer; arcadefoodhall.com Grub, Manchester Manchester's largest street food event, with a feast of independent street-food, DJs, workshops, weekly bottomless brunches and more; grubmcr.com The GPO, Liverpool Choose from over 400 dishes at Liverpool's largest food market, from Nashville fried chicken to Cantonese roasts and customisable bubble tea; the-gpo.co.uk Netil Market, London This hip East London market is home to a cluster of popular stalls, including pittas at Pockets and juicy beef tacos at Sonora Taquería; eatworkart.com/netil-market Digbeth Dining Club, Birmingham Birmingham's original street food market with venues including Hockley Social Club and Herbert's Yard; digbethdiningclub.co.uk Bang Bang Oriental, London A trip to Bang Bang Oriental in Colindale, a vast food court serving pan-Asian food, is well worth the journey; bangbangoriental.com Hawker Market at By The River Brew Co, Newcastle Weekend food market serving street food staples, such as Asian fusion, wood-fired pizza and Mexican street food; bytheriverbrew.co/hawkers-market Peddler Market, Sheffield Street food vendors inside a huge ex-industrial warehouse serving Philly cheese steaks, vegan shawarma kebabs and more; peddlerwarehouse.com/peddler-market The Harbourside Street Food Market, Bristol Sourdough pizzetas and Texan-style BBQ can be found at this market located on Bristol's picturesque waterfront; buoyevents.co.uk/harbourside-street-food-market Nottingham Street Food Club, Nottingham Independent street food with a rotation of traders each weekend, with the likes of Thai, Sri Lankan and Middle Eastern cuisine on offer; streetfoodclub.co.uk Shelter Hall, Brighton Buzzing food market located on the seafront featuring seven permanent kitchens and two craft beer, wine and cocktail bars; shelterhall.co.uk/food Market Hall West End, London A three-storey space with 11 kitchens, four bars and room for 900 diners, this is UK’s largest food market; markethalls.co.uk At The Market Ltd, Edinburgh Top weekly outdoor markets based in Stockbridge, Grassmarket, Leith and Potterrow; stockbridgemarket.com Kerb, London Saving the capital’s office workers from sad lunches in Seven Dials, Canary Wharf and more; kerbfood.com Depot, Cardiff Weekly Saturday warehouse shindig with Welsh street food stars and events including Bingo Lingo and gin discos; depotcardiff.com foodPark, Cambridge Roving weekly lunchtime markets serving loaded hot dogs, churros and more, as well as pop-up parties after-dark; foodparkcam.com More UK restaurant guides Best restaurants in Deal Best restaurants in Birmingham Best restaurants in St Albans Best restaurants in Bristol Best restaurants in Edinburgh Best restaurants in York Best restaurants in Whitstable Best restaurants in Oxford Best restaurants in Cambridge Best restaurants in Margate Best restaurants in Manchester Best restaurants in Glasgow Best restaurants in the Lake District Best restaurants in Brighton
Foodie road trip in the North York Moors
This pretty North Yorkshire market town is home to a raft of small food producers, the revamped coaching inn at its heart shining a spotlight on local herb-fed chicken, mellow nutty cheeses and rhubarb and raspberry gin
Looking for restaurants in Yorkshire? Want to know where to eat in Malton? Food and travel writer Clare Hargreaves takes us on a foodie road trip through Malton, stopping off at herb-fed chicken farms, coaching inns and artisan coffee roasters. As I watch Yorkshire farmer Ed Wilkinson’s clutch of birds pecking at fragrant fronds, I wonder if this is the sweetest-smelling chicken farm in Britain. Ed believes his free-range chickens are also among the tastiest in Britain, thanks to their special diet of herbs. It started by accident. Ed trained as a chartered surveyor but, after a stint in London, the stone-walled fields of his native Yorkshire beckoned, so he returned to the family farm near Thirsk to raise turkeys and chickens. His aunt, meanwhile, had set up a herb-growing business and Ed noticed that the eggs produced by her chickens, fed on the waste herbs, were exceptionally flavoursome. He wondered how poultry fed on herbs would taste, so gave it a try. “Birds are inquisitive and, as soon as they saw the herbs, went for them,” says Ed. Like the rest of us, though, they have their dietary preferences. They prefer soft, aromatic herbs such as coriander and basil, both on the menu on the morning I visit Herb Fed. “They’re less partial to hard herbs, and they won’t touch sage,” says Ed. “The herbs give an incredible depth of flavour.” Diet is equally important for the 35-odd butterscotch cows grazing the buttercupstudded meadows around Botton Creamery in Danby Dale, beneath the heather-clad rumps of the North York Moors. Most British dairy herds are Friesian, but here the cows are Dairy Shorthorns, native to this region, and their rich, unpasteurised milk is being turned into exquisite cheeses right on the bucolic farm itself. Botton’s standout cheese is Dale End, a tangy cheddar that can rival any of its better-known Somerset equivalents. The work of ‘cheddaring’ and pressing the cheeses into cloth-lined moulds is orchestrated by Alastair Pearson, aided by residents of the Camphill Community, which supports people with learning difficulties and mental health issues. Each team member has a task, whether it’s milking the cows, washing the cheeses or cleaning equipment. If some of the other cheeses have a continental feel about them it’s because Alastair learned his craft in Germany. His Summer Fields, made to a Swiss recipe, is mellow and nutty, almost fudgy like a mature gruyère. There’s Moorland Tomme and Yorkshire gouda, too. With such outstanding produce on the doorstep, it’s no surprise that, when I head south across the Moors to the newly revamped Talbot Inn, just off Malton’s pretty market square, I find both Herb Fed chicken and Dale End cheddar on the menu. They sit alongside other local supplies, from honey from hives in the garden, to just-caught Whitby crab and hogget from Malton butcher Food 2 Remember. Chef Robert Brittain’s style is to let ingredients speak for themselves, so Ed’s chicken is simply spatchcocked and served with a herb mayonnaise and hand-cut chips or – appropriately, given its diet – over a basil-fragrant pistou soup. And Botton’s cheddar gives a flavoursome punch to the signature twice-baked Dale End cheddar soufflé. The inn’s décor is equally relaxed, in a glamorous, playful sort of way. Ex-Lucky Onion stalwarts, Georgie and Sam Pearman, spruced up the 26-bedroomed Talbot earlier this year, bringing a modern style to the imposing 17th-century coaching inn. The sedate, white-tableclothed restaurant has been replaced by oak-floored rooms where modern art and antique finds rub alongside ancestral portraits. Eating is when and where you want. Already savoured the views of the watermeadows from the plant-draped Garden Room? Curl up by the log fires in the Snug, or slouch into a leather armchair beneath the wall-mounted wild boar in the navy-walled Upper Bar. Wherever you sit, jeaned and Converse-sneakered waiting staff miraculously appear. The inn’s transformation goes hand in hand with the drive by owner Tom Naylor-Leyland to turn Malton into Yorkshire’s foodie capital. It’s working: over the past four years, an impressive 26 food and drink businesses have set up shop in and around the town, and you can meet the region’s food producers at Malton’s annual food festival and monthly food market. Penetrate its narrow brick lanes and you’ll even find the Malton Cookery School and the Brass Castle micro-brewery: try its citrussy Sunshine pale ale in its streetside taproom or head back to the Talbot’s bar to order a pint of its malty Northern Blonde. “Malton was facing the challenges that so many market towns faced, like out-of-town shopping and the rise of internet shopping. We had empty shops,” says Tom. “I was in London’s Borough Market and saw Yorkshire produce being celebrated, so I thought, why can’t that produce be celebrated in Yorkshire itself?” Thanks to Tom’s efforts, the town’s red-bricked Talbot Yard, which once stabled horses while their owners were victualled at the inn opposite, now accommodates several thriving food businesses. These include an artisan roaster, Roost, and the Bluebird Bakery, run by Nicky and Al Kippax. The Kippax’s tiny Malton outlet may be little more than a multi-tiered trolley but the joy of it is that you can watch the bakers shaping their dough in the kitchen behind as you buy. And the cream-hued flour the bakery uses is grown by local farmers and milled by Philip Trevelyan on the fringes of the North York Moors National Park. I eat Bluebird’s sourdough toasted for lunch at The Talbot, topped with pork terrine and a dollop of chutney made from local sloes by Sloemotion. Come evening, I join locals, hotel guests and their dogs around the fire in The Talbot’s vaulted lower bar, where bar manager David Jhugroo dispenses a range of local drinks against a backdrop of stuffed gamebirds. In the non-alcoholic department, it’s hard to beat the apple juice pressed by Cameron Smith inside the remains of a 12th-century manor in the village of Husthwaite, due west. An amateur historian, Cameron discovered that for the past three centuries Husthwaite’s fertile soils and microclimate had made it famous for fruit growing (the village even supplied Captain Cook). Sadly its fruitful industry ground to a halt when the 60s Beeching cuts closed the railway line that took the fruit to market, and its orchards fell into neglect. Then, a decade ago, with the help of grant funding, Cameron persuaded the village to replant its orchards to how they’d been in 1856. Today Husthwaite is again the ‘Orchard Village’ it traditionally was, producing a not-too-sweet apple juice, as well as three very drinkable ciders. There’s more apple action in the gardens around Malton, where fruits are being harnessed by university professors Alan and Kathryn Murray, property developer James Cleary and assorted family and friends, to make Malton Cider. “We had two apple trees in our garden, James had a cider press and scratter, so we said, let’s have a go,” Alan tells me. The cider started off being just for friends, then extended to community pressings. Eventually, the group started flavouring it with Yorkshire’s most iconic crop, rhubarb, which happily also flourished in the Murrays’ garden. Rhubarb from Yorkshire’s Rhubarb Triangle is also celebrated in a host of gins and liqueurs, the standout being the delicately blushing Hedgerow Gin made by Sloemotion. Conservationist-cum-businessman Joff Curtoys, who crafts it, actually started (more than a decade ago) by making sloe gin liqueur as a way of saving North Yorkshire’s hedgerows and their wildlife. “By buying sloes from farmers we gave them a reason to hang on to their hedges,” Joff tells me. “Yellowhammers and buntings flourished.” Spotting the gin craze, in 2017 Joff returned to the hedges, this time to gather botanicals for a distilled Hedgerow Gin. Last year he launched a rhubarb and raspberry version – now his bestseller – that includes Timperley Early cultivated by John Dobson in the heart of the Rhubarb Triangle. At the Talbot Bar, I try a combo of Joff’s new gin with fresh raspberries, lemon juice and soda. Unlike so many rhubarb gins, it’s dry and tangy, not syrupy sweet. If quaffing this helps save Yorkshire’s birds and bees, I might just have to force down another. Words and photographs by Clare Hargreaves, May 2019 Follow Clare on Instagram @larderloutUK