What I Ate Today

We got taken out to this place whilst doing some work in York. After wandering around the narrow streets on a sharp winter evening, it was a relief to arrive at this place. The decor was quite clean and modern with a cozy traditional feel if that makes sense. The ground floor is a relaxed cafe bar for informal eating, with the first floor housing a more formal eating area and a loft space up top for parties.

I was really impressed with the selection of drinks – some nice local ales, good standard beers/lagers and a decent wine list. I ended up starting with a strong Traquiar House ale, which was quite malty and slightly acidic – good to warm up with. The house wine I tried later was pretty good, easily drinkable.

The menu offered traditional european food (Cassoulet, Tagine, Meatballs, Pasta) with a contemporary twist, often with local ingredients. As well as the usual starters and main meals they also served Tapas dishes which would be perfect for the cafe bar area.

I opted for the Yorkshire Black Pudding & Apple Salad for starter which was probably the best black pud I’ve had – nice and moist without being mushy, the appleness seemed to have infused throughout the pud too. For main course I chose a Medley of North Sea Fish, Trout & Mussels, which again was nicely cooked. The mussels probably weren’t the best I’d had, but the fish made up for it. The main meals others had looked good and had a favourable response. I was slightly disappointed with our limited dessert choice (because of the group meal), since everything was too sweet/rich for me – stick toffee pudding, warmed chocolate brownie or panna cotta – something others agreed with later. I could appreciate however, that to a chocolate lover the warmed brownie looked pretty amazing.

I found the atmosphere quite relaxed and staff very friendly, there was however quite a delay for desserts.