The proper country pub
One of the shining stars of the area is the Black Swan at Oldstead, one of three Michelin-starred restaurants in the North York Moors, owned and run by the Banks family, under the direction of celebrity chef Tommy Banks. The multi-course tasting menu and wines to match, make dinner a special (and pricey) event.
Happily, for anyone looking for something less rarefied (and cheaper) there is now the Abbey Inn at Byland, the latest acquisition by Tommy Banks and conveniently located just a mile from the restaurant and the family farm at Oldstead.
There can hardly be a lovelier setting. The 18th-century, former farmhouse looks out over the ruins of Byland Abbey, once one of the greatest Cistercian monasteries in England. Built of mellow stone, the Abbey Inn sits in an informal lawned garden (where you can take light meals and bar snacks without booking). The polished oak tables and mismatched chairs sit on ancient flagstones. A selection of antiques gives it the easy charm of a welcoming country inn.
The menu too, could hardly be further from the refined dining of the Black Swan, but the ethos of local, sustainable and home-grown remains the same. Jars of pickled, fermented and foraged ingredients sit on shelves. Their own Dexter beef goes into the Byland Burger, a classic beef burger served in a brioche bun topped with cheese, bacon and chicory root jam with magnificent pork fat fries alongside. The pork comes from their own Mangalitza pigs, a glazed rib of their Herdwick lamb may be served with yoghurt flatbread and fermented carrot. If the menu leans towards meat and fish, they also offer a dedicated vegetarian menu that, depending on the season, may offer a starter of local asparagus with egg, hazelnut and lovage followed by mushroom cottage pie.
That pub grub staple of sticky toffee pudding is here, but not as we know it, Tommy Banks incorporates artichoke and serves it with chicory butterscotch ice cream. Their take on ‘Mr Whippy’ is an ice cream sundae of ‘soft serve’ Douglas Fir (a Banks favoured ingredient) ice cream, blackcurrant and white chocolate or Charlotte potato cream, roast chicory and rye fudge. Be not afraid, it’s all fabulous.