The dynamic duo
The Plough at Wombleton might look like a regular pub, but this 15th-century village inn, four miles from Helmsley, is somewhere that goes way beyond expectations.
While it’s a proper local with a spacious bar and Helmsley Brewery ales, Black Sheep and Theakstons on tap, it’s in the restaurant where The Plough really shines.
Richard and Lindsey Johns have over twenty years of experience in hospitality and picked up countless awards on the way, confirmation, if it were needed, that Richard can cook and has an instinct for what people like to eat.
They like his hot-from-the-oven sausage rolls that might be served alone or as an accompaniment to his honey-glazed pork. They like his velvety mash that in autumn might be served with slow braised venison and sweet red cabbage or in spring with cod fillet and new season asparagus.
If you want a textbook crème brûlée, it’s here, deservedly a menu staple with its rich custard base and burnished caramel topping. And if for some reason it’s not on the menu, then go for his white chocolate, raspberry and lemon cheesecake sundae served with a lemon curd ice cream.
Don’t expect a long, laminated menu, this is a two-person operation, with Richard in the kitchen and Lindsey out front, but the choice of three dishes at each course is enough when every dish is faultless.
Richard and Lindsey have run several restaurants across the region, but in this blessed corner of the North York Moors, The Plough feels like the perfect fit for these gutsy, accomplished, classic British dishes. A homecoming for the Johns who are raising the bar for pub food.