The restaurant by the river Esk
The river Esk rises high on Westerdale moor and flows 28 meandering miles to join the North Sea at Whitby. Three miles upstream at Ruswarp, the river is at its most gentle, an idyllic spot, where native alder line the riverbanks and kayakers and row boats paddle gently up stream.
In this picturesque riverside setting Chloe and David Ellis have repurposed a former tearoom and holiday cottage business into an elegant restaurant. You will remember them as the couple who created the very successful Pizza West in Whitby and now, they have taken on a far more ambitious project at the Waterside, Chainbridge.
It has been a major undertaking transforming the former café into a smart bar and restaurant of exposed brick walls, tiled and flagged floors and a total relandscaping of the gardens. The grassy riverbank that was often waterlogged has been transformed with decking, gravel paths, dining and lounging areas and abundant planting.
The desirable option is to eat or drink outside overlooking the river. Children are welcome at lunch with their own play and seating area (providing you can persuade them to sit nicely) and for a mere £60 a couple can book a pair of stripey loungers on the sundeck to while away a sunny afternoon - Champagne included.
Waterside is open weekends only (a clever move perhaps, in these challenging times) with lunch aimed at families and children. Kids get their own menu while adults can choose casual bites with the likes rosti and smoked salmon, French toast with whipped ricotta and strawberries or burger and fries. Sunday lunch provides roast beef, a vegan roast and even a blow-out shellfish platter to share at an eye-watering £120.
Supper in the evening is limited to adults only either outdoors or in the 50 seater restaurant, spread over two rooms with chefs working in the open kitchen providing a menu including aperitif, oysters and caviar, appetisers and mains. The talent behind the menus are shared between two chefs, Rob Miladinovic who was previously at the Star Inn the Harbour and Brianna Harrison who came via Brawn in East London.
They’ve put together a beautifully prepared and balanced menu which on a recent visit provided crab on toast, a pasta course of cacio e pepe, wild sea bass with a cream sauce or mushroom kebab with borlotti beans followed by ice cream or tonka bean tart. The bar too has some interesting light snacks: tinned sardines with bread and butter, lobster roll, fried artichokes and strawberries and cream.
In short, the Waterside offers terrific food in a drop-dead location. Never has ‘eat the view’ seemed more apt.