York’s finest hotel, The Grand, opens a new fine dining restaurant.
Over the years, York has been synonymous with a number of things. The famous Minster. The number of ghosts believed to reside there. THAT smell at the Jorvik Viking Centre.
Outside of a Betty’s Tea Room though, or its place in chocolate history as the birthplace of Terry’s and Rowntree’s, York’s food reputation was a little limited. That’s changed dramatically in recent years, with the likes of the Michelin-starred Roots, and the Michelin Guide-mentioned Skosh and several others.
And now the grande dame of York hotels is muscling in on the Michelinesque fine dining circuit… The Grand, itself part of the city’s railway history, is nodding to the past and to the future with the launch of Legacy.
“I am inspired by the processes of the pioneers of York’s past, those individuals who turned their imagination into reality,” explains Head Chef Ahmed Abdalla, formerly of Skosh, Restaurant Hywel Jones by Lucknam Park and Whatley Manor’s The Dining Room. “I am delighted by the opportunity to look at things through a new lens, delivering traditional ingredients in an exciting new style whilst fully utilising the great produce Yorkshire has to offer.”
Design is by Faber, and there’s a restaurant-wide focus on sustainability, from both the food and design perspectives. It even includes honey from the hotel’s own bees. The tasting menu costs £120 per person, with wine matches available at £60 or £90 per head. Details and bookings… well you know what to click
Neil Davey
Neil Davey is a freelance writer specialising in things you can do sitting down, but mostly eating, drinking, travelling and interviewing the odd famous person. The author of The Bluffer's Guide To Chocolate, Neil also writes for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Metro, Delicious Magazine, Sainsbury's Magazine, Escapism, Foodism and Hello!. Thanks to a karaoke machine in Montana, he once told a billionaire that he loved his sweet little pussycat nose and sang I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For with a Hollywood star, in the space of 15 minutes. He now generally stays away from karaoke machines in Montana.