Skipton Restaurant Guide

The Duke of Devonshire’s Bolton Abbey estate in Yorkshire provides a “stunning setting” for this “traditional, French-inspired” dining room, within a well-known luxury hotel. Ratings are very good all-round for Chris O’Callaghan’s cuisine, which is bolstered by an “open-plan wine cellar the staff will be happy to show you round” (look out for some famous vintages). Top Tip – “one of Yorkshire’s top afternoon teas”.

“Well worth the trek while on a trip ‘up North’”, noted a Wimbledon-based reporter on this esteemed and “always enjoyable” foodie destination. Set in one of the town’s oldest buildings, it first became a restaurant in 1962 and was cradle to the talents of the young Marco Pierre White prior to its last 19 years of ownership by chef Simon Gueller and his wife Rena. There’s a three-course menu at lunch – dinner is 6 courses plus canapés, amuse-bouche and bread – and fans say the kitchen “absolutely nails it”.

“Afternoon tea IS Bettys!". This old-fashioned tearoom is “always worth the queue” for its epic teas and fine spreads of pastries and sarnies. It’s also “a great place to meet over a very good breakfast. Coffee, understandably, is excellent!”

“Every dish is sublime” – “a real joy” – at this “unpretentious pub” near Burnley with “fantastic cooking” from “brilliant” chef Tom Parker, who “learned his craft at local Northcote and now has a diary released three months at a time”. “It’s a one-hit menu each day depending on seasonality and his mood” – “not exclusively fish but the fish dishes are superb”. The whole operation, including co-owners Gareth & Laura Ostick, is “very clever” and represents “excellent value” – “it’s not really cheap, but much much cheaper than similar establishments of this class”.

Mohammed Sabir was still working as a bus driver in Shipley when he launched his Kashmiri curry business as a mobile takeaway from his Commer van, the ‘Spice Box’ in 1976. The next year he opened his first bricks-and-mortar restaurant Aagrah, which still wins consistently solid marks for its food and has nine branches across Yorkshire.

“With its attentive staff and lovely setting by the river”, Alessandro & Sofia Elena Tocca’s “wonderful Italian restaurant” draws an appreciative crowd and is “a favourite of many locals”. One of Wharfedale’s most consistent performers for two decades, it has blossomed since moving into an old weir-side mill five years ago.

“Always reliable for tasty and reasonably priced French food”, this handy venue is one of twenty remaining branches of a national chain launched 29 years ago (six more closed down in 2020).