The Black Swan, owned by Tommy Banks, is a Yorkshire icon: an innovative, exceptional restaurant with a Michelin star and a Green Star. Here, Tommy works closely with Executive Chef Callum Leslie and Head Chef Alice Power – booking well ahead is essential.
The highly coveted lunch or evening tasting menu (lunch is £135, dinner is £175) can be booked with an overnight stay. The focus on sustainability at The Black Swan is impressive: Dexter beef is reared at the Banks’ farm, vegetables and fruits are grown in the kitchen garden, and foraged ingredients are used consistently, as well as in cocktails and other tipples. A sample menu can feature smoked eel, turbot with razor clams, and the Swan’s own Berkshire pigs – pork belly and black apple. Epoch is a private seasonal dining space available for groups of five to eight guests.
Afterwards, just slope off to your peaceful room; there are nine and all are named after dales and woodlands around the hamlet. Book the two-night stay for The Abbey and Black Swan and experience both restaurants for a special occasion.
Address: The Black Swan at Oldstead, Oldstead, York YO61 4BL
Price: From about £600 per night.
The Pignut and The Hare, Scawton
This Michelin-recommended and three AA Rosette restaurant-with-rooms in sleepy Scawton, near Helmsley, has a sustainable, earth-to-table ethos and Tom and Laurissa Heywood’s utter passion can be seen in every single lovely detail. The owners lead the vision here and they have crafted a fondly memorable experience in an endearing country setting.
The four snug, blonde-on-grey rooms at the 12th-century inn come with beautiful beams, standalone tubs and a multiple-course breakfast the next day. The hotel is near great walks and nearby bluebell-blanketed Rievaulx Abbey – it’s a dreamy part of North Yorkshire.
There are two options for the excellent tasting menu – the half menu is £75 per person and the full menu is £120, which echoes the landscape, featuring local produce and less waste. Journey through east coast crab with foraged herbs; Castle Howard woodland pork with wild garlic and Old Roan Wensleydale (not as crumbly as the original) with pickled green fig and honey with organic wine pairings, including bottles from homegrown Dunesforde Vineyard. Book well ahead: this is why we travel.
Address: Hare Inn, Scawton, York YO7 2HG
Price: From about £500 per night.
