After eating what was easily the best meal out in the last 12 months, I’ve just found my new favourite restaurant, The Star Inn in Harome, North Yorkshire.

The restaurant

After a warm welcome, we started off with a drink in the warm oak-beamed, thatched bar at one end of the building, trying to decide over the range of choices in the Spring Menu and on the specials listed on the blackboard. We then moved to a large table in the more contemporary silver, grey and red dining room.

Not unusually, we both decided to have the same starter and main course, and shared the cheese and the two puddings.

A Taste of Yorkshire – Delicacies of land and sea. Duncombe Park roe deer, air dried York ham, Yorkshire pudding, smoked trout, lobster bisque.

Steamed Suet Pudding of “Shaw Moor” shot hare with honeyed parsnip puree, braised red wine salsify, fois gras fritter and jugged hare sauce.

Cheese course – 4 British cheeses

Lemon Yorkshire crowdie cheesecake, lemon curd, lemon sorbet, pink grapefruit.

Caramelised rice pudding with sherried raisins

The chef, Andrew Pern (who we could see through the swing doors into the kitchen) is passionate about locally sourced and seasonal food. The ingredients were superb and were simply treated. For example, the Taste of Yorkshire starter simply presented and with no fancy treatment, it let the ingredients speak for themselves. The suet pudding of hare was straightforward but was packed full of flavour. The desserts were fantastic, and generously portioned.

The service was excellent – the waiting staff were friendly and relaxed and able to tell us quite a lot about the food, and were both helpful and unobtrusive.

The accommodation

Our meal was part of our 2-night short break in Yorkshire. We stayed at The Lodge, one of the Black Eagle Cottages rented out by The Star. This thatched cottage was cosy with warm log fires in both the kitchen and bedroom, and The Star provided all the ingredients needed for a great breakfast – bacon, sausages, black pudding, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, bread, preserves, yoghurt, cereal. We got up late, ate what we want for breakfast, and we always had the cottage to come back to, to light the fire and slob with books.

The good, but not as good bit…
As the Star was closed on Sunday evening, we ate dinner in their sister restaurant in Harome, The Pheasant Hotel, located in old farm buildings right next to the village duck pond.

The food was good, but wasn’t nearly as good as The Star. The dishes were a bit fancier and appeared to be trying a bit too hard, and there were a few mistakes (the pea and ginger beer soup had the consistency of washing up water and didn’t pack that much of a flavour; the pigeon breast starter was cold). The Pheasant service was also significantly slower – we spent a lot of time wondering where our next course had gone – and consequently drank quite a lot more water. The food was OK but lacked the spark that The Star gave. And significantly was only £20 cheaper.

Until next time
We will certainly go back to The Star – it’s well worth the 4-hour drive from Glasgow. But until then, we’ve bought the book and look forward to trying a few of the Pern-goodies over the next few months, although I’m not sure the mock suede book cover will remain pristine in our kitchen!

The Applecross Inn is a typical coastal pub and hotel, staffed by friendly and welcoming people. On the Wednesday night we were there the bar was buzzing with campers, walkers, locals and people staying in the inn. We had to wait around 10 mins for a table, but the owner got us a table by the windows looking out at the rain! The seafood is superb, landed locally and really fresh, treated well by the kitchen.

Local prawns (langoustines), garlic & herb butter, crusty bread, salad.

Crab salad (dressed crab, smoked salmon, marie rose sauce, langoustines), crusty bread, salad.
Local mackerel, new potatoes, salad.

Sticky toffee pudding, ice cream.
Apple & plum crumble, custard.

While we were there, we went for a refreshing afternoon cuppa in the Potting Shed Cafe in the walled garden of Applecross House. The garden has been restored over the past few years and it is amazing to see what they can grow in this sheltered spot.

We stayed at Ardanaiseig for 2 nights at the start of our West Coast holiday, and arrived on a beautiful late afternoon after having walked up The Cobbler.

From the outside the hotel is a somewhat shabby Scots baronial house built in local granite. Inside, it feels like a highland country house. Our room was spacious and comfortable with antique furniture, and a great view over Loch Awe to the Argyll hills.

We had dinner both nights. Each night had a fixed menu, which meant that the kitchen could concentrate on putting out high quality food. The highlight for me was the dessert on Monday – coffee, doughnuts and iced double cream – this was a coffee creme brulee topped with cappuccino foam, with a solid doughnut and double cream ice cream. And it didn’t skimp on the portions either.

Monday

Amuse bouche: Crab spring roll
Butternut squash veloute with pancakes
John Dory with artichoke
Best end of lamb, aubergine puree, garlic crisps, garlic foam, courgettes and white beans
Pre-dessert: passion fruit minestrone
Coffee, doughnuts and iced double cream
Coffee & confectionery

Tuesday

Amuse bouche: Ballantine of quail with red onion and black pudding
Veloute of Jerusalem artichoke with truffle shavings
Ravioli of goats cheese with red pepper coulis
Sea bass, potato scales, mussels in saffron sauce
Pre-dessert: stawberry jelly
Chocolate fondant, white pepper ice cream, raspberries
Coffee & confectionery.

And I must also mention breakfast!

Fresh fruit, nuts, dried fruit, cereals
Croissants, pains au chocolat, toast
Full Scottish – beef sausage, bacon, black pudding, tomato, mushroom, potato scone, poached egg
Smoked salmon and scrambled egg

Ardanaiseig does some things really well – in particular the warmth of the hotel is matched by the warmth and friendliness of the staff (many of whom seem to be Aussies on a RTW trip). The rooms are comfortable and spacious, if a little quirky, and the food is intelligent and well presented.

The hotel could be even better – the dining room would benefit from someone supervising and mentoring the front of house staff, the food could make more use of seasonal ingredients (butternut squash in June?), and they could plant up the beautiful walled garden with veg to provide that really local flavour to the kitchen.

We’ve been to Tom’s Kitchen for breakfast before, but never been for dinner. Last night the dinner was excellent, the lamb was falling-apart tender and incredibly tasty; the chocolate pot dessert was utterly moreish. We’ll definitely be back!

7-hour cooked shoulder of lamb, onions and balsamic vinegar

treacle tart with clotted cream
milk chocolate pot, hazelnut ice cream and gingerbread madeleines.

P.S. Ruth, not a great veggie choice here, have you ever tried Leon?

The best bit this time was the surprise between the starter and the main course. One of Claude Bosi’s signature dishes is his foie gras ice cream with brioche and balsamic emulsion. J was disappointed that this was not on the starter menu, but it unexpectedly turned up between the starter and the main course, definitely making J’s evening!

In addition to the superb food, we had the usual excellent but unobtrusive service. A very relaxing and enjoyable evening.

Amuse bouche: cucumber foam, cucumber juice, pineapple, olive oil & black pepper

Mackerel – tartare of mackerel, strawberry and celery salad
Spring onion – ravioli of spring onion and lime, glazed broad beans,caramelised onions, broad bean and mint puree

Surprise special! Savoury ice cream of foie gras with a warm emulsion of brioche and balsamic caramel

Kid – slow-grilled Pyrenean kid, caramelised spring onion, broad beans, glazed white turnips, white onion and lemongrass puree, lemon thyme jus, shepherds pie

Pre-dessert: Fennel cream with frozen raspberry

White asparagus – white asparagus cream, black olive tuile, white chocolate and goats cheese ice cream
Caramel – balsamic mousse, salted caramel parfait, sorbet

Coffee & petit fours: smoked fudge, honey salted caramel, plain chocolate granache, white chocolate truffle

We stayed in the Tyan room, with it’s striking blue Lake District wallpaper.

This room has a gorgeous view over Windermere, which was particularly special while eating a full breakfast brought to our room.

The hotel has a fantastic restaurant, with a coherent and complex menu featuring the best ingredients. We ate from the same menu on both nights:

Canapes: bread sticks and dips
- parmesan & green pesto
- beetroot & sour cream
- cumin & curried aubergine

Amuses bouche:
- boiled egg, white bean creme, chorizo
- pesto, red pepper, parmesan foam

Chicken mosaic with leek, prune & lentils
Roast scallops, chicken oysters, celeriac puree
Slow cooked Gloucester old spot, langoustine, celeriac puree
Red mullet, minestrone, crushed ratte potatoes

Wild venison, dauphinoise of roast vegetables, cabbage
Braised Herdwick mutton, shoulder, shank, langoustine, artichoke puree, potato
Fillet of brill, curried parsnip, kipper tortellini

Cheese (for one night only!): 5 Northern English cheeses

Pre-dessert: Cinnamon tuile, sherry jelly, catalan creme, acacia honey sorbet

“Apples from the Samling garden” – apple pie, apple parfait, apple brulee, apple sorbet
Chocolate delice, fennel ice cream, mandarin jelly
Poached pear, olive oil ice cream, upside-down pudding

Coffee & petit fours
- lemon meringue
- lemon & thyme shortbread
- blackcurrant jelly
- chocolate & hazlenut cluster
- madeleine

Phew!

To walk off the effects of this meal, we had some spectacular, although slightly snowy, walks, particularly from Patterdale

and above Windermere

Homemade organic meusli with greek yoghurt and fresh berries.
Crunchy, tangy, fruity. Mmm.

French toast with bacon, fairtrade banana and maple syrup.
Brilliant bread – sort of light wheaten, really tasty bacon (presumably from a happy pig) and caramelised banana. Yum.

Oh, and nice website design too…

Hat tip: Peter Irvine in Scotland the Best – Best for Sunday Breakfast.

The restaurant is in an old quayside building in the old port of Leith, overlooking the new administrative offices of the Scottish Government. Calm and contemporary interior with dark wood and sage paint inside, warm and welcoming. Service friendly, knowledgeable and attentive (although at times too attentive).

Nibbles: Pissaladiere (Provencal pizza) & choux pastry stuffed with beetroot relish.

Amuse bouche: Parsnip soup, fresh apple, parsnip crisps.

Scallops: Pan-fried Orkney scallops with fregola pasta.
Pork and Langoustine: Roasted langoustine tails from Anstruther with boned and rolled pig’s head served with a crispy ear salad.

Hare: Hare with foie gras, cabbage & bacon farcie, butternut squash puree, celeriac puree, chestnuts and shallots.
Venison: Roast saddle of venison from Invercauld estate, with roasted apples from Moira’s garden and chestnuts,
served with a beetroot and celeriac gratin and a juniper berry sauce.

Cheese: Scottish and French cheeses.

Rhubarb and Yoghurt: stewed rhubarb, citrus yoghurt sorbet, cheesecake mousse, chocolate sauce, pecan crumble.

Coffee and petit fours.

All washed down with a nice D’Arenberg Laughing Magpie shiraz/viognier.

Unlike in Martin Wishart, the whole meal was coherent and worked well together. The starters were the highlight of the meal providing the best complement of flavours and textures. The venison was tender and worked well with the rich sauce. The hare was really dark and tasty, and came with a fairly powerful and concentrated reduction that could have been a touch lighter. But that’s the only minor criticism of an excellent meal.

Definitely a place to go back to, particularly as it’s only an hour or so away. I wonder how their Summer menu differs from their Winter menu. Planning already…

We went here last year on Lisa and Gav’s joint birthday, and repeated the party this year. Once again, the food was great, the service warm, friendly and efficient, and the company brilliant.

Potted shrimp with melba toast (could have been improved by warming the potted shrimp, but maybe that’s not the idea?)
Asparagus with vinaigrette dressing

Roast partridge with all the trimmings (chipolatas, game chips, bacon, brussels sprouts, chestnuts, bread sauce, breadcrumbs, cooking juices)
Steak with snail sauce and chips
Smoked haddock with crushed potatoes, poached egg and mustard sauce

Upside-down apple tart with cream
Rice pudding with red fruit compote
Creme brulee

Despite a heavily French wine list, the antipodean waitress recommended a nice and good value Aussie shiraz when I asked for a recommendation of “something like a New World shiraz”).

Ben Ledi Cafe is a traditional “posh fish and chips” restaurant, and has a takeaway fish and chip bar attached to it. It serves the usual chip shop staples alongside other stuff like scallops, fish cakes and meat from the Monachyle Mhor farm. Their speciality is that you can select a fish from the wet fish counter and get it cooked any way you like. On Saturday, there wasn’t much choice (cod, skate or plaice) as the staff explained it had been a busy day.

J had a pan-fried skate wing, I had grilled plaice fillet, along with chips and salad. They don’t have a licence, but there is a Victoria Wine next door and we had a nicely chilled NZ Sauvignon Blanc.

The quality was good (although I think we get better quality fish from Fencebay at Glasgow Farmers’ Market), but the fish portions were small and, in my opinion over-priced (£11-12 for fish, chips and salad). Service was friendly and good. The best bit of the meal were the really well-cooked chips, freshly made for us. I think they were fried in beef fat which gave them a lovely chippy flavour.

I’d certainly go back, but I think for best value I’d stick with a haddock supper.

* See my commenst on Monachyle Mhor in 2004 and 2005 – I believe from friends that it has since regained some of it’s lost magic, although reviews on TripAdvisor are still mixed.