Two North Yorkshire eateries have been revealed as winners at the UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards.
The Abbey Inn at Byland and Mýse in Hovingham featured on the newly announced prestigious list by Condé Nast Traveller.
It comes as the global publication of high-end travel has released the results of its inaugural UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards for the best dining spots and chefs in Britain.
Winners of the awards were celebrated on Monday evening (March 18) at an event hosted by Condé Nast Traveller’s global editorial director, Divia Thani, at Shoreditch Arts Club.
With winners selected by a distinguished panel of expert judges from across the food scene, the UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards showcase "the incredible culinary skill throughout the country."
2 restaurants in York named among the best by Condé Nast Traveller
Describing The Abbey Inn, which as a 4/5 rating on Tripadvisor, Condé Nast Traveller commented: “Tommy Banks is to Yorkshire what Rick Stein is to Cornwall. Which is to say, this young-gun chef (and he still is young, just 35 years old despite seemingly having been on the scene for decades) has been at the head of a foodie renaissance in the bountiful northern county.”
Tommy became “the youngest ever chef to receive a Michelin star at 24 years old”, for his work in the kitchen of his parents’ pub, The Black Swan at Oldstead.
But 10 years later, Tommy and his family have added “yet another bow to the family-run foodie empire: The Abbey Inn, five minutes down the road in Byland.”
Condé Nast Traveller went on to say: “The garden of this latest venture, a Grade II-listed 19th-century building, peeps over the Cistercian monastery of Byland. Head chef Charlie Smith (previously of The Black Swan and another of Banks’s outposts, Roots York) draws heavily on the team’s vegetable garden, as well as meat reared on the Banks Family Farm such as rare-breed pigs and Dexter cows.
“The menu is pared-back, filled with things you really want to eat: chicken liver parfait with crispy chicken skin and milk bread; a burger served with pork fat chips; sausages, mash and onion gravy.
"Upstairs, a two-night stay in one of the three bedrooms combines supper downstairs with an evening at The Black Swan, for the full Banks experience.”
Condé Nast Traveller also revealed that “Yorkshire is having a moment,” adding: “We named the county one of the best places to go in 2024 thanks largely to a slew of impressive openings like The Abbey Inn, above, and this – a new restaurant from husband-and-wife duo Joshua and Victoria Overington.”
Praising Mýse, the travel experts said: “Diners choose from a tasting menu at lunch and supper (£95 per person and £125 per person respectively). There's a lengthy vegetarian menu, which isn't always a given in these parts – think broad bean porridge with confit ceps or slow-roasted beetroot with walnut wine.
"The superlative wine list has been curated by Keeling Andrew & Co, also behind Noble Rot in London, so we recommend splashing out and adding the wine pairing to any meal here, as well as ordering the specially created Myse 75, a riff on making-a-comeback cocktail French 75.
“A handful of bedrooms upstairs carry through the restaurant's muted tones, inviting those booking a table to extend their stay with a sleepover. It's as good a restaurant with rooms as they come. Clearly, the Michelin Guide agreed when they awarded Mýse its first Michelin star earlier this year.”
Recommended reading:
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- 2 North Yorkshire restaurants among UK's top 100 places for brunch & Sunday lunch
As well as Divia, judges for the UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards included the likes of Tom Parker Bowles, Angela Hartnett and Andi Oliver.
The judges also selected winners in four bespoke categories such as best new chef (Adejoké Bakare), game-changer (Lorraine Copes), one to watch (Ruben Dawnay) and lifetime achievement award (Ruth Rogers).
Divia said: “Food brings so much joy to people. Since I moved to London it has been such a privilege to discover the fantastic range of culinary talent.
“Condé Nast Traveller’s inaugural UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards showcase a diverse range of talent across the United Kingdom. I am delighted to have collaborated with our renowned judges to reveal some of the best hidden gems and chefs in the British food scene.”
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