24 Best Restaurants in Yorkshire, England

This celebrated Yorkshire tearoom began life in Harrogate in 1919, when a Swiss restaurateur brought his Alpine pastries and chocolates to England. The welcoming interior has changed little since it first opened, and the extensive array of teas not at all. In addition to omelets, quiches, sandwiches, and traditional cakes and pastries, the menu ranges from the Dales (sausages) to the Alps (rösti), and there are now gluten-free options. Betty's is famous for its traditional afternoon tea but there's an even more elaborate afternoon tea served in the Imperial Room, complete with a live pianist (reservations required, Friday through Monday only).

With one serving a night and one fixed-price menu that changes seasonally, dining in this small (six tables), family-run restaurant is more like eating in someone's home. If you get tired of Whitby's ubiquitous fish-and-chips, Ditto offers more fine-dining alternatives like pan-fried pork loin with chorizo and root vegetable puree or poached duck breast with beetroot, cauliflower, and a soy and honey dressing. Desserts include a white chocolate and whiskey bread and butter pudding. Be sure to book well in advance.

This unpretentious family-run restaurant prides itself on not being trendy but nevertheless is regularly acclaimed as one of the best restaurants in Britain, let alone Yorkshire. With a constantly changing menu, it specializes in elevated versions of Italian classics such as veal scallopini in a marsala cream sauce as well as seafood specials using catches fresh off the boats in the harbor. Opt for seasonal specials incorporating white truffles or game (October through February) or locally sourced vegetables. With only 30 seats, it books up quickly.

Seafood is the draw here, and the long menu includes freshly caught Whitby crab, salmon, haddock, halibut, cod, and lobster—plus Lindisfarne oysters—but the crowds come for the outstanding traditional fish-and-chips. The food is good, and fans say it's worth the wait, which can stretch to an hour on busy nights. A good value set menu offers lots of choices. 

Cars belonging to diners at this chef-owned country inn often fill the hidden away hamlet of Hetton five miles north of Skipton, such is the reputation of this highly regarded, Michelin-starred gastro-pub par excellence located in an early-18th-century building with contemporary decor and views across the Dales. Specializing in locally sourced seasonal food, such as beautifully prepared roast lamb, beef, and seafood, the restaurant features three-course fixed-price menus for lunch (£85) and a seven-course tasting menu for dinner (£95). The ancient stone barn conversion across the road has five well-equipped guest rooms, with another four contemporary bedrooms in a more modern building along with six bedrooms above the restaurant.

Perfectly positioned at the bottom of the village, this friendly retreat dating back to 1828 looks out from atop a seawall to dramatic views of the North Sea (if you can get a coveted window table), with a warming open fire in winter and sunny terrace in summer. The reasonably priced menu leans towards well-prepared traditional pub grub, fresh fish and chips, and shellfish like Whitby scampi or crab and lemon salad. There are three B&B rooms upstairs.

Betty's has been a York institution since 1936. The decor—inspired by the art deco ocean liner the Queen Mary—the dessert trollies, and the solicitous white-aproned staff all contribute to an impression of stepping back in time to a more genteel era. An excellent afternoon tea is served in the café downstairs; breakfast and light lunches are served in the Oak Room upstairs, where you can see the mirror inscribed by the RAF air aces who dined here during WWII. An in-house store sells a range of specialty coffees and teas, plus pastries and old-fashioned sweets like rose and violet creams.

Modern and buzzy, with friendly service and tasty food, this brasserie in a converted grain warehouse has two dining rooms, one with wood tables and terra-cotta walls, the other more formal, with white tablecloths. The seasonally changing menu includes elegant main courses like portobello mushroom stuffed with goat cheese and nuts on a butternut squash and wild mushroom risotto. Arched windows overlook the river in both dining areas, and in summer there's a deck for alfresco dining. There's also a special gluten-free menu.

The Harvey Nichols department store's roaring success is partly due to the lure of this stylish café, a standout for food, city views, and dramatic, high-tech design. The well-crafted Modern British menu changes bimonthly, but is sure to have imaginative dishes like pan-fried turbot with a roasted pepper purée, herb gnocchi, and samphire, or honey and rosemary glazed duck breast with duck leg and potato terrine, carrot and star anise purée, and confit fennel. There's also a separate plant-based menu. Irresistible desserts include Maple syrup cheesecake with blueberry compote. It's not cheap, but a three-course set menu plus a Champagne cocktail for £25 offers better value.

This 16th-century building with two magnificent stone fireplaces is now a welcoming pub, and the friendly and efficient service gets high marks. The menu is full of hearty old favorites, with mains like steak and ale pie or grilled chicken breast with bacon, melted cheese, and BBQ sauce, plus an assortment of salads, burgers, and homemade kebabs. Craft beers (called "real ales" in Britain) are a specialty, and there are two B&B rooms upstairs if you wish to stay the night.

This family-run restaurant in what was once a Victorian shop uses locally sourced Yorkshire produce to create a seasonal, highly imaginative take on Modern British cuisine. Selections include a girolle tartlet with barbecued sweetcorn and truffle; sea trout with asparagus, whey and roe sauce, and kombu vinegar; and summer squash with Comté veloutée, hazelnuts, and truffle pesto. Dishes are available as a five-course tasting menu or two- or three-course fixed-price menus (three courses for £65 at dinner, £38 at lunch). A 10-minute walk from Clifford's Tower, Melton's has an offshoot bar-bistro called Walmsgate Alehouse and Bistro on, unsurprisingly, nearby Walmsgate.

This book-lined, below-ground bar, restaurant, and pizza place serves homemade burgers and hot dishes like steak-and-ale pie or mushroom risotto along with artisanal pizzas. There's a quiz night on Wednesday and a DJ on Friday and Saturday.

This cozy inn in an 18th-century building on the outskirts of an unspoiled country village is traditional but not fussy, with open fireplaces, original oak beams, and windows that look out to panoramic views of the Dales. The food, which incorporates local ingredients whenever possible, offers similar traditional comforts. Main courses include confit duck leg with a black pudding mash and slow-braised lamb shank with root vegetables as well as traditional pub grub like homemade puff pastry-topped meat, fish pies, and a curry of the day. The craft beer selection is outstanding. The inn's six rooms are simple but comfortable. Just to confuse things, there's a Shoulder of Mutton pub in Middleton Tyas, also outside Richmond, that serves highly regarded pub food, and another one near Harrogate.

This handsome pub combines a cozy traditional wood-paneled bar with a restaurant in a contemporary glass-and-steel extension that specializes in traditional Yorkshire cooking. Using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, options might include a beetroot and vegan black pudding Wellington; fish pie with locally caught salmon, cod, and monkfish; or slow-cooked pork belly with curried sweet potato. There's also a good-value two-course lunchtime and early bird set menu (£19.50).

With a Michelin-starred chef whose family farm is right down the road, this former drover's inn has a high reputation among foodies that belies its secluded location in a small Yorkshire village. Menus, which feature unusual combinations and esoteric ingredients, are based on what is available from the nearby garden or can be foraged locally; even cocktails include fruits and herbs made into alcohol with wood sorrel replacing lemons and limes. The 12-course dinner tasting menu changes daily but might include mains like halibut with razor clams and Oscietra caviar or scallops with turnips and fennel pollen and desserts like Jerusalem artichoke with white chocolate. There are no à la carte options, although there is a smaller tasting menu at Saturday lunch. You can stay over in one of the nine comfortable bedrooms, although only single-night bookings are available.

This cozy independent restaurant receives rave reviews for its hearty Eastern European fare. You'll find primarily Polish dishes, including favorites like pierogi, bigos (a hunter's stew made with cabbage, wild mushroom, and sausage), pancetta-wrapped rabbit leg, and schnitzel, as well as vegetarian options. It's popular, so it can get noisy and reservations are suggested.

Originally a watering hole for foundry workers, this lovely old inn is now a welcoming gastropub, with industrial-chic exposed brick, wood beams, flagstone floors, and open fireplaces. The food is unfussy and reliably good, noted for its use of fresh, local ingredients. The menu, which changes daily, inclines toward old favorites done right, like beer-battered haddock with triple-cooked fries or a pan-fried sea trout with butter sauce, samphire, and spring onion potatoes. In summer, you can sit in a sunny courtyard with a glass from the varied wine list or a pint of local ale. Best of all, the prices make it a good value.

With its oak-paneled, candlelit dining room and open fires, this traditional inn is an inviting rural dining spot. Old favorites with locally sourced ingredients such as sausage and mash, crispy pork belly, and traditional Sunday roasts are served with fresh vegetables from the kitchen garden (gluten-free options like a mushroom and Mediterranean vegetables Wellington add a contemporary note). There are also eight comfortable rooms that continue the traditional theme (£125 per night). The inn is 10 miles north of Skipton in the town of Grassington.

Everyone visiting Scarborough has to have fish-and-chips at least once, and this harbor-front spot is a classic of its kind. Choose an upstairs window table for the view, and tuck into freshly fried, lightly battered, locally caught cod or haddock. Fresh fish pie, mussels, crab, and lobster plus burgers, sausages, and seasonal game casserole, all locally sourced, are also available.

This gastro-pub's weekly changing menu emphasizes fresh, seasonal ingredients, with meats sourced from local small farms' rare and native breeds (much of it cooked over a charcoal grill) and fish delivered from nearby Hartlepool, plus a good selection of gluten-free and vegetarian options. The downstairs bar evokes a snug Georgian tavern with its wood-paneling and open fire, while upstairs is an elegant Georgian dining room that features several antique clocks made by John Barraclough, clockmaker to the Brontës, who lived in this building. There are special vegan and children's menus, too.

This family-friendly Yorkshire take on an American steak house is bright and modern, with an emphasis on locally sourced food, particularly slow-roasted rotisserie meats and traditional steaks. Specialties include beer-braised brisket, baby back barbecue ribs, grilled steak from local herds, and, of course, burgers. Fish eaters and even vegetarians are catered for with dishes like seafood linguine or a superfood salad.

This shopping center takes six of the best food vans and pop-up restaurants from around the country and installs them alongside five permanent food vendors on its first floor under the name Trinity Kitchen. Vendors change every two months, and recent lineups have included Yoi Fried Chicken (a spicy Pan-Asian take on chicken bao), Dog Almighty (artisan and vegan hot dogs), and Yard Burger (selling Philly cheesesteaks, an exotic delicacy in these parts). There are also permanent ribs, gluten-free pho, Indian and Mexican food, and pizza vendors.

Claiming to date to 1715, this narrow, atmospheric bar in a quiet alley off bustling Briggate retains 19th- and 20th-century features, like beveled mirrors, copper-topped tables, art nouveau stained glass, and mosaic tiles. It serves superior pub food with an emphasis on the local and seasonal, like a spiced cauliflower steak in red pepper sauce or homemade beef in ale pie. Beers from local microbreweries are featured, and the prices are friendly.