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Yorkshire is known for hearty food, though bacon-based breakfasts and lunches of pork pies do tend to pale fairly quickly. Increasingly, the larger towns and cities, particularly Leeds, have developed a foodie scene of sorts. Indian restaurants (often called curry houses) can be very good in northern cities. Out in the countryside, pubs are your best bet for dining. Many serve excellent home-cooked food and locally reared meat (especially lamb) and vegetables. Roast beef dinners generally come with Yorkshire pudding, the tasty, puffy, oven-baked dish made from egg batter known as a popover in the United States. It's generally served with lots of gravy. Be sure to sample local cheeses, especially Wensleydale, which has a delicate flavor and honey aftertaste.
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 a sunny terrace in summer. The reasonably priced menu leans towards well-prepared traditional pub grub, including fish-and-chips or shellfish like Whitby scampi or crab and lemon salad. There are three B&B rooms upstairs.
The welcoming interior of this celebrated Yorkshire tearoom—which began life in Harrogate in 1919 when a Swiss restaurateur brought his Alpine confections to England—has changed little since it first opened, and its extensive array of teas has changed not at all. Omelets, quiches, sandwiches, and pastries are all on the menu, which also has items that take you from the Dales (sausages) to the Alps (rösti). Betty's is famous for its traditional afternoon tea, but there's an even more elaborate afternoon tea, complete with a pianist, served in the Imperial Room Thursday through Saturday (reservations required).
Bettys 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 into a more genteel era. An excellent afternoon tea is served in the downstairs café; breakfast and light lunches are served in the upstairs Oak Room, where you can see the mirror inscribed by the RAF air aces who dined here during WW II. An in-house store sells a range of specialty coffees and teas, plus pastries and old-fashioned sweets like rose and violet creams.
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.
With its oak-paneled, candlelit dining room and open fires, this traditional inn is an inviting rural dining spot. Old favorites such as duck breast in a port reduction, crispy pork belly with black pudding, or traditional Sunday roasts are served with vegetables fresh from the kitchen garden. There are also eight comfortable rooms that continue the traditional theme (£125 per night). Dogs are welcome and in fact have their own menu. The inn is 10 miles north of Skipton in the town of Grassington.
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 sea bream with a lemon and mixed seed mousse, potato cake, and marinated zucchini or charred lamb leg with a Greek salad. There's also a separate plant-based menu. Irresistible desserts include cherry and whipped milk chocolate ganache with a mille-feuille, The three-course set menu that includes a Rosé Spritz (£35) is a good deal.
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, oysters, crab, seafood casserole and lobster, plus sausages and steaks, all locally sourced, are also available.
On the outskirts of town, in a Victorian textile mill that's been transformed into a live-and-work complex for artists, this family-friendly, café-cum-coffee shop has been winning fans with all-day healthy breakfast and brunch dishes like a veggie version of a Full English (smashed avocado, Halloumi, egg, beans, tomatoes, and toast) as well as breads, cakes, and pastries baked fresh on-site. When you've finished eating, check out the exhibitions in the complex's 3,500-square-foot art gallery. Buses 16 and 508 can get you here from the center.
