Restaurant review: The Grassington House Hotel, Grassington

This pretty village is in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales and remains largely unspoiled. It is the perfect base for walkers and cyclists, with a host of interesting routes available in all directions. The Grassington House is the ideal place to rest up after a long day exploring the hills, its hearty full English breakfasts are perfect to set you up for another.

The hotel makes great play of its long history. The dining room is decorated with framed prints of local scenes from ages past, while old pictures of the building show it as recognisably the same as today, the only significant change being the addition of a small extension to one side to create an attractive additional dining space, which has been taken over by a private party during our midweek visit.

Yellowing invoices on display around the walls reveal how a tradition for hospitality here stretches way back in time. On one from 1931, a couple have paid just 18 shillings for dinner, bed and breakfast – which included a shilling for taking a bath. Another records that customers paid 4d for teacakes.

Even those of us old enough to remember the days before decimalization know that these bills are astonishing. It’s a good deal more expensive these days, though I’m guessing that today’s prices are relatively comparable when set against the vast change in average earnings since that time.

And though the Grassington House does offer a comfortable, luxurious experience, it remains reasonably priced, and well within the compass of most diners looking to treat themselves to doing the Dales in style. The hotel website offers some useful deals to keep the cost down; it’s available for special events and weddings too.

Stepping inside from the square, you enter a sumptuous reception area with comfortable armchairs and sofas, where a bar is topped with real ale handpulls and where we take the opportunity to have a pre-dinner drink while perusing the menu.

Choices made, we are shown through to the rear and to a slightly more formal dining room, where the decor is a subdued and restful grey. The textured wallpaper shimmers in silver, the floor is polished parquet and a giant modern chandelier looms overhead. Tealights flicker on every table, adding to the sense of intimacy.

Attentive staff in their black and white uniforms flit unobtrusively across the scene; from their body language and some affectionate little gestures it seems that two of them are close friends, at the very least.

Owner and chef John Rudden clearly doesn’t like to spread his cooking talents too thinly, preferring instead to concentrate his attention on a smaller number of dishes. The a la carte menu offers a small handful of choices – six starters and seven main courses – with just a couple of extra specials added on this visit.

We start by sharing the Tempting Taster Slate (£15.50 for two) which proves an interesting and varied opener. The seafood choices – moist rolled slices of smoked salmon, juicy scallops, and sauteed tiger prawns in a tangy sauce – are teamed with some slightly smoky pork and chicken spring rolls, slices of naan bread and a smooth chicken liver pate topped by an apple compote. There are hummus and olives too, completing a sensory smorgasbord attractively presented on a black slate slab.

We debate the wine list at some length. My partner’s taste for a big fruity red to accompany her big bloody steak eventually trumps my desire for a sharp crisp white to go with my fish. We could have each had a glass of our own choosing, I suppose, but we opt instead to share a bottle of Pinot Noir (£23).

Perhaps it’s something about the Dales air, or the fact that we have just finished a moderately strenuous walk, but – try as I might – I can’t draw myself away from the battered haddock (£14.50) for my main course. It comes with a small hillock of minted mushy peas and evidently arouses a sufficiently pitiful look of bewilderment on my face that the waiter is quick with his reassuring: “Don’t worry sir, your chips are on the way.”

It’s worth this small wait, the moist fish is wrapped in a delicate crisp batter, the chips a time-honoured accompaniment.

Not untypically, my partner has gone for the most expensive thing on the menu, the hearty 6oz fillet steak (£27.50) which again comes with those triple-fried chips, plus a big moist mushroom, tomatoes and a tottering pile of crisp onion rings. The juicy steak yields beautifully, oozing a little blood. A stinging peppercorn sauce adds an extra dimension to a dinner already dripping in luxury.

After a brief interlude, during which we drain the last of the wine and allow our palates to recover, we are persuaded to take a look at the desserts. I opt for the creme brulee (£6.25), whose creamy sweetness is offset by the tartness of a blueberry compote and a grape puree and a smear of passion fruit, these colourful elements lending themselves to an attractive presentation.

My partner has stayed with the savoury, choosing four cheeses (£6.95) from the Grassington House’s list of left-field choices of which the stand-out performer is the gamey, herby Wendolyn from Caerphilly. Not far behind ­­­is the earthy, oily Leeds Blue, adapted from a traditional gorgonzola recipe and made by an Italian cheesemaker in Adel.

Coffees conclude a memorable evening out. Thankfully we are staying nearby so it’s just a short unsteady walk across the cobbles to the sanctuary of a last firm nightcap – and sleep.

Factfile: Grassington House Hotel, North Yorkshire

Address: 5 The Square, Grassington, North Yorkshire, BD23 5AQ

Food serving times: Noon-2.30pm and 6-9pm Mon-Fri; noon-4pm and 6-9.30pm Sat; noon-4pm and 6-8pm Sun;

Website: www.grassingtonhouse.co.uk

Telephone: 01756 752 406

Scores

Food 4/5

Value 3/5

Atmosphere 3/5

Service 4/5