Kate Atkin
23 August 2018
Tantalising dishes on imaginatively compiled menus prepared with the finest seasonal and local ingredients and all delivered with the warmest of welcomes: Harrogate is home to some of the best restaurants Yorkshire has to offer.
Delight your senses in this constantly evolving culinary scene – there are over 130 Harrogate restaurants to choose from, so there is something here for every palette. Whilst you’ll find familiar high street chains, there is also a great independent food culture in the town offering refreshing individual dishes with influences from all over the globe including Mediterranean, Mexican, Vietnamese, and even Nordic.
If you’re searching for places to eat in Harrogate, whether a romantic dinner for two where ambience and atmosphere are as sophisticated as the food, a private dining experience for a larger group, or a seven-course gourmet tasting menu that uses the newest experimental methods to astound, you can be sure of an exemplary dining experience that will not only be enjoyed, but also long remembered. You’ll wish you had time to try them all!
Enjoy the finest taste of Yorkshire with our guide to the top restaurants in Harrogate. Bon Appetit!
Michelin-starred fine dining in the breathtaking Nidderdale Valley
The Yorke Arms has been a Michelin-star awarded restaurant in Harrogate since 2003, boasting culinary excellence within an 18th-century coaching house complete with crackling open fires. The beautiful surroundings of the main restaurant create the perfect backdrop in which to experience a menu that awakens the senses and excites the palate.
Michelin-star chef Frances Atkins uses the freshest ingredients to create the most flavoursome dishes; sample the likes of guinea fowl with lemon thyme and dandelion, hot spiced turbot with squid, dill and turmeric or lobster with crab, cardamom, ginger and sea vegetables.
Price: 💳 💳 💳
Book here: www.theyorkearms.co.uk
Pan Asian modern cuisine in a central Harrogate setting
Enjoy a mouth-watering culinary tour of the Far East with some of the Orient’s most impressive dishes in the award-winning Orchid Restaurant. From your elegant dark wood lacquered table, see the roar of the turbo woks as the chefs skillfully prepare authentic cuisine under the watch of Kenneth Poon (who made his name as head chef at the Oriental in the Dorchester in London).
One of the first Pan Asian restaurants in the UK with two rosettes, dishes include steamed scallops Hong Kong-style on a bed of glass noodles, or beef Yum Neua; a Thai speciality of spicy rare-beef salad, followed by Filipino-style prawn Calabasha or a classic Kung Po chicken from China’s Sichuan Province.
Price: 💳 💳
Book here: www.orchidrestaurant.co.uk
Modern British dining with mouthwatering seasonal ingredients
Showcasing the best of modern British cuisine with dishes inspired by the North Yorkshire countryside, complemented by over 70 wines from around the world (including the UK) on the wine list, The Tannin Level is one of Harrogate’s foremost independent restaurants. Whether a light business lunch, a family celebration or the full à la carte experience, the menus are extensive and evolve with the seasons using local ingredients.
Expect dishes such as peach wood smoked haddock and sautéed leek fishcakes, followed by a braised feather blade of beef laced with Black Sheep ale or a rack of Yorkshire lamb with petit pois and mint bonbons and a rich red wine jus.
Price: 💳 💳
Book here: www.tanninlevel.co.uk
Asian fine dining and bespoke cocktails in a dramatic theatre setting
For a lavish dining experience, the multi-award-winning Cardamom Black offers Pan South Asian cuisine within a truly razzmatazz setting. Diners are invited to create bespoke cocktails with the assistance of professional mixologists at the 200 spirit bottle bar before taking a seat atop the stage, or even one of the balconies adorned with chandeliers and rhinestone walls of what was once Harrogate’s Empire Theatre. You can opt for an aromatic traditional curry or sample a dish from the charcoal-smoked barbeque grill, speciality seafood selections, or share one of the streetfood slated stands.
Price: 💳 💳 💳
Book here: www.cardamomblack.co.uk
An old Harrogate favourite showcasing excellent British cuisine
William & Victoria has been a firm Harrogate favourite restaurant for more than 40 years with its warm welcome, outstanding British cooking with portions to satisfy the biggest of Yorkshire appetites, a multitude of vintage vino and even locally made Yorkshire gins. Diners can choose to feast in the bistro with wine bar and enjoy rustic surrounds downstairs, or move upstairs into a sophisticated dining space with glittering chandeliers and peruse the treasure trove of exquisite dishes: fresh seared tuna, venison Wellington or Yorkshire rib-eye steak; all prepared using locally sourced ingredients.
Price: 💳 💳
Book here: www.williamandvictoria.com
Nature-inspired fine dining with seasonal ingredients from the kitchen garden
Sit back and savour the culinary magic of the Horto Restaurant at Rudding Park. This contemporary fine dining restaurant in Harrogate has been awarded three AA Rosettes and invites diners to embark on an adventure of food and flavour combinations. The menu is influenced by nature with the seasonal ingredients sourced from the Rudding Park Kitchen Garden. Whether you choose the tasting menu or the à la carte menu, guests should expect the unexpected; imagine Yorkshire wagyu with pickled girolle and truffle, halibut with caviar veloute or tortellini with trompette and parmesan.
Price: 💳 💳 💳
Book here: www.ruddingpark.co.uk/dine/horto-restaurant
Innovative international menu where seafood and champagne top the board
Fish and shellfish are very much at the heart of this stylish Harrogate eatery. FISK is the perfect place to relax; enjoy chilled background music as you peruse the menu of sustainable seafood, as well as an excellent selection of meat, poultry and vegetarian dishes - all combining interesting international flavours. Delicacies from the sea include langoustines with garlic butter and herbs, monkfish massaman curry, Singapore chilli crab and whole grilled lobster, plus a choice of oysters from across the globe.
Price: 💳 💳
Book here: www.fiskrestaurants.com
Authentic rustic Spanish food infused with the heady flavours of the Iberian peninsula
Enjoy the buzz and attitude of contemporary Spain in La Feria, where you can indulge in authentic tapas featuring: Iberico ham from Extremadura; chorizo and salchichon from Leon and Burgos; cheeses from the Picos de Europa mountains, Nevada and Ciudad Real; anchovies from Cantabria and succulent prawns from Sanlucar de Barrameda. Their speciality is free-range rotisserie chicken infused with the flavours of Spain, complemented by a selection of Spanish wines, cavas, sherries and exclusive Spanish beers.
Price: 💳 💳
Book here: www.laferiarestaurants.co.uk
Stylish steak restaurant with a local flavour in the centre of Harrogate
If the idea of tucking into a 38-day aged succulent steak with cuts such as Fillet, Côte de Boeuf or Porterhouse, then the Porterhouse Restaurant should definitely be at the top of your list. This top restaurant in Harrogate works closely with local farmers to bring to the table some of the best ingredients that Yorkshire has to offer. One glance at their menu created by their team of dedicated chefs, and you will be spoilt for choice.
Price: 💳 💳
Book here: www.facebook.com/pg/PorterhouseHG
Where to stay in Harrogate?
From British classics to the internationally inspired, Harrogate’s restaurants are some of the best in Yorkshire. If you’re planning a holiday in Harrogate and want to make the most of its gastronomic delights, why not have a browse of our holiday cottages in Harrogate? From cosy apartments just for two to spacious townhouses for larger groups and comfortable cottages for families, our Harrogate accommodation is perfectly located to enjoy the wealth of eateries on offer.
Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing,
please ensure you check carefully before making any decisions based on the contents within this article.