We had a lovely, farm-to-table dinner at the Rattle Owl on our first night in York. Since we like to eat early anyways, we were able to take advantage of the "early bird" (5:30-6:00) pre-fixe menu. Bonus: we didn't have reservations and we were the only ones in there for awhile. It did get packed later on, though, and it is a small restaurant, so keep that in mind.
You can either get two courses for £21 for three courses for £26.50. We opted for a mix of both, so we could share the appetizer and dessert, and that was the correct amount of food. We had the Yorkshire asparagus as an app, and everything was fresh and tasty. For dinner I had the braised lamb belly and my husband had the sea beam. The vegetables were the stars of the show, although the lamb was well prepared. My only critique is that there was a lot of goat cheese. It was good, but there was just too much of it. Finally, for dessert we shared a selection of delicious English cheeses, apple slices, and a delightful pear chutney---the spices reminded me of Christmas! I would highly recommend ordering this dessert.
Although our appetizer and dinners were a bit repetitive with the ingredients (lots of potatoes, leeks, and peas), this was a good thing because it showed that they were cooking seasonally. To top it off, the restaurant had a romantic atmosphere and service was very friendly. read more