The Yorke Arms

César award in 2000

By the green in a village below the moors, Bill and Frances Atkins's creeper-covered 18th-century coaching inn has 'a country house party atmosphere which encourages a companionship between guests', says a visitor in 2012. John Tullett is the general manager, assisted by an 'unfailingly pleasant staff who seem to care' in the flagstoned bar and beamed dining room. His wife has a Michelin star for her 'brilliant' cooking for nine years: 'Her combinations of good ingredients are exciting but well balanced. We enjoyed her six-course truffle dinner; a truffled pea brûlée with asparagus, and langoustine was outstanding.' The produce comes from the Dales; herbs and vegetables are grown in a field behind the inn. Some of the well-equipped bedrooms are small: 'Ours might not have been spacious but it was comfortable; the bathroom was modern.' Four suites are in a courtyard building; a two-bedroom cottage (200 yards from the inn) has a private garden and terrace. Other comments: 'Hard to fault'; 'Good if pricey'. The Gouthwaite Reservoir bird sanctuary is nearby. (David Hampshire, John and Haf Davies-Humphreys, and others)

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  • This has to be one of the top five restaurants-with-rooms in the country. Frances Atkins's cooking is brilliant.The rooms are also to be recommended. They may not be that spacious but they are comfortable, and the bathrooms are modern and well equipped. The key to the success is all about management. The service is professional but also friendly. People seem to care. There is a bit of the country house party atmosphere which encourages companionship between guests.

    David Hampshire, 11/03/2012

  • Food and service, as always were excellent. However it was disappointing not to be able to dine in the main dining room, which was occupied by a coachload of architects on their annual jamboree. The secondary dining room is an open space off the main corridor that holds six tables; it lacks the atmosphere and ambience of the main dining room. I think it regrettable when residents of the hotel have to to give preference to a group. The bedroom, though at the front of the hotel, was quite small.

    AVB, 25/06/2011

  • We were given a free upgrade as we were staying three nights. Our room, facing the front,was quaint. Not sure that an en suite bathroom with no door is a modern fashion I approve of. The staff are well trained and attentive; the senior ones perhaps slightly aloof, but the waitresses had the right mix of professionalism and friendliness. Gathering in the small lounge for pre-dinner drinks is a bit of a scrum. Beautiful canapes. Thoughtful dinner menus made the best of local produce; not over fussy. Every dish beautifully prepared and presented; vegetarian options a bit of an afterthought? Desserts lovely. The petits fours rounded the meal off perfectly. Beautiful breakfasts with undyed smoked haddock and perfect poached eggs; portions adequate rather than hearty but the same care in preparation and presentation that was applied to the food at dinner; toast arrives when you are ready to eat it instead of when you sit down.

    David Birnie, 01/11/2009

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Local attractions

Brimham Rocks
Huge stones sit precariously balanced across Brimham Moor.
Fountains Abbey
A World Heritage Site, with abbey ruins, Georgian water gardens and 800 acres of countryside.
Ripley Castle
Home to the Ingilby family for over 700 years.

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Contact Details

The Yorke Arms

nr Harrogate RAMSGILL-IN-NIDDERDALE Yorkshire England HG3 5RL

Telephone

01423 755243

Website

www.yorke-arms.co.uk

Further Information

Bedrooms

15, 2 in Ghyll Cottage.

Open

all year, Sun dinner for residents only.

Facilities

ramp, lounge, bar, 2 dining rooms, function facilities, 2-acre grounds, unsuitable for disabled.

Background music

classical in dining rooms.

Children

not under 12.

Dogs

allowed by arrangement in 1 bedroom, not in public rooms.

Credit cards

Diners, MasterCard, Visa.

Prices

[2012] D,B&B £150-£200 per person, tasting menu £85, full alc £80, winter offers, Christmas/New Year packages.