THE intriguing starter on the menu of a fine 18th century Yorkshire coaching inn caught my eye.

Because, in these hugely challenging times, we all have to keep a sharp look-out for bargains.

The aptly-named Little Moneybags, proved a treasure of seafood in a crisp pastry bag with a delicious lobster sauce, and was an elegant introduction to a meal at the General Tarleton at Ferrensby, near Knaresborough.

It was just what you might expect from a place with a fistful of accolades including Yorkshire Pub of the Year.

But, like other venues of good choice, it lets the cooking do the talking. In fact, the GT is rather understated but sophisticated and the staff are genuinely pleased to greet appreciative guests and diners.

Owners John and Claire Topham have obviously taken as much care with their team as they have with the rest of this award-winning enterprise. Relaxed and unstuffy, but never casual, this is a place that knows what it wants to do and just gets on with it.

Gently rolling countryside

We arrived after whiling away a few hours in Knaresborough (the Lavender tea rooms above the old chemist shop in the Market Place are highly recommended for a lunch stop) before heading out on the Boroughbridge road across gently rolling countryside to Ferrensby.

The GT is an old pan-tiled roofed coaching inn with a huge car park underpinning its popularity. It has 14 bedrooms, with home comforts and a few treats including top-grade toiletries. There's tea and coffee-making facilities, home-made biscuits and dinky bottles of fresh milk.

Downstairs the enticing bar and brasserie is complete with beamed ceilings, log fire, and more welcoming faces. John Topham was head chef at the famed gastro-pub The Angel at Hetton, near Skipton, for 18 years and has retained a pub atmosphere at the GT and sources the food locally.

Places like Glasshoughton, Masham, Pickering and Nidderdale crop up on a menu that secures the Tophams' boast: “Yorkshire has a larder to be proud of .”

So the smoked salmon starter is Nidderdale oak roast smoked salmon with potato blini, Pickering water cress and chive crème fraiche (£7.50). A wonderfully generous Yorkshire serving of salmon too.

The Dales Lamb (£13.50) is similarly impressive. Crisp pressed slowly braised shoulder with creamed potatoes, spinach, tomato, thyme and red wine jus.

Stunning

The GT is renowned for its fish dishes - Whitby is short trawl away – and its where, for £7.35, I dug into Little Moneybags which was worth its weight in taste. 

The GT's homemade fish pie is also the stuff of legends – salmon, cod and prawn in a creamy cheese sauce topped with mashed potatoes. We added a side dish of root vegetables (Yorkshire-grown, where else?) (£3.30) and a couple of glasses of Chilean Merlot (£3.30).

Desserts of treacle tart with Yorkshire Dales clotted cream (£5.95) and an extravagantly-named and presented Valrhona Chocolate Fondant with white chocolate ice cream completed a memorable meal.

Could we do justice to breakfast next morning? Certainly. It's served in a covered courtyard, a clear-blue sky viewed through the glass roof.

More fish, a kipper smoked just down the road and a full breakfast dubbed “a Yorkshire platter” set us up for a day exploring nearby Ripon.

Here, the stunning cathedral had the added attraction of a service practice by pupils from Ripon Grammar School. Coffees in the excellent March Hare café and a browse through its downstairs craft gallery in nearby Duck Hill rounded off our visit.

For more information and bookings at the General Tarleton, call 01423 340284 or visit www.generaltarleton.co.uk .
During January and February bed and breakfast in a twin or double room costs £95 per couple, excluding Saturdays. It also hosts themed period events including a seafood fortnight and a game fortnight.

Tweet