The Refectory Kitchen & Terrace York.

Nick and I were very lucky to get invited to a new restaurant called The Refectory Kitchen and Terrace in beautiful York to try out the menu and let you guys know what we thought. Nick and I had a couple of days off last week so we took a little adventure drive up the restaurant which is quite literally next to the train station, so really easy to find for train goers!

Before I delve into the juicy food stuff I'd really like to say how grateful I am to be invited to things like this, the food was really nice and the staff were all super lovely and you'll see why I was a little in love with the interior...

These are Jack Daniels bottles with Edison bulbs inside, interior goals!!!

As we sat down we were presented with a drinks menu, a lot of the drinks looked so amazing and I wish I could have tried all of them, but I opted for a Juicy Pear Martini. This not only looked gorgeous but tasted gorgeous, it was very delicate and palette cleansing and didn't taste too much like alcohol which is very dangerous!

The chef sent us out some complimentary Sour dough bread with this rolled butter, which is made flat and then rolled up and sliced which is why you can see the cute little swirls in it. The bread was lovely, fresh, warm and soft and Nick enjoyed his first experience of Sour dough.

Before long we were presented with our starters, I chose the Butternut Squash Hummus & Charred Flatbread, I am not a huge fan of hummus but I have to say I ate almost the entire plate. I'm a big fan of Butternut Squash and this tasted amazing and no, I'm not just saying that, I really want to make this at home so I need to hunt down a recipe. I just love the colours, they look so autumnal compared to quite bland looking hummus. 

Nick opted for the Hand-picked Whitby Crab with Mayonnaise and Sieved Egg which was on the plate for around a minute, which means he liked it! He did unfortunately find a few bits of shell in there but overall was very happy with his choice. I didn't try this because I personally don't like crab or mayonnaise but the dish was very well presented, a good portion and Nick enjoyed it.



For my main I chose a Cottage Pie with Short Rib meat and Theakston Old Peculier ale, I love a homely pie and this jumped out at me from the menu, maybe I've finally turned into a Yorkshire lass? This has chunky bits of steak that melted in the mouth, lovely mash and sauce (although I have to admit I couldn't really taste the ale) and plenty of cheese on top, my favourite. The portion of this was quite large and I couldn't finish all of it, specially as I wanted to try a pudding! This is very much comfort food though and hit thoroughly hit the spot. 

Nick opted for the Coal Charred Spatchcock Chicken with Winter Chilli Slaw which he was advised to have a side of chips with, as the dish came only with the small chicken and coleslaw. As you can tell from the picture the bird is quite small, so as a light lunch this is probably a good size but if you are having this as a main meal I would 100% order a side with this, Nick enjoyed it but just felt it wasn't as filling as a dish on it's own, oh and the coleslaw had a little heat kick but nothing that a newbie like me couldn't handle.

You are probably thinking and correctly so, how the hell can you eat a pudding after all that? Well, I am a pudding kinda girl, I would easily eat a smaller main to leave room for a dessert. Nick was already pretty full so he opted for a single scoop of Hazelnut Icecream which came with this pretty wafer, it tasted lovely and creamy and I think Nick was thoroughly stuffed after everything!

I however opted for the full whack pudding, this is the Dark Chocolate & Salted Caramel Pot with Hazelnut Biscuit. This was SO tasty but very heavy and I really don't say this lightly. The dark chocolate was thick and creamy and slightly hard, like it had been cooled and set a little, almost like a thick solid mousse with double cream sat on top, this is then topped with chocolate shavings and served with a hazelnut and cinnamon biscuit. This tasted amazing and I basically forced myself to eat more than I should because it tasted so nice but I really think this is a sharer meal, I challenge any one person to eat this entirely to themselves especially after eating other courses. Just looking back at the images and talking about this makes me really want some more however I couldn't really taste any 'salted caramel'. One very full and very happy Tarnya was the result of this meal.

~

I really enjoyed our little day date here at The Refectory Kitchen & Terrace in York, the interior was a mix of gentlemen club and industrial modern with a beautiful glass roof to really get the full use of (now limited) day light. The cocktail list looked different and interesting but tasted great, the meals were all hearty and locally sourced, which was incredible and the staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. I really would recommend this to anyone visiting for the day or locals who want to try something new. I'd love to return sometime and try some different things from the menu! (basically all the desserts).

Let me know if any of you lovely people drop in here for some food or drinks, I'd love to know what you try!

You can always have a little instagram and Facebook stalk at all the gorgeous food too.

Love,