With its medieval walls, majestic cathedral and narrow streets overhung by half-timbered townhouses, York is an unmissable destination for history lovers.
But while the hordes of excited children wearing horned helmets for the annual Jorvik Viking Festival prove the heritage factor remains a major pull for visitors, that’s not the reason I’m here.
Yorkshire is increasingly gaining a reputation as one of Britain’s food hotspots, and the 2025 edition of the AA Restaurant Guide listed 73 restaurants in North Yorkshire – more than any other county and well ahead of second place Devon, with 58.
With this in mind, my girlfriend and I are about to embark on a culinary tour through York to see just what it has to offer – starting with a guided walk from the editor of food blog York on a Fork, Ben Thorpe.
After ditching a ‘boring’ career in financial services, Ben runs food tours around York, taking visitors to nine of his favourite haunts – complete with a bite to eat or a tipple in each.
If there’s one way to feel the pulse of the food scene in Yorkshire’s spiritual capital, this is the way to do it!
Our first stop is Ippuku Tea House, the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Frankie and Tatsu Ozaki.
Hailing from Saltburn, in North Yorkshire, Frankie is the youngest of two siblings, both of whom married Japanese men.
The Shambles (pictured) is York’s most famous street and the historic home of its butchers. MailOnline’s Rory Tingle and his girlfriend visit the UK city to explore North Yorkshire’s growing status as a food destination
The first stop on Rory’s culinary adventure is Ippuku Tea House, the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Frankie and Tatsu Ozaki. He eats a tofu rice set with pickles and gyoza alongside a ‘steaming pot of Sencha tea’ (pictured)
‘Ambiente Tapas, a Spanish-inspired restaurant and sherry bar with passionate, friendly staff, is a particular highlight,’ says Rory. Pictured is the spread he and his girlfriend are treated to there, including several glasses of sherry
She’s now focused on bringing the authentic taste of Japan to God’s Own County, which for us comes in the form of a tofu rice set with pickles and gyoza alongside a steaming pot of fresh, grassy Sencha tea.
Next up, Ben takes us for a mini ‘chippy tea’ at Drakes Fisheries, with the rich yet perfectly crispy batter and moreish chips proof that frying in beef dripping is superior to the vegetable oil commonly used ‘down south’.
After a short walk, we reach The Shambles, York’s most famous street and the traditional hub of its meat trade – as evidenced by the butchers’ hooks still hanging above the windows of some of its shops.
Given this heritage, it seems appropriate to enjoy a smoked pork taco at Shambles Kitchen, before heading to a new patisserie and cafe founded by Florian Poirot, the master pastry chef whose exquisite macarons and chocolates have made him a huge hit since he set up his first shop in nearby Malton in 2017.
Ben also gives us a taste of York’s contribution to Britain’s gin boom in the form of York Gin – which produces a series of award-winning gins inspired by local characters – before four further stops of which Ambiente Tapas, a Spanish-inspired restaurant and sherry bar with passionate, friendly staff, is a particular highlight.
Another regular feature on his tours is Love Cheese, a cosy, quirky cheese shop and bar dubbed ‘the world’s first Speakcheesey’.
We visit on another day to tuck into ‘Afternoon Cheese’ – a fun take on the British icon featuring five cheeses on a three-tier serving stand brimming with cured meats, olives, cornichons, chutney, crackers and bread from the local town of Haxby.
Each of the cheeses is handpicked by the phenomenally knowledgeable shop owner Jordan, who we watch have an amiable patter with customers, while providing them with personal prescriptions for their various cheesy needs.
Rory says: ‘Master pastry chief Florian Poirot has set up a patisserie and cafe on the Shambles selling exquisite macaroons and chocolates’ (pictured)
LEFT: The mini ‘chippy tea’ Rory eats at Drakes Fisheries. RIGHT: The smoked pork taco Rory is served at Shambles Kitchen
Rory visits Love Cheese, where he tucks into ‘Afternoon Cheese’ (pictured) – a fun take on the British icon featuring five cheeses on a three-tier serving stand brimming with cured meats, olives, cornichons, chutney, crackers and bread from the local town of Haxby
As well as cheese, York is known for its chocolate, with confectionary giant Terry’s founded in the city in 1767 before an overseas takeover saw production move to France in 2005.
The company’s grade-II listed, former factory building, overlooking York Racecourse, was empty for some years before being redeveloped into luxury apartments.
Fortunately for food lovers, it’s also now home to The Old Liquor Store, an Italian-influenced restaurant, bar and wine shop run by seasoned restaurateur Ben Williams.
Its head chef, Matt Leivers, was poached from the Michelin-starred Star Inn at Harome – making it an obvious stop on any foodie trip to York.
Popping in for dinner, we enjoy an impressive line-up of stunningly presented dishes that deliver big flavours without any hint of fussiness or mean portions.
My choice of main is a pan-seared seabass fillet with rice noodles and Asian greens.
But it’s my pudding that is a standout – a caramelised white chocolate panna cotta topped with biscuit crumble and shards of crisp, citrusy Granny Smith apples.
As an example of reinvention, The Old Liquor Store fits neatly into a city where so many buildings show signs of being reused and repurposed over their long history.
The old Terry’s chocolate building is now home to The Old Liquor Store (pictured), an Italian-influenced restaurant, bar and wine shop run by seasoned restaurateur Ben Williams
At The Old Liquor Store, Rory eats a pan-seared seabass fillet with rice noodles and Asian greens (left) but it’s his pudding that is a ‘standout’ – a caramelised white chocolate panna cotta topped with biscuit crumble and shards of crisp, citrusy Granny Smith apples (right)
Rory was hosted by Ben Thorpe, who runs York on a Fork food tours around the city (pictured)
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Museum Gardens, where the ruins of a Benedictine abbey and medieval hospital jostle for space with a Roman tower, a parish church and the neoclassical Yorkshire Museum.
And far below the grimacing gargoyles and soaring gothic arches of York Minster, descending into the Undercroft reveals the remains of a Roman fortress and an Anglo-Saxon cemetery alongside the Norman foundations of the current church.
While you’re munching your way around the city, be sure to also make time for lesser-known gems like All Saints’ Church on North Street, where a fifteenth-century window illustrates the last days before the end of the world and elaborately coiffured angels stare down from the hammer-beam roof.
York’s compact medieval street plan means the city is easily walkable, particularly if you take advantage of the cut-throughs provided by its maze of hidden alleyways – known as Snickelways.
And if you ever get tired of all that walking, at least you’ll know there’s always somewhere nearby where you can have a bite to eat!
