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Harrogate city center lunch, any ideas?


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We've been living in Harrogate for a month now and I still haven't found anywhere decent in the centre to eat, anybody got any ideas for lunch tomorrow? I'm aware of all the places nearby, but need somewhere in the centre. I know it's short notice, but someone save us from Loch Fyne please!

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We've been living in Harrogate for a month now and I still haven't found anywhere decent in the centre to eat, anybody got any ideas for lunch tomorrow? I'm aware of all the places nearby, but need somewhere in the centre. I know it's short notice, but someone save us from Loch Fyne please!

I presume you have tried the Hotel Du Vin et Bistro. We have had a couple of Sunday lunches there which have been pleasant enough if not exactly setting the world on fire. Why does everybody seem to insist on offering roast beef on a Sunday?

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Forgot to mention that I was never that adventurous there though and either had Queenies or Smoked Prawns for starter followed by Sea Trout or Salmon Trout as it now appears to be on the menu

www.drumandmonkey.com

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I presume you're not from Harrogate and either a pensioner or an American tourist. Even on a weekday morning the queues at Bettys are unbearable, on a Saturday lunchtime they're a joke.

I'm neither a pensioner nor an American tourist but visited Betty's the last time I was in Harrogate. Very good, but the queue was a bastard.

The Harrogate Grille opened in the Balmoral hotel recently. Could be a more casual alternative to Hotel du Vin.

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drum and monkey is an institution, whether that's a recommendation or not i don't know! Was taken over by jan fletcher who made her money in car dealerships and also owns bryans fish and chip shop in headingley.

Place has had a sympathetic refurb a while ago but i don't think the menu had changed for years and the prices are suitably idiosyncratic.

nice place to get settled into for a lunch, foods not going to set the world on fire but it is suitably convivial.

other than betty's my other recent harrogate dining experience is chez la vie above carringtons nightclub, old school bistro actually not that bad, plus when the table starts vibrating you know it's time to head down stairs to the club, which is, an experiece that i wouldn't want to spoil.

best food nearby i would think is the yorke arms at pateley bridge.

you don't win friends with salad

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I know this reply is too late - but I guess we may as well pull together a thread here?

quantros always used to be pretty reliable - but think there's been a change of ownership

colleague said tannin level was good at the weekend

Sasso's is a good Italian - a cut above basic trattoria

none of the above are standout - but are reasonable food for reasonable money.

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  • 2 years later...

Van Zeller does look good, not tried it yet, Clocktower, if I remember correctly is too twee for words, the food as well as the decor.

Had a dreadful meal at Rajput a few months ago, and will never return. The Bar and Grill is pretty good, nothing amazing, but worth a visit.

Never tried Sasso, it doesn't give the impression of being top notch, but based on your recommendation Bertie, we'll give it a shot.

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Never tried Sasso, it doesn't give the impression of being top notch, but based on your recommendation Bertie, we'll give it a shot.

Cue collective in-drawing of breath from the many around these tables that I have led astray...

Au contraire Bertie. You led my family to the true path with your recommendation of Farsyde in Ilkley on another thread.

Is Gavin Beedham still turning out quality Prixe Fixe lunches? In which case I may head there.

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Clocktower, if I remember correctly is too twee for words, the food as well as the decor.

Rudding Park Hotel, where of course the Clocktower restaurant is based,is the best hotel in the country, and ranked sixth in the world according to Tripadvisor’s analysis of guest feedback comments on its website.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/jan/20/tripadvisor-london-hotels

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Clocktower, if I remember correctly is too twee for words, the food as well as the decor.

Rudding Park Hotel, where of course the Clocktower restaurant is based,is the best hotel in the country, and ranked sixth in the world according to Tripadvisor’s analysis of guest feedback comments on its website.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/jan/20/tripadvisor-london-hotels

A very very strange list! Some serviced accommodation in Newcastle coming out ahead of Seaham Hall, for instance, in the nor'east.

It no longer exists, but it was lovely.

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Lunch at Van Zeller today was very very good, three course for £10, 3 choices for each course, 1 choice with a surcharge (£6.50 surcharge on the starter and pudding, and an eye watering £24 surcharge for the Turbot main!!??!!)

We both had the same meal, confit pheasant salad, ox cheek with lardons, shallots and mushrooms, and then cheese. Side dishes are charged extra, £3.75 gets you some saute potatoes, choucroute or some winter greens, we went for the first two, both good, the choucroute particularly so.

Everything was superbly executed, the service was good too, friendly, knowledgeable, and slick.

We'll be back for sure, the three course offer is extended till the end of Feb, but the dinner menu looks good too. The wine list is pretty pricey, but look hard enough and you'll find something reasonably priced, we went for a Morellino di Scansano at £24.50.

Superb value, and worth a trip to Harrogate for.

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