Staff join us in a tasty guessing game

Hawnby is a hilltop haven deep in the North York Moors. Known as the Hawnby Hotel when we last paid a visit to review it in 2006, the Inn is a charming hotel of perfect proportions. It still has Kath and Dave Young at the helm after 14 years.

Choosing from a straightforward menu of half a dozen starters, and eight mains, we had just the right amount of time on our recent Wednesday visit to enjoy the views and our drinks before being shown to our table inside.

The Mexborough dining room (this is a hotel, remember) manages a nice balance between formal and relaxed, with good linen on the tables and the walls crammed with pictures of game. It was also fuller than I’ve ever seen it before – which on a mid-week night was great to see.

Anna’s grilled “queenie”

scallops, with Somerset scrumpy and herb crust (£6.50), were nicely presented, each on their own shell.

They were richly flavoured with their breadcrumb and herb topping, grilled to the perfect point of crispiness.

Out of curiosity, I’d gone for Worcestershire air-cured ham, Whitley Bay goose and mini toast (£6.25), not bothering to inquire as to what it was. A generous plate of very lean Parma-like ham, it came with a ramekin of a most bizarre concoction: a creamy sauce with diced onion, it had at some point seen the fierce heat of a grill. But now it was cold.

Bizarre.

I might have been entitled to expect something, well, goosey, sea-sidey, but when asked – as if for the first time – our waitress had to venture to the kitchen twice to quiz the chefs.

Eventually we were told they liked to be inventive and quirky with their dishes and their names. I’m not saying the dish was not enjoyable – the ham in particular was excellent – just baffling.

When it came to mains, Anna stayed with the sea and enjoyed sea bass, chorizo, artichokes, Sicilian olives, roasted red peppers and squid (£14.50). This was a star of a dish, with a great variety of textures and tastes that could easily have overwhelmed if they’d been imbalanced.

I’d chosen from the more modestly priced “Inn favourites” menu, with pub favourites such as battered fish and chips and gammon, egg and chips – all for £10.95.

The 4oz sirloin steak, chilli and tomato jam, salad and chips was basically a minute steak, but I liked the option of something a little more modest in both size and price. All present and correct, although the jam didn’t add much more than colour to the plate.

The dining area

Desserts (all £5.95) presented a good choice, with my perfect solution: cheese and a pudding on the same plate: a good slab of Gorgonzola, peach and raisin chutney (which was more like gently stewed fruit) and quince syrup. It was great.

Two nutty home-made biscuits were a perfect accompaniment.

Anna’s option was less successful – “chocolate nemesis, vanilla cream and fresh raspberries” came as a bare slab of chocolate pud with a couple of strawberries – not particularly attractive ones at that.

A jug of single cream was produced on request, but it wasn’t the whole deal.

In fact, the only criticisms I’d level at the Inn that night was a slight disconnect between serving staff and the kitchen – another example was a waitress unable to tell the difference between a plate of ham and one of smoked salmon. I’d expect all staff to be more engaged with the food they serve.

That said, the service was pleasant, the meal was generally excellent, and the surroundings lovely. A fizzy water and two pints brought the bill to £53.90.

Roll on summertime.

Ratings:

Food Quality: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Surroundings: 8/10

Value: 7/10