I make no apologies for devoting this post to the delights of The Appletree Inn, Marton (a tiny village a few miles west of Pickering, North Yorkshire.) My wife and I decided to have Sunday Lunch there, having read good reviews of the place.
We were not disappointed. Since 2001 it has been run by Melanie and husband "TJ" and they have turned the place into a friendly and comfortable pub serving food with a difference, cooked and presented stylishly by "TJ" who works alone in the kitchen. How he manages is a minor miracle. They also make sure that food is sourced locally, and much of it is grown in their own vegetable garden. Can't get much more local than that!
We enjoyed a pre-lunch drink in the lounge area, sitting in comfortable arm chairs in front of a good log fire. Newpapers were provided.
For starters my wife had delicious smoked salmon and a side salad whilst I tried (for the first time) carrot and chestnut soup. When we moved on to the main course it was two more "firsts" for us: my better half had steamed hake on a bed of risotto, and for me roasted loin of hare on a bed of shredded cabbage with redcurrant sauce. We had no difficulty in being persuaded to order desserts, and I tucked into an excellent dark treacle tart accompanied by lemon curd ice cream and lime sauce - washed down with a glass of sweet wine .. a "Noble Reisling".
None of this comes cheap of course, but good things are worth paying for. My wallet was thinner to the tune of £70 by the time we left, but I didn't feel in any way cheated. One should splash out once in a while, as nobody has yet found a way of taking your money with you when you die.
It comes as no surprise that The Appletree was awarded "National Dining Pub of the Year" in the The Good Pub Guide 2008. This is added to a list of eight other awards picked up since 2001.
I don't get free meals for life for writing this piece (though it might be worth a try!)
The title of this Post links to the Appletree Inn Website.
Bon Appetit!
2 comments:
We Just came across this whilst "googling".and wanted to post a warning to anybody else who similarly finds this glowing recommendation. We too ate in this pub, and would strenuously suggest that people avoid it like the plague!
We found it to be horribly pretentious, greatly overpriced, unfriendly, and the only pub we've ever been to in North Yorkshire where we were given beer which was off. The food was edible, but that's the kindest thing you could have said about it; there were some very odd and not entirely happy combinations, which seemed to have been done for the sake of being "innovative". A bad case of Emperor's Suit of Clothes", I'm afraid - there are far better places to eat in the area so avoid this one! Sorry Beck's Blog, but if they offered a free meal, we wouldn't bother going in for it.
Interesting! Sounds as though we were eating in different pubs! Still, I understand that the owners have now moved on to pastures new (Byland Abbey I believe), so perhaps it is now safe for "Anonymous" to back to the Appletree Inn.
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