Everything I ate in York (2024)

I went to York for two nights and all I have to show for it are a bunch of food pics and one selfie. I feel on brand.

No, but, seriously all mum and I did whilst in York was eat. It was our third time visiting the city so we had done all the tourist activities. This time, all mum wanted to do was relax and eat. It was a good call. So here’s a quick rundown of what we ate

Little Asia Korean Restaurant

I was surprisingly shocked at the amount of Korean/Asian restaurants there were in York city centre. On our previous stays, we had chosen hotels that were closer to York Minister and the castle but this time we picked a hotel that was situated in the student village. I had forgotten that York had such a vibrant student community and I think because of that there was a lot of diversity with the food on offer. There was a Korean restaurant directly opposite our hotel (I swear I didn’t plan it) and we ordered some rice bowls on our first night. We had wanted to go to the actual restaurant but it was not accessible for wheelchair users hence why we ordered food from the neighbouring takeaway. It was okay. It was fried chicken in a sweet/spicy sauce with sticky rice and salad. I think I would have preferred a more traditional bibimbap because the fried chicken glaze was quite sweet.

However, I did get to try hotteok! It’s kind of like a filled pancake that you fry in oil. There are ones that are filled with red bean paste but I had the cinnamon one. I really liked it. It was extremely sweet but that was expected. It reminded me of the centre swirl of a cinnamon roll that is supersaturated with the cinnamon filling and it kind of sticks to your teeth in the best way. Not sure how traditional that is but I liked it.

Afternoon tea at The Grand Hotel

This was mum’s birthday gift. A super fancy afternoon tea in a very aesthetic hotel. Before we discuss the food, I would like to give a shout out to the wonderful staff at the hotel. In particular, the American manager who was looking after us that day. The lift to the restaurant was acting up and I was ready to just let it all go and find some decent food in town. However, she persevered and made it work and we had a lovely afternoon.

Now the food – bloody brilliant. It has been awhile since I have been impressed with an afternoon tea but I could not fault much on that lovely tower. The sandwiches were tasty and interesting. My favourite had to be the coronation chicken. I love that there were savoury pastries alongside the sandwiches. They had a mini pasty which had a date jam and I was obsessed. I am a person who loves savoury/sweet so it ticked all my boxes.

Moving onto the scones, they were tender and pillowy. I am more used to the type of scones that rise like a skyscraper in the oven but these were a lot shorter and domed. I do wonder whether it had a far wetter dough to start with which meant that it didn’t have a massive rise but because it was not dry or super crumbly, I was okay with it. I even enjoyed the fruit scone because it had barely any fruit with the addition of nuts. For any scone purists, you may raise an eyebrow but I wasn’t that bothered.

And of course, the sweet pastries. These were fascinating to me on a technical level. There were things that I’d only seen on the Great British Menu or when you look at photos of patisserie at bougie hotels. My favourite had to be the White Rose – a coconut mousse with coconut tapioca pearls and citrus gel. It wasn’t that sweet and it tasted like the tropics. There was a peach dessert which I was a little bit in love with because it tasted like the Petits Filous yoghurts I used to have as a child. The choux pastry filled with pistachio and topped with a raspberry mousse made my mouth pucker at the first bite. The second bite was a bit easier on the tastebuds because I just got to taste pistachio but it was supremely crisp. I think the only one I didn’t like was the chocolate and coffee cremeux which looked like a chocolate handbag. I like chocolate and coffee but because the overall pastry wasn’t very sweet I struggled with the bitterness and the blackberry compote/gel inside wasn’t helping. The only time I really enjoyed coffee and chocolate was in a tiramisu that I had in Italy and I think the creaminess helped offset the bitter notes. This lacked that but the chocolate was tempered beautifully.

I should also add that the tea is limitless. Literally, you can order as many pots of as many different types of tea that you’d like. Of course, this meant mum and I tried as many as we could. I highly recommend the Silver Needle & the Persian Rose – very floral but extremely gentle.

Shambles Kitchen

I visit Shambles Kitchen every time I’m in York and I am never disappointed. It sits at the end of The Shambles (a.k.a. Diagon Alley) and you’ll know you’re in the place when you see the crowds waiting outside. Thankfully, it’s a takeaway because if it was a full-fledged eatery I don’t think there would ever be an empty table. They do the best sandwiches. The last time I went I had a salt beef roll which was essentially the best Ruben I’d ever eaten. This time, however, they had a slow cook barbocoa brisket sandwich, sprinkled with chipotle powder with mayo and pickles that is aptly named “Guy Fawkes” and came with a sparkler. You’ll find that all of their menus have quirky names and the staff seemed genuinely happy. They are an eatery that do not take themselves too seriously and know they produce good food. I highly recommend a visit.

PhotoCredit @ Shambles Kitchen.co.uk

Spark

Spark is a little hideaway that can be found about 15 minutes from the city centre. It is essentially like the Box Park street food settings you get in London. Multiple vendors selling a vast array of food and drinks with seating and aesthetic fairy lights. I love cheap, simple eats. Especially, when all we’ve eaten that day is sugar from an afternoon tea and you needed something a little bit hearty. There was quite a lot on offer but the majority leaned towards fried chicken, burgers, chips plus the inclusion of Argentinian steak, Sicilian food and a little dessert bar. I had loaded fries from the Sicilian spot because I really needed chips and it hit the spot. I mean, it’s hard to go wrong with chips, fried chicken and mayonnaise but the romesco sauce and roasted peppers did help to cut through all the grease. If you’re looking for somewhere to chill with your friends before/after a night out – this is a good spot.

I should also mention that The Shambles Market also has a decent array of street food. There is a place selling sweet/savoury pancakes which looked really good and if I hadn’t booked breakfast at my hotel that would have been the place I went to in the morning.

The Cornish Bakery

A little bakery that had the best Cornish Pasty. I know the Cornish will probably hate me for saying it but it was really good. The meat was tender, the pastry was buttery and flaky and I washed it all down with a raspberry lemonade. If you’re looking for a light bite during the day, this is a really nice bakery to visit. Also, the sweet pastries on display looked phenomenal and if I hadn’t had the afternoon tea booked – I was definitely getting that pistachio croissant.

Well, that is everything I ate whilst in York. If you have ever been to the city, please let me know anywhere that I missed and I will add it to the itinerary the next time I go.

Lots of love,

Mary

Oh and if you're curious about all the tourist things to do in York, check out my vlog from 7 YEARS ago (I feel old) on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjP6qRPzaj4&t=564s