Over a thousand people came together in Harrogate this year for the White Rose Awards, the grandest celebration of the talent in tourism in Yorkshire. As a judge of these distinguished awards, I am rooting for every finalist but my eye is always firmly on those involved in food and drink. This year was no different. The Restaurant of the Year is a hugely prestigious award, what a delight when chef proprietor Neil Bentinck, of Skosh York, walked away with the prize he and his team so richly deserve.
Skosh is still young, having opened two years ago on Micklegate, a street once famed for boozy hen and stag parties but now one of York’s best food addresses. In those two short years, Skosh has captured the attention of food lovers across the county and well beyond. The lovely independent restaurant is small, with a lightly pared back look. Tables are comfortably packed in, the kitchen is open to the room, and if you are lucky (ask at booking), you may be able to grab one of the tables at the counter, now considered the hottest seats in town. Here you can watch Neil and his brigade seemingly effortlessly turning out a swarm of plates of food from the kitchen.
It feels almost disingenuous to call Neil’s food small plates, or the ubiquitous grazing menu now found everywhere it seems; that is the premise of his style but what he delivers is anything but. Skim down the menu, and you will find it starts small from a Lindisfarne oyster with a pickled ginger granita at £3 – which I had to begin with and was a startlingly power-packed morsel – the menu then works its way up in both weight and price. At the top is another sharing dish and my overriding favourite of the night, miso glazed cod with hispi cabbage, mussel and pine nut, at £15.50.
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Skosh, 98 Micklegate, York YO1 6JX Tel: 01904 634849 Open: Wednesday to Saturday, 12-2pm and 5.30-10pm, Sunday, 12-4pm.
Welcome 5/5 Food 5/5 Atmosphere 5/5 Prices 5/5
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