The Devonshire Arms Hotel and Spa has always been one of our favourite Yorkshire retreats. The location is stunning, and the hotel and spa have long been reputed for top class facilities, food and service.
We always get excited when a new menu is launched and their Seafood Tasting Menu, being served in the beautifully refurbished Garden Room Restaurant, was ticking every box. A taste of the sea in the heart of our beloved Yorkshire. How could we say no.
The Garden Room is within their conservatory space of the hotel’s previous restaurant, and overlooks the hotel’s impressive Italian style courtyard gardens. This is a more intimate, relaxed way of dining; no longer fine dining but refined dining.
But I need to tell you about the new tasting menu because it quite frankly blew us away. We expected good, actually we expected great, what we got was AMAZING!
To accompany the menu we had the wine pairing, each wine carefully chosen to complement the dish it is served with.
Here’s what we enjoyed and our thoughts:
Course 1: XL Orkney Scallop – Dashi Hollandaise, Wakame – served with Artelium Devonshire Cuvee, East Sussex, England, 2017.
What we thought: for us you can do no wrong with scallops, unless they are under or over cooked. This was perfect in every way, and the sparkling English wine was the perfect companion to this fresh, buttery first course.
Course 2: Salmon – Cucumber Bonito, Fennel – served with Domaine Petroni, Rose Vin De Corse, Corsica, France 2023.
What we thought: is there a bad way to serve salmon? Not in our opinion, but not being a fan of fennel, I was a little nervous about this course in case the fennel overpowered the beautiful fish. I needn’t have worried. The flavours worked a treat and the that plate was perfectly clean!
Course 3: Lobster – Native Lobster, Kohlrabi, Apple – served with Domain Vincent Dampt, Chablis, France 2023. (replaced by the Eden Valley Riesling on our visit).
What we thought: you had us at Lobster! If only we had known how delicious this plate would be. This was my favourite course, followed closely by that scallop!
Course 4: Wild Sea Bass – Squid Ink Pasta, Courgette, Basil – served with Villa Wolf, Pinot Noir, Pfalz, Germany 2022.
What we thought: if you haven’t already guessed, we adore seafood, and Sea Bass is always a winner, especially when it is cooked so well with crispy skin. It has a mild sweetness and we loved it.
Optional Extra Course: A Selection of Courtyard Dairy Cheeses – Celery, Butter, Crackers, Grapes, Fig & Chutney – served with 2 sommelier choice wines.
What we thought: this was actually a great extra course. All British cheeses including a superb Pecorino from right on the doorstep, a tiny artisan cheese maker in Otley. We enjoyed every one of those cheeses, and we need some of that chutney!
Course 5: Blackcurrant Souffle – Chocolate & Crème de Cassis Sauce, Pontefract Cake Ice Cream – served with De Bortoli, Deen. Vat 5 Botrytis, Riverina, Australia 2018.
What we thought: the queen of desserts, she stood tall and proud and was light as a feather. Dressed with the chocolate and Cassis sauce, this was a match made in heaven, and the dessert wine was an inspired choice. Polar opposite to the robust flavours of this dessert, it worked its magic.
The Wine Pairing:
We always add the wine pairing to any tasting menu. There are so many different dishes and flavour combinations, we always put our faith in the sommelier and enjoy the surprise of a different wine with each course. With this one, you will be delighted, as we were. There were a couple of wines we would never have selected, but they were excellent and worked really well with the food.
How to sum this dining experience into a few words: delicious, impressive, exceeded expectations! The wine pairing, the setting and the knowledgeable, professional team elevated this experience to exceptional.
Whatever you do, DO NOT MISS this menu!
Seafood Tasting Menu £75 pp. Wine Flight £55 pp.
Garden Room – open Wednesday – Saturday evenings, 6pm – 8.30pm
Pre-booking advised. Bookings are made online, or via our reservations team on 01756 718111.
Review and Images by H&N Magazine.
