Of all the fantastic restaurants in Yorkshire, The Devonshire Arms and its new Champagne bar can make a good case for being amongst the best, having some of the region’s most striking scenery on its doorstep, explains Ben Thorpe
.
With Bolton Abbey a suitable distance away to walk off the edges of excess, and the rest of the Dales within touching distance, it’s a prestigious base to explore the area.
For the rest of the summer, one suspects that there will be a sizeable contingent for whom outdoor dining remains preferable. The Devonshire Arms has played to its strengths and teamed up with Laurent-Perrier to accommodate this demand, setting up a Champagne and Seafood Terrace that offers a good degree of protection from the elements along with a beautiful setting in which to dine.
I’ve eaten and rested at The Dev‘ before, so was confident that it would justify the drive to the Dales, earmarking a day to make the most of its delights while also planning a stroll up to the Abbey and nearby stepping stones.
The Terrace on which you dine feels far from those traps of anonymity that some less imaginative venues have fallen into. The surrounding view, the terrace and the hotel itself all complement one another to produce a striking and memorable place to dine.
The menu hits all the notes you’d expect of a seafood restaurant, with a broad selection of dishes that strayed notably from the sample menu on the website, indicating the dishes reflect the availability of different kinds of seafood with the menu evolving to accommodate that.
Unsurprisingly, Laurent-Perrier Champagne is available by the glass, something that should be indulged in while getting into the finer details of your menu choices. We started on some whitebait with a garlic aioli that came to life under a good squeeze of fresh lemon before moving onto a more substantial crab rarebit served on brioche.
Alternating mouthfuls of whitebait and crab meat with sips of Champagne proved as enjoyable an occupation as you’d imagine, the crispy whitebait pairing particularly well with the fizz. Crab rarebit can be a bit of a tightrope but the delicate meat wasn’t overwhelmed by the well-judged cheese sauce, while the sweet brioche underpinned the lot admirably.
The mackerel pate was also served on slices of brioche and delightfully executed, really letting the meat make itself heard, along with some pickles to provide sharp relief. We also took down a large bowl of crayfish tails and rounded off the selection with a baby potato salad dressed with miso mayonnaise and a subtle dash of oyster powder.
To finish off, we shared a selection of cheese that had come from the superbly consistent Courtyard Dairy and represented their high standards very well, along with some chutney and fruit breads. We also grabbed some seashell chocolates to nibble on with coffee.
We’ve all learned a lot about the advantages and pitfalls of outdoor dining over the last 12 months, and The Devonshire Arms has been paying attention, scoring top marks for this solution to the problems posed by the combination of a pandemic and the British weather. With indoor dining and overnight stays back on the cards, and now a Champagne bar, The Devonshire Arms has further marked itself out as a destination of choice in Yorkshire.
This collaboration with Laurent-Perrier only serves to broaden its appeal and superbly reflects the flexibility we all want over the coming months as we transition back to relative normality. With a cold glass of Champagne in hand, ideally.
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