Stray Foodie reviews are brought to you by Deliveree, and written by Michelin-starred chef Frances Atkins. Frances independently chooses which restaurants she will visit. This month, Frances was impressed with The Galphay Inn near Ripon.
I was due to meet good friends in Ripon at an exciting venue and found that it was closed! Much disappointment arose but then it was suggested that we try The Galphay Inn, Galphay just outside Ripon. What a great choice.
After driving up a long dark road we arrived. The Galphay Inn was bright and welcoming in the twilight. It was warm and full of expectation, and we were greeted by very pleasant staff.
We ordered drinks that you might expect to find in any pub, glasses of wine and beer. To my joy the wines on offer were of good quality, the beer very well kept, and indeed there was a considerable choice of non-alcoholic drinks as well, which is so important when in a rural location.
Surrounded by tasteful pictures, chalkboards and good lighting, we felt very comfortable.
Once again, as in many cases, the menu on offer was considerable in its offering and needed some studying. There were also the chalked up chef’s specials to choose from.
It was very reasonably priced, but I still don’t believe that it is necessary to have so much choice – certainly not in this case given the excellent quality of food we received. It would also help the execution from the kitchen on service. However, it was incredibly refreshing to see that a local pub was championing its local suppliers with their names listed on a board near the bar.
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We ordered four different dishes, which is always hard to produce at one time.
The star of the show was the roasted belly pork at £13.95. It was described as a slow cooked pork belly on a bed of savoy cabbage with apple, golden raisins and a thyme and calvados jus and dauphinoise potatoes. This was delicious, well executed and immediately sent out signals that this was a good kitchen. It was one of the best pork dishes I have tasted of late.
The roasted belly pork and dauphinoise potatoes
The steak & ale pie (£12.95), also proved that its creator understood food.
The pudding menu was very tempting, but given the generously sized main course portions, unfortunately we had to save that for another time.
What a pleasure it was to visit a proper local pub with great service and atmosphere – and feel on departure that you couldn’t wait to revisit.
The Galphay Inn has succeeded in producing hospitality at its best. We were four people who had a great evening and will certainly be going back to try their Sunday lunch, so reasonably priced from £12.95.
Star Rating: 4.5. This is a place to watch!
Stray Foodie reviews are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years. Frances now runs Paradise Food at Daleside Nurseries, alongside fellow Michelin-starred chef Roger Olive and front of house manager John Tullett.
