The Harrogate charity pioneer looking for one last jobCouncil approves hike in outdoor seating licence cost for pubs and cafesDiscover these quirky Yorkshire cafés for your next coffee stop

Going out for lunch really could be considered a national pastime, but with so many options it can be hard to branch out and try somewhere new.

In January, the Stray Ferret revealed there’s at least 40 places serving coffee alongside cakes, pastries and light lunches in the centre of Harrogate – and that’s not to mention Knaresborough, Ripon and everywhere in between.

If you’re looking for a place with a bit of a difference, the Stray Ferret has compiled a list of some quirky Yorkshire cafés ready to be discovered.

Falling Foss Tea Garden – Whitby

(Image: Falling Foss Tea Garden)

Nestled in the heart of ancient Sneaton Forest, Midge Hall had been derelict for over 50 years before being transformed into the thriving tearoom it is today.

Offering a rustic, al fresco lunch spot with stunning views of Falling Foss waterfall, the menu boasts homemade and locally sourced treats such as sandwiches, cakes, scones, and speciality coffees.

Seasonal opening times are dictated by the elements – so make sure you check the website before setting off on one of the many woodland routes that lead to the waterfall.

The nearest car park is the Forestry Commission Car Park at Falling Foss which is free – but very popular in the summer months.

Falling Foss Tea Garden is located at Midge Hall, Falling Foss, Whitby, YO22 5JD.

 The Winehouse Café – Nun Monkton

The Winehouse Café (Image: Yorkshire Heart)

No, you haven’t crossed the channel to France – you might be surprised to learn that there’s actually a vineyard off the A59, between York and Harrogate.

Yorkshire Heart is a family-run vineyard and winery, overlooking the countryside surrounding Nun Monkton. Customers can enjoy panoramic views of the vineyard, or on warmer days sit amongst the vines themselves to have a bite to eat.

The café itself serves hot drinks, light lunch options such as sharing platters and sandwiches, an assortment of cakes, and a wide range of beers and wines.

Yorkshire Heart also offer afternoon tea packages, vineyard tours and even on-site glamping for those looking for a unique place to stay.

The Winehouse Café is located at The Vineyard, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, YO26 8EL.

Gatehouse Coffee – York

(Image: Pixabay)

You’re certainly surrounded by history in York, but never more so than when enjoying a cake or a coffee in one of the medieval gatehouses of the city walls.

Despite being part of one of the city’s main tourist attractions, the Gatehouse Coffee is something of a hidden gem, tucked away behind a thick wooden door, up a stone flight of stairs.

Once inside, customers can enjoy a selection of hot and cold drinks, cakes, and toasties, in a relaxed and cosy environment.

On sunny days, you can even venture out onto the rooftop terrace for spectacular views across the historic walls.

Gatehouse Coffee is located at Walmgate Bar, Walmgate, York YO10 2UB.

High Paradise Farm – Sutton Bank, Thirsk

A view across Sutton Bank

Accessible only by foot, bike or horse, High Paradise Farm certainly makes a case for being one of the most remote cafés in North Yorkshire, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a visit.

With a large outside seating area that customers can enjoy the North York Moors scenery from, it’s a well-known pit stop for walkers and cyclists attempting one of the Sutton Bank bike routes.

The tearoom prides itself on serving locally sourced food – so local in fact, much of its produce is taken directly from the farm.

However due to its isolated location High Paradise Farm opens seasonally, so it’s definitely worth checking beforehand to avoid disappointment.

The tearoom at High Paradise Farm is located in Boltby, Thirsk, YO7 2HT.

The Stripey Badger – Grassington

(Image: The Stripey Badger)

 The picturesque village of Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales plays host to The Stripey Badger, an award-winning café and bookshop all rolled into one.

Well-known for an array of breakfast options, homemade cakes, traditional cream teas and its very own rarebit recipe, customers can pop next door afterwards to peruse the books.

If you think the shopfront looks familiar there might be a reason – in the 2020 reboot of All Creatures Great & Small the shop was transformed into grocers G.F Endleby.

The Stripey Badger is located at 7 The Square, Grassington, BD23 5AQ.

Scarlett’s Vintage Tea Room – Knaresborough

Scarlett's Vintage Tea Rooms Staff next to the cafe

Scarlett’s Vintage Tea Rooms

Scarlett’s Vintage Tea Rooms is a themed café located in Knaresborough, bringing a touch of vintage charm to the historic waterside town.

The décor is an eclectic mix of eras, with a 60s and 70s theme upstairs, and a 1940s feel to the downstairs area.

Known especially for its vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, the menu boasts sandwiches, soups and a large range of cakes – all served on vintage crockery.

 Scarlett’s Vintage Tea Room is located at 3a Green Dragon Yard, Knaresborough, HG5 8AU.

The Wild Plum – Harrogate

The Wild Plum (Image: Ben Bentley)

Homed above boutique dress shop Snooty Frox which is located opposite Oatlands Play Fields, being further out from the town centre hasn’t done The Wild Plum any disadvantages.

The shop staff have to call up to the café to make sure there’s a seat available, and on weekends, it can be so popular that the queue often snakes out of the front door.

Once seated, customers can expect to tuck into a frequently rotating seasonal menu of breakfast, brunch and lunch options, with ingredients sourced from local suppliers but inspired by dishes from around the world.

The Wild Plum is located at 34-36 Hookstone Road, Harrogate HG2 8BW.

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Ripon Cathedral wants new refectory to ‘prevent visitors using cafés in the city’, says campaigner

A new refectory that could be built as part of Ripon Cathedral’s £6m expansion plans is intended to “prevent visitors from drifting away from the cathedral and using the various cafés in the city”, according to planning documents submitted by the cathedral.

A proposal to house a song school, café and toilet in a two-storey building on Minster Gardens was submitted to Harrogate Borough Council in December. But some business owners have said they fear the refectory – a term originally used for monastic dining halls – could “funnel” tourists away from city centre.

This month, campaigner and retired chartered engineer Stanley Mackintosh unearthed in planning documents a reference to the proposed refectory, which he said confirms the fears of traders and café owners in Ripon.

The design and access statement, submitted by the cathedral in December 2022, said:

“Cathedral Refectory: for this to be a financially viable part of the cathedral business plan it needs to be a certain size, to accommodate a coach party, and be very close to the cathedral. This is required to prevent visitors from drifting away from the cathedral and using the various cafés in the city.”

The comments are likely to further anger traders who have long argued that the expansion will harm businesses in the city centre.

An aerial photo of Ripon Cathedral.

Ripon Cathedral viewed from the air.

A Ripon Cathedral spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the statement was written by an architect and has been “taken out of context”.

At a Ripon City Council meeting in February, the Dean of Ripon Rev John Dobson, said he believed the proposals would “deliver more business” for businesses in Ripon.

However, Mr Mackintosh told the LDRS that the cathedral’s own design and access statement confirms the scheme would damage livelihoods.

He said:

“Such unfair competition was plainly intended to deprive local cafés and traders of income, irrespective of the damage to the very livelihoods of those who serve the Ripon tourist economy.

“The dean and chapter and their supporters have flatly denied this repeatedly in public meetings and in written materials and have even claimed that they envisioned the visitor increases of around 30 per cent would increase business for local traders.

“That disgraceful ambition has now been exposed in their own words in their design and access statement as submitted with their planning application: ‘This is required to prevent visitors drifting away from the cathedral and using the various cafés in the city’.”

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plans at a later date.

Ripon Cathedral’s response

A Ripon Cathedral spokesperson told the LDRS the design and access statement that refers to the refectory would be updated to “ensure it’s much clearer”. They said:

“The project has been designed from the very beginning to benefit the whole of Ripon and the wider area. Ripon Cathedral exists to serve the people of the city, the Diocese of Leeds, and the wider region. And we need the new building to ensure that continues to be the case. The sentence to which you refer, when taken out of context of the wider planning submission, could misrepresent what we’re planning.

“As would be expected, the design and access statement was written by our architects and may not express clearly enough the aspirations of the project. The refectory – which we hope will be run by local business people or existing café owners – would enable us to extend the attractiveness of the cathedral to coach companies who are not currently bringing coach parties to the cathedral because of a lack of toilets and refreshment facilities that can cope with 50-60 people.

“With this as an integral part of the plan, research suggests that visitor numbers to the cathedral could increase by more than a third in the first five years (as outlined in our submission on the economic impact), which will have a significant effect on visitors to the city overall – and 47 per cent of visitors to a city referenced the cathedral as their driver for the visit.

“This will obviously have a positive knock-on financial impact on businesses within the city, as well as support the long-term financial sustainability of the cathedral. As the dean and others have made clear in public statements and in conversation with business and café owners around the city – this project is good for everyone and isn’t intended to impact anyone in anything but a positive way.

“As a result of your question, we are in the process of updating the design and access statement to ensure it is much clearer, and we ask anyone who has any concerns or would like to discuss specific aspects of the project to get in touch with the cathedral directly at cathedraladmin@riponcathedral.org.uk.”

Hundreds gather for Ripon’s Christmas lights switch-on

Hundreds gathered on Ripon Market Square yesterday evening as the city council signalled the beginning of the festive season with its Christmas lights switch-on.

With heavy rain relenting by early afternoon, the crowd, largely made up of family groups, grew throughout the day, visiting the square to see Santa and his reindeer and enjoy the free fairground rides and musical entertainment.

Santa and Reindeer

Families met with Santa and his reindeer Alfie, Dancer and Izzy

Among the early visitors to see Santa were two-year-old Taylor, her 12-year-old brother Toby and their mother Catherine (pictured above).

Free fairground ride

The three free fairground rides proved popular throughout the afternoon and into the evening

Live musical entertainment was provided from 2pm by local singer-songwriter Freddie Cleary, and tribute acts Tamsin and Kaylie and Jersey Beyond (pictured below)

Jersey Beyond tribute act

By 5pm when the Mayor of Ripon Cllr Sid Hawke performed the switch-on, the large crowd was in festive mood, joining with him in singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Christmas Lights on Kirkgate

The Christmas lights on Kirkgate

Among those hoping that Ripon’s traders have a happy and successful festive season is city council leader Cllr Andrew Williams.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“This is going to be a very challenging end of year for the vast majority of people with the cost of living crisis meaning they have less disposable income to spend.”

He added:

“We hope, however, that the lights will help to attract increased footfall and provide a festive boost to the city’s economy with local residents, as well as visitors, supporting Ripon’s independent shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs by spending their money here.”

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Authentic food and coffee served with a smile at Hustle and Co

This post is sponsored by the food app Deliveree

Great food and a welcoming atmosphere make Hustle and Co one of Harrogate’s best eateries.

Jo Bradshaw and Nici Routledge set up Hustle and Co cafe to fulfil their lifelong ambition of running a sustainable and ethical café in central Harrogate.

Staff are famously welcoming and often greet regulars by their first names. If you are having a coffee to go or sitting upstairs for a meal the atmosphere is friendly and warm. The outside space at the back has plenty of seating, including undercover for those wet days. If you are a bit chilly, don’t worry, the staff will happily provide you with a cosy blanket!

Located on the fashionable Prince Albert Row on Station Parade, the café is the ideal location for a bite to eat or for a delivery to enjoy at home.

Ethically sourced food

Hustle and Co’s menu is ethically sourced from local high-quality providers. The kitchen’s offer changes often, so there is always something new to experience. Seasonal dishes are a speciality and take advantage of the freshest ingredients all year round.

Café favourites such as Golden Waffles and French Toast are served alongside Build-Your-Own Mezze Salad Bowls and Prime Beef Burgers for a menu that is as varied as it is mouth-watering.

Side Hustles

You can customise plenty of orders with added extras and “side hustles” for your perfect dining experience. For those with special dietary requirements or anxiety, staff are there to reassure and talk you through the menu.

This personal touch and a desire to make your experience as enjoyable as possible are the hallmarks of Hustle and Co’s attitude.

Get Jo and Nici’s Hustle and Co delights delivered to your door today with the local foodie app Deliveree.

Bookings surge for Harrogate restaurants reopening next week

Previously closed pubs and restaurants in the district have been inundated with bookings ahead of restrictions easing next Monday.

This is the first time many venues without large outdoor seating areas have been able to open in five months.

We spoke to three local independent venues to hear how they’ve dealt with the sudden demand.

The Tannin Level on Raglan Street told the Stray Ferret that they’re almost fully booked for their first week of opening, with the second week filling up fast. Owner, John Roberts, describes the prospect of reopening as “daunting but exciting”.

“It will feel strange after having the place so quiet and empty for so long.

“We’ve taken time to redecorate and look at our menu. We’re trying to use ask much local produce as possible and support the North Yorkshire economy.

“By supporting local independents you’re supporting the local economy.”

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Mike Schofield owns The Shepherd’s Dog on Otley Road. While they could have opened sooner using outdoor space, they decided that it would be a gamble to open with such unpredictable weather.

They will be opening on a first-come-first-served basis but have already heard from people excited to get back.

“There’s a big demand from people wanting to drink inside.

“[Local pubs] have gambled their futures this year and now people want to support the local independents.”

The Two Brothers Grill and Pizzeria in Knaresborough is also fully booked on 17 May. While the venue does have a courtyard, owner Nandor Ravasz told the Stray Ferret they were unable to use it for outdoor seating as it did not comply with covid regulations:

“We’re excited to get back and see out customers. We have lots of bookings coming in very fast.”

Harrogate bars and cafes bid for pavement licences

Several Harrogate bars and cafes have applied to serve customers on pavements outside their venues when they re-open on April 12.

Gron Kafe, Hidden Bar Harrogate and Cold Bath Brewing Co have all applied to Harrogate Borough Council for pavement licences.

It is likely that many other businesses across the Harrogate district will apply before the outdoor reopening of hospitality venues next month.

Pavement licences will help venues compensate for some of the capacity they have lost by spacing out tables and chairs for social distancing.

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Harrogate Borough Council said the move will help encourage people back into town centres to support local businesses.

Jim Mossman, co-owner of the Cold Bath Brewing Co, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are just trying to grasp any opportunity we can. We want to come back from coronavirus stronger than ever.

“This pavement licence will mean we can put out four benches. It just gives us a bit of leeway to expand our space and serve customers in a safe way.”

The government introduced pavement licences last year but has made them easier and cheaper to apply for.

The licence fee is now capped at £100 with a consultation period of five working days.

Harrogate district gets £2m discount with Eat Out to Help Out

Diners in the Harrogate district who took part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme got a discount of more than £1.9 million in August.

New figures out today from HM Treasury also revealed that people in the Harrogate and Knaresborough and Skipton and Ripon constituencies ate 314,000 meals in the scheme.

The scheme was designed to help the struggling hospitality sector get back on its feet. The Stray Ferret reported that many cafes and restaurants saw a big spike in interest last month.

Some restaurants were fully booked and were forced to turn some diners away who were trying to take advantage of the Eat Out to Help Out discount.

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In Harrogate and Knaresborough 153 restaurants signed up compared with 205 restaurants in Skipton and Ripon.

Some restaurants across the Harrogate district have seen such a boost that they have extended the discount without any government backing to fund it.

Lydia Hewitt-Craft, supervisor at So! Bar and eats Harrogate, said:

“It’s been massively helpful and it’s a relief because it was hard at the start when everyone was worried about coming out but this has been great for us.”

Nertil Xhallo, manager at Sarando on Station Bridge, said:

“It has been really busy, we’ve had a lot of bookings. Most people have returned which is good. The offer has been helpful for the business.”

Sara Ferguson, acting chair of Harrogate BID and owner of two Harrogate restaurants, said:

“I think it’s been a massive help, everyone I have spoken to says it’s been worth doing. I think with the uncertainty going forward its given all those places a boost.”

More than 100 Eat Out to Help Out businesses in Harrogate district

From next week people will be able to ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ by taking advantage of a 50% discount on food and non-alcoholic drinks in the Harrogate district.

More than 100 restaurants, cafes, bars, and pubs in the district have signed up to the new government scheme to boost hospitality.

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It is valid all day Monday to Wednesday from August 3 to 31, as long the town or city is not in lockdown.

Customers can get a maximum of £10 off food and drink when they eat or drink in. There’s no minimum spend and it can be used in conjunction with other offers.

The government has released a list of establishments registered for the scheme, which we have compiled by area. If your business is not on the list then get in touch.

Harrogate – 66

Knaresborough – 14

Ripon – 9

Boroughbridge – 6

Nidderdale – 6

Masham – 4