Restaurants across the Harrogate district will be offering discount deals next month, when Visit Harrogate Restaurant Week returns. 

The week-long event runs from Monday, October 9, to Sunday, October 15, and will see at least 15 participating restaurants and food outlets offer set-price dining deals for £10, £15, £20 and £30. Big names taking part include Bettys, The Ivy, Hotel du Vin and the Clocktower Brasserie at Rudding Park.

This October’s Restaurant Week runs for longer than last year’s inaugural event, and incorporates Sunday, October 15, to capture the weekend visitor footfall and coincide with the Harrogate Music Weekender organised by Harrogate BID. 

The weekend of October 13-15 will see live performances, street entertainers and special offers driving further footfall to Harrogate’s town centre hospitality venues. 

Harrogate BID is supporting the week-long event by providing free parking in the Jubilee Car Park in Harrogate from 4pm daily until it closes. 

The purpose of Restaurant Week, which is organised by Destination Harrogate, is twofold. Pre-fixed prices help diners to plan what to spend in advance, encouraging them to discover new places to eat.

It also offers businesses in the food and hospitality industry an opportunity to raise their profile. Following the first Restaurant Week in February, many participating businesses reported an increase in bookings and in footfall for the week – while also showing interest for a follow-up event later in the year. 

Read more:

• Harrogate set to host three-day music weekender
• Refugees set up Harrogate district’s first Afghan pop-up restaurant
• New bar and restaurant to open in Knaresborough

Helen Suckling, partnership and commercial manager for Destination Harrogate, said:  

“The feedback we received from February’s event was very positive and, in extending the time that diners are given to enjoy Restaurant Week, we’re also extending the opportunity to boost business for our food and hospitality trade at a traditionally quieter time of the year.” 

Customers can take advantage of the lower priced menus and food deals by visiting participating restaurants, cafés and food outlets and quoting the offer. 

Gemma Rio, head of Destination Harrogate, said:  

“Excellent food and drink is one of the Harrogate area’s tourism strengths and, through Restaurant Week, we’re showcasing the diversity of our dining offer. 

“Restaurant Week also supports our commitment to sustainable tourism. In finding new ways to attract visitors and spread footfall across the whole year, we’re offering new opportunities to our local businesses, along with great deals to our visitors and residents alike.”  

Businesses can sign up to the initiative via the Destination Harrogate website.  

For information on menu offers and the dates on which they are available, see the Visit Harrogate website. 

Visit Harrogate is the official tourism website for the Harrogate area of North Yorkshire. It is operated by Destination Harrogate, which is part of North Yorkshire Council.  

On Monday 5 February, Harrogate Restaurant Week will begin. Restaurants in and around Harrogate are taking part in a promotional week, serving up some tasty discounts and helping us enjoy the luxury of dining out for less.

Restaurant Week is running from Monday 6 – Friday 10 February.

To help you save your pennies, we have curated a list of six participating restaurants and their Restaurant Week offers.

The Fat Badger

The Fat Badger is offering a homemade pie with a pint of bitter for just £10 during the promotional week.

Customers can enjoy a hearty steak, mushroom and ale pie, washed down with Tetley’s Best.

For more information on the restaurant, visit here.

The West Park Hotel

The West Park Hotel is offering two courses for £15, or three courses for £20 during Restaurant Week.

Customers can choose their courses from the new Restaurant Week menu.

Click to find more information on The West Park Hotel. 

The West Park Hotel will have a specific Restaurant Week menu.

Cosy Club

Cosy Club is offering customers a main and dessert for £15.

The Restaurant Week menu includes buttermilk fried chicken with fries, coleslaw and smoked red pepper aioli, along with a vegan baked vanilla cheesecake with raspberries.

Read more:

• New Masham restaurant wins Michelin Guide accolade
• New Mediterranean restaurant opens in Harrogate

William & Victoria

William & Victoria will also be partaking in Restaurant Week, offering customers two courses for £15, or three courses for £20.

Customers can expect to see dishes such as honey glazed goats cheese, fresh Moules Marinière and affogato on the promotional menu.

The menu will be available during both lunch service from 12pm – 2.30pm, and dinner service from 5pm – 9m.

Rudding Park Hotel

Rudding Park Hotel’s Clocktower Brasserie is offering two courses and a glass of Prosecco for £20 during Restaurant Week.

The offer will be available from 12pm – 5pm during the promotional week.

Customers can choose their courses from the Restaurant Week menu.

For more information, click here.

The Clocktower Brasserie will be participating in Restaurant Week.

The Inn, South Stainley 

The Inn, South Stainley between Harrogate and Ripon is also offering a starter and main course for £20.

The offer is available during lunch and dinner services.

The Restaurant Week menu includes a homemade soup and giant Yorkshire puddings.

Thousands of Harrogate households still waiting for their £150 council tax rebates should be able to apply before the end of this month, the borough council has said.

Around 34,000 households have received the payouts to help with soaring energy bills, but an estimated 15,000 are still unable to apply.

This is because they do not pay council tax by direct debit – and there are warnings that some of the poorest homes are having to wait the longest.

Campaign group National Energy Action said it is typically the poorest households that do not pay by direct debit – either because they do not have a bank account or because they manage their finances on an ad hoc basis.

Its chief executive Adam Scorer said:

“There are serious concerns that those with the greatest need will be least able to access the money.”

Read more:

• Harrogate Borough Council leader reshuffles top team
• Climate change should be top priority for new councillors, says Harrogate group

The government announced the support in February and said councils were expected to start paying the £150 rebates from April.

But many councils have struggled to administer the payments at short notice, including Harrogate Borough Council which said setting up applications for non-direct debit households has been a “complex” process.

A council spokesperson said:

“To date, we have paid more than 34,000 households across the Harrogate district the £150 energy rebate.

“The process for launching an application form for non-direct debit payers is complex and also involves pre-payment checks to prevent fraud, as well as a system to ensure payment can be made to eligible residents promptly after making a successful application.

“We anticipate this form being published via our website at the end of the month.”

The payments are available to homes in council tax bands A to D, and those which pay by direct debit will receive the money automatically.

The different process for households who don’t pay council tax by direct debit has attracted criticism from the local Liberal Democrats, who said some residents are being “disadvantaged”.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council.

Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the Lib Dems on Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“There should be no excuses for delaying this process or making it overly complicated.

“The application form should have been on the council website immediately.

“In fact, the best way to have done all this would have been to just take the £150 off the council tax bills for this year.

“When I raised this issue at council, I was told it was too late as the bills had already been printed, but they could have put an application form in the council tax bill envelope.

“Why insist on people jumping through unnecessary hoops?”

As well as the £150 council tax rebate, the government has also announced a £200 discount on energy bills for all domestic electricity customers from October.

However, unlike the council tax rebate, this discount will be automatically recovered from people’s bills in equal £40 instalments over a five year period from 2023, when it is hoped global wholesale gas prices will have come down.

For more information on the council tax rebate, go to www.harrogate.gov.uk/council-tax.

The government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme may have ended but some restaurants in the Harrogate district have announced they will still be offering their own versions of the initiative in November.

The Eat Out scheme offered discounted dining on Mondays to Wednesdays during August.

It proved so popular that months later, some restaurants are continuing to provide cut price deals.

La Feria, on Cold Bath Road, is offering a 50% discount on food up to £10 from Monday to Wednesday until the end of November.

With 25 staff, Jez Verity, the director, was keen to support his staff when the furlough scheme ended this month.

Thanks to the ongoing discount, the restaurant has had more than 100 people in every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Mr Verity said:

“It was a big, big success in August, I think all businesses in Harrogate had significantly benefited on those three days.

“We decided to carry it on in September and see what happened. The customers really embraced it, they knew what it was and it was easy to understand.

“It’s also a way for us to say a thank you to customers for supporting us, and really give something back to them.”

Read more: 

• Harrogate shops raise money with ‘Giraffle’ for food bank
• Stray Foodie: Grantham Arms, Boroughbridge

Other restaurants offering similar deals are All Bar One, which is offering £10 off food with the download of their app until 12th November, and the Queens Head Inn at Kettlesing, which is extending their discount of 50% off food from Monday to Wednesday until the end of next month. 

West Park and Al Bivio are also looking to encourage business on quieter days of the weeks, offering half price vouchers through The Stray Ferret. 

Let us know if your restaurant is running a similar promotion in November and we will add your details to this article.