Fears for Harrogate hospitality after series of closures

It’s been a difficult October for hospitality in Harrogate town centre with a series of bars and restaurants closing.

This week Catch, home to the former Graveley’s fish and chip restaurant, and cocktail bar 63rd + 1st fell victim to rising prices and poor customer numbers.

Earlier this month the Stray Ferret reported that Samsons (formerly Le Bistrot Pierre) was not going to re-open.

All these venues had been open for a relatively brief period — Samsons opened in March this year, 63rd and 1st opened less than a year ago and Catch re-opened last year.

Read More:

David Simister, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, said:

“It’s very sad to see this number of businesses closing, and in the current economic climate I fear there will be more to follow.

“The rise in raw materials, energy bills and running costs – coupled with customers tightening their belts – means for many it’s simply unaffordable to continue.

“We also have to remember the staff who have lost their jobs as a result, and hope they find alternative employment soon.”

There are those, though, who are evidently optimistic they can survive these difficult trading times.

This week the Stray Ferret reported on a number of smaller independents opening and expanding, such as the Husk Beer Emporium on James Street and the Starling Bar Cafe on Oxford Street.

As the town gears up for Christmas it will be a critical time for all Harrogate’s restaurants and bars to boost their income and create a financial buffer for a tough 2023.

YouTuber raves about Knaresborough and Harrogate takeaways

A YouTube star with nearly 500,000 subscribers has given glowing verdicts to two takeaways in the Harrogate district.

Danny Malin, the man behind Rate My Takeaway, visited the The Roast Inn, which is a roast dinner food truck at Knaresborough’s St James retail park and Starling Independent Bar Cafe Kitchen in Harrogate last week.

Mr Malin’s reviews can have a significant impact on trade, as occurred when he recently visited Harrogate’s Thug Sandwich.

His video review of The Roast Inn went live on Friday and already has 124,000 views. He gave it a glowing endorsement, describing the food as “a solid 10 … heavenly”.

The food truck, which has been based on the retail park for 17 years, sells roast sandwiches and roast dinners. Mr Malin opted for a turkey and stuffing sandwich and a roast pork loin dinner with a side of pigs in blankets for £14.

Sitting on his signature camping chair, he said:

“If you’re like me and you like a roast dinner, this is spot on. The gravy is beautiful, nice and thick, the pork is cooked to perfection and absolutely gorgeous. The whole dinner is smothered in gravy with bit of apple sauce, just delicious!”

“To me it’s just like eating heaven, my kind of meal.”

Read more:

Moving onto the sandwich, he said the proportion of turkey to sauce and stuffing was “spot on”:

“That’s the one, you know what the thickness of the turkey is bang on, it’s not dry with all those sauces. Oh wow that is spot on, just amazing.”

Giving his final verdict on the Roast Inn, Mr Malin said:

“For me it’s probably one of my favourite takeaways for a while, a solid 10. I’m going to be coming back next time I’m here.”

Rate My Takeaway reviews Starling

On Saturday, his review of Starling went live and by today had 118,000 views. Mr Malin ordered a meat sweats pizza, Philly fries and a Mars bar slice for £22.50.

Mr Malin tucks in at Starling Bar and Kitchen last week.

Starting with the pizza, he said:

“That meatball topping is absolutely quality and the sauce is spot on. I’m getting a proper Italian vibe from those meatballs.

“The only thing is because the base is so thin the toppings can slide off but the flavour, oh my god. I’d describe it as a messy one.”

Whilst sat outside Mr Malin was approached by lots of local fans all keen to know where he’d been to review locally.

The Philly fries, which are skin-on fries topped with pulled pork, gherkins, barbecue sauce and cheese, also won praise:

“Ooh they’re nice them, the chips have got a bit of a crispiness and with the sweet barbecue sauce and the pulled pork its a beautiful flavour buzzing around my mouth.”

Describing the whole meal as “delicious “he gave Starling a 9.5 rating and said it only missed out on the 10 because the toppings fell off.

Rate My Takeaway YouTube star back in Harrogate

A YouTuber with nearly 500,000 subscribers returned to Harrogate yesterday to give his verdict on another of the town’s takeaways.

Danny Malin, the man behind Rate My Takeaway, caused a stir when he visited Thug Sandwich Co last month and rated it his “number one takeaway”.

Mr Malin dropped in on Starling Independent Bar Cafe and Kitchen yesterday and, and in his usual style, set up his camping chair and folding table outside on the street to give his review.

The restaurant and bar on Oxford Street serves craft beer, hot drinks and pizza, as well as a brunch menu.

Read more:

Staff at Starling said Mr Malin rang in the morning to say he’d be coming and when he arrived ordered a meat sweats pizza and Philly fries. His video verdict is expected to be uploaded on Saturday.

Mr Malin’s reviews can have a significant impact on trade. Thug Sandwich’s glowing rating led to a surge in business and staff at Starling said they were preparing for an influx of customers over the weekend and next week.

James Smith, who works at the Oxfam Bookshop over the road from Starling, took the photo of Mr Malin digging into his food outside the JoJo Maman Bébé shop.

The Rate My Takeaway channel has 498,000 Youtube subscribers and each video attracts from 100,000 to 350,000 views.

Taylor Swift fans assemble in Harrogate for album release party

A die-hard Taylor Swift fan from Harrogate has arranged a party in town for fellow Swifties to celebrate an upcoming album release.

The party on November 13, timed to coincide with the new album, will include Prosecco, pizza, a Taylor Swift-inspired tarot card reader, cakes and a lifesize cut-out of the American superstar herself.

Swifties, as her fans are called, will assemble at the Starling Bar Cafe Kitchen on Oxford Street to sing the night away to Taylor’s new album, Red (Taylor’s Version).

Organiser Tiffany Snowden has been a fan for 15 years and said being a similar age to Taylor meant her songs often resonated with her own life.

A 10-minute version of her favourite song, All Too Well, is included on the new album.

Ms Snowden said:

“There’s nothing like a proper breakup Taylor Swift song to get all your emotions out. This album is really exciting.

“I just lost it when I found out we were going to hear the full version. This night could be the highlight of my year.”

Read more:

The party idea started after Ms Snowden asked a local Facebook page if fans would be interested in getting together. One hundred comments later and the event was planned.

She said 22 tickets have already been sold, with people of all ages getting ready to listen to the album.

“There’s a real range of ages coming and parents have bought them for the kids too,

“I can’t wait to be in a room with people who also know all the words instead of me singing alone!”

The event will begin at 7pm, tickets can be bought here.