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.

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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.

Harrogate’s highly competitive restaurant scene is preparing for an announcement this week from government on when restaurants are allowed to reopen but the financial scars of lockdown could mean some don’t survive.

David Straker, co-owner of popular Harrogate restaurant William & Victoria told the Stray Ferret that the situation is perilous for many restaurants in the town.

He said:

“It’s hard. It’s really, really hard. We’re fortunate here as we own our property and we have a fantastic loyal clientele which is absolutely paramount to a business.”

William & Victoria received a government grant and has taken advantage of the Bounce Back Loan scheme. From Thursday to Sunday it has also been providing a takeaway service which Mr Straker said has helped keep the restaurant afloat.

Mr Straker added that Harrogate restaurants were already having a “hard ride” before lockdown and many could cease trading the longer they are not able to open at full capacity. He said running a restaurant is all about “getting as many people through the door as possible”.

David Straker, William & Victoria.

He added:

“The streets in Harrogate aren’t paved with gold. It’s hard work. There are big rents and they need a big turnover.

“We’re all fighting. At the minute, it’s about survival. That’s what it’s all about.”

Nick Rahman, owner of Cardamom Black on Cheltenham Parade, told the Stray Ferret that due to the size of his property he wasn’t eligible to apply for a government grant of up to £25,000. He said this has created haves and have-nots in the town.

He said:

“There are two stark realities [for restaurants] and I’m on the dark side of it. All of my rivals are doing full fit-outs and decorating but it’s not something we could do. It’s been really tough for us.”

“We’re in a really bad position and we’ve had a big loss over the last 12 weeks. We’re just trying to survive. We just hope we can make that money back quickly.”

Cardamom Black is preparing to re-open on July 4th but Mr Rahman said extra cleaning and social distancing measures are “huge, significant costs.”

Read more:

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Sara Ferguson, owner of Sasso on Princes Square, said because of economies of scale, the larger restaurant chains in the town have been able to better protect themselves against the losses incurred by lockdown.

She said:

“It gets tougher all the time to be an independent”

Like William & Victoria and Cardamom Black, Sasso has been providing a takeaway service to customers throughout lockdown. Not only has it provided a vital revenue stream it has been “psychologically” important to Ms Ferguson as it has continued the relationship with loyal customers. She said it’s important for the town that independent restaurants survive the months ahead.

She added:

“The more independents there are, the more vibrant we are as a town and more diverse our offering is but there may well be restaurants unable to go forward”.