stereotypical Yorkshire charm
We’re Back!!!! Let’s not talk about the reason for the pre-longed ability to visit an hospitality venue.
With any luck, at some-point, the last 18 months will all be a distant memory soon.
I suppose it’s important however, that when you haven’t had the absolute luxury of been waited on for such a long time, that you choose the absolute best place you can find to make this moment special.
Whilst we’ve visited The Punch Bowl in Marton (a little village on the side of the A1 6 miles from Knaresborough) on numerous occasions over the years, it’s been sometime since we were last there and so it felt rather fitting that a family treat was back at a place we knew well.
I’m going to get straight to the point, we choose right, the moment we arrived I was reminded of the stunning Yorkshire setting in which The Punch Bowl is located.
The Inn oozes stereotypical Yorkshire charm, rich with every element you would wish for in a pub.
Just reading the menu gives you the comfort that whatever you choose the food is going to be fantastic, maybe because the menu reads like a best selling novel, maybe I just have a feel for these things.
Quality is what makes or breaks an establishment, just looking at the rings that cuddle my pint glass as I sup the well recommended pint of ale, tells me that this place has high standards.
Clearly a pub that takes it’s primary function so serious is going to be best suited to serve me a culinary delight too.
The Food
The culinary delight started with Roasted King Scallops, served with pea purée, Yorkshire Pancetta Crisps and a sorrel emulsion.
A clever dish, clever because it reeks of a chef that knows flavour partnerships, there’s no showboating going on, no latest trend or fad.
The quality of the produce is doing the talking, to put this into perspective, I find myself begging the chef to tell me where the Pancetta comes from, this is serious Pancetta.
I choose well for main, Yorkshire Wolds chicken breast, sweet potato & Yorkshire chorizo croquette, garlic & saffron aioli, sprouting broccoli and a chicken reduction.
There’s no hiding in a dish like this, chicken is chicken, we all know what it tastes like, but when a chef takes chicken to this level you know he has a very special talent.
This dish as me emotional, emotional because it’s classic cooking, it’s taking a quality piece of meat, cooking it absolutely perfectly and then serving it with the pan sauces to enhance the flavour.
When you pair that with ingredients that take you on a culinary journey, it can only satisfy.
I only have to write these words: Warm Chocolate Fondant, Salted Caramel Ice Cream, Nougatine Tuile, for you to know how this review is going to end, just wow!
Wow at talents of this chef, wow at the stunning setting of The Punch Bowl at Marton cum Grafton, wow at Provenance Inns who are powering the quality of this place, wow at finally been able to sit in a restaurant and feel some sort of normality once again, at least for now!
Honestly, you have to visit this place! Wow
