Chopping Block at Walmgate Ale House — Restaurant in England

Food is very good but bit pricey. However the main issue that I had was that we had a group of 33 people which we arranged via email and we requested an invoice before hand so we could get the funds together, the invoice we received was £825 for 33 Christmas dinners minus the deposit we paid of £350, Which we were happy with, however once it came to final payment at the end of the meal a mysterious service charge appeared out of thin bloody air. 10% service charge meaning the now total after previously being quoted “£825” was now £942 which my colleague requested to be removed to which he had the response, “you can only remove service charge for groups less than 10 people” which having previously been quoted £825 was a sheer kick in the teeth. On top of that I don’t exactly know what service we were paying for except for fact they brought out our meals and took away our plates they did nothing else, they came round and asked for drinks at the start of the night but never once came up again after, the meals didn’t have the right items such as half the turkey meals were missing roast potatoes. And some people never received there desserts. Upon doing some research on the government website voluntary service charges are purely a discretionary amount and do not have to be paid if the customer would like it removed. If I had been the person dealing with the final payment I would’ve refused to pay until the charge had been removed. A- as the invoice had been sent that stated a different amount. B- there was no notable service to be charged for. C- this isn’t America where service charge and tips are a way of life. Service is everything in a restaurant and this place frankly lacks it. I am absolutely outraged that I took my colleagues to this place and we will definitely not be returning. And I would not recommend it to anyone if you don’t want to be con-ed or have a...

Had my eye on this place for a while. I’m aware it supposedly does the best roasts in York but I’m never around on a weekend, so that put me off.. How foolish of me, for of course there is far more here than roasts…

Unassuming premises,halfway down Walmgate, the restaurant stands out for having a butcher’s block suspended from the wall.

Downstairs is a, surprisingly large, pub - you go to the bar to enquire about the restaurant, which is upstairs.

I booked, which is advised, but there was space for walk ins on a Thursday evening. The dining room itself is cosy, rustic. This is a quirky old building and they’ve made good use of it.

Possibly it used to be a cordwainers in the past. Supposedly there is a ghost in the attic - I didn’t see that, which was a good thing. I don’t see ghosts as a selling point… 😆

There was a good choice of beer. A Veltins pilsner was the beer of choice. I like Veltins. First pint served in the wrong glass though. Bah. Let’s blame the ghost…

The menu was small, but really very good, with several choices I wanted. Opted for the scallops to start - scallops, with parsnip purée, scallop croquette and crispy bacon. Moreish. I could have eaten this all night. For a main, moule frites - a generous pot with chips and bread. Yes - chips and bread 😎 I haven’t had mussels since 2019 in Norwich, so this hit the spot.

The people to my right were tucking into beef and tartiflette, that all looked excellent. I will try that next time. They were some sort of grad students having a very earnest conversation.

Room for pudding meant sticky toffee pudding. The best pudding. A decent one, lots of sauce.

Overall a really good meal. Service was good and fast. I liked this restaurant and would go back. Price was reasonable, about £40 for three courses. Also, worthy mention for the house bread and the orange coloured butter,...

Came here with a large group of friends for roast dinner and couldn’t recommend it more! Easily some of the best food I’ve had in York :) I’d really recommend the tartifelle. My roast pork sunday dinner was also flawless - the meat was so tender and practically melted in your mouth from the first bite, the yorkshires and gravy both clearly homemade with a real depth of flavour to the gravy, the accompanying vegetables were even delicious! The cheesy leeks were so good and the parsnips were roasted with honey (i think) which made them almost taste like sweet potato (usually hate parsnips). The sticky toffee pudding was average, but three courses plus complimentary bread (also very good, they served two different types of butter with it) for £27.50 is a bargain for this quality of food. We also got a bottle of the house wine to share and it’s a fantastic pick, incredibly smooth. The service was also very good. We weren’t left waiting ages nor rushing between courses, which can be a difficult balance to strike. Overall we had a lovely night with wonderful food and can’t wait...