The Castle Inn Country Pub — Restaurant in England

Located in a quaint little village, the restaurant pub is a traditional pub, Old fashioned, but filled with charm.

I used to be a regular at this pub 15 years ago when I lived on the lordship, it has changed very little since then.

Outside the seating area is all wooden benches where you have to swing your legs over to seat yourself, not ideal for those with mobility issues. These benches are also very uncomfortable owing to the seating part being very narrow.

This area is used by dog owners, so be prepared to be seated near many dogs.

If you want to pop out with your dog, this is certainly the place for you.

We initially picked outside, but due to the uncomfortable seats we was relocated inside without any fuss.

The servers were lovely, very attentative and they certainly deserve a 5* rating.

Inside has a lovely feel. We visited whilst it was quiet and were the only ones seated in the restaurant.

For 3 adult sized main meals and 1 tap water drink, plus 2 half pint lemonaide and lime drinks, the cost was £60.

Regrettably the 2 8oz rump steaks were filled with lots of gristle. This spoilt it. It was hard to chew and plenty of bits had to be spat out and left on the plate. At nearly £20 per steak, this is really poor. Since we were there for food only, this really dragged the star rating down.

The third dish was a cauliflower steak. This is a slice of small cauliflower which is cut in a circle and is approximately 1.5cm thick. For £13.99, this is a poor sized portion. All of us had to fill up on the chips. The salad is a garnish and not really a salad. The steak dish was accompanied by 3 small cherry tomatoes, 1 small beefsteak mushroom, and a cress garnish. The cauliflower steak was the same.

The mushroom tasted beautiful as did the cauliflower steak.

The steak taste was nice when there wasn't gristle. When asked if everything was OK, we did say yes as none of us could be bothered with the uncomfortable discussion of sharing our disappointment. But we wouldn't get desert based upon the main dish and the lovely pub setting won't be enough to draw us back.

If they had better quality steak, they'd have served it, so I assume this is their standard.

We tipped the server a £5. She deserved...

A recently taken over, beautifully refurbed country pub and restaurant in Cawood, south of York, the Castle Inn is an absolute pleasure to visit.

The new owner has a fabulous eye for style and detail, even down to the table numbers and table 'reserved' signs! The restaurant exudes a welcoming, warm country-pub vibe, with subtle fabrics and furnishings and the all-important low-lighting to create the perfect dining ambience.

Spoilt for choice by the new Yorkshire tapas menu, we opted on our first visit for the Beef & Onion Stew with Dumplings, the Venison Scotch Egg with wholegrain mustard dip (this is surely going to be one of THE best-sellers?!), Half Pint Prawns in a Brandy Yoghurt Marie Rose Sauce with Anchovy Toast and the Fish, Chips & Mushy Peas.

Completely stuffed by the end, having shared and eaten every morsel—and not by nature dessert people—we were tempted to try a Seasonal Crumble (on this occasion, winter berries) and Custard and the Yorkshire Pudding with Stewed Rhubarb and Clotted Cream.

WOW! The puds almost out-shone the mains!

Delicious flavours, beautifully cooked and presented, with the dishes coming as and when ready, meant we could dine in leisurely fashion, enjoy our drinks and each dish as it came, without feeling remotely rushed as you so often do in restaurants where they can't seem to wait to get your table back.

This is definitely tapas with a Yorkshire topping!

Highly recommended, and so much so, we're booked to return next week and are already arguing over which dishes to choose next!

(Photos don't do justice to how gorgeous everything was - and the fish and chips was attacked so quickly, some of it had gone before I got a photo. The mushy peas were on another level, by the way - delicious flavour and for those who are mushy pea averse, give them a go. You...

This is a fabulous country pub and if I was able to give it more stars, I would. If this was closer to home, we would be here all of the time and we would probably be the size of a house.

We stumbled upon the pub through a quick search for nearby food places to the Premier Inn nearby and it was such a wonderful, flavourful meal with lovely friendly staff.

I opted for the burger which was really tasty, especially the beef with cheese combination and the triple cooked chips are probably worth coming in for on their own. Beautifully crispy and piping hot when they arrived.

My fella opted for the rabbit ballotine as he hadn't tried rabbit before and although it looks small, it came with a cottage pie side. The gravy was especially delicious (homemade stock with port and wine from the secrets we managed to find out from the chef) and the potato topping on the pie was creamy with a glorious cheesy flavour.

We opted for puddings too (apple Tarte tatin and lemon meringue pie) and we ate them before we could take a picture 😂

The pub itself is a good size with free parking at the back and an accessible entrance. We did phone ahead to book but as it's midweek it wasn't necessary. I honestly don't know why it wasn't absolutely packed, because it was stunning and I can't recommend this...