First look: Fancy Hanks restaurant brings a ‘Deep South meets Shoreditch’ vibe to York

It is a very unusual recipe – take one dollop of trendy London borough and mix with a large portion of US home cooking – but those are the ingredients that have gone into York’s newest restaurant.

Fancy Hanks opened on Goodramgate today (Thursday), blasted into being by tunes from the New York Brass Band and town crier Ben Fry’s bell. It is described as the Deep South meets Shoreditch, complete with funky murals, cocktails and plenty of gumbo.

And the bright yellow venue is very different to Cut & Chase, the original project of owners Joel and Wes Taylor.

After three years the brothers decided it was time for a change, and so brought together two of their favourite things – the cooking of the southern US states, and a decent cocktail.

And Fancy Hanks is aimed at everyone, Joel told YorkMix. “We want to create a relaxed atmosphere that’s inviting to everyone. Anyone who would want to try us out and have a good time.”

The food

So what’s on the menu? Well for breakfast, you might try chorizo hash or shrimp and crab omelette.

For the rest of the day, you could tuck into slow-cooked gumbo and jambalaya, various buttermilk fried chicken dishes, a blackened Cajun chicken burger or a cheese waffle with ‘herby shrooms’.

Puddings including peach cobler and peanut butter brownie, and there are a range of sweet waffles too.

A new drinks menu celebrates 11 US states in cocktail form. A mix of peanut butter infused bourbon, with bitters, maraschino syrup and brown sugar is the Virginia cocktail, whilst South Caroline’s ‘Heavens to Betsy’ combines elderflower-infused gin, pomegranate liqueur and prosecco.

Joel said:

• The idea behind it is traditional Deep South food. We decided to change it from Cut & Chase because we were able to experience living over there for quite a while.

  We loved the food, so we thought we would try and recreate it over here so everyone can have a sense of what it’s like to be in the Deep South as well.
  

His favourite dish off the menu? “This is really hard because there’s so many that I like. I would probably say the short rib which is served with barbecue beans.”

Live music

Music will be a regular feature in the new restaurant, with space set aside for musicians to perform in the venue as people drink and dine.

“Live music is a massive part of the southern American states so we really wanted to try and bring that into the concept – atmosphere as well as cuisine,” said Joel.

“It will be funk, soul, jazz – that sort of vibe.”

There’s also a private dining room which seats 20 on the first floor.

The team includes some staff who have remained from Cut & Chase but new people as well. Wes said:

• We’re going to be spending more time in the restaurant rather than the kitchen, so we’ll see first-hand what works well and make sure that everyone leaves with bellies full and a smile on their face – what more could you want?
  

Fancy Hanks gallery