The latest venture from Tommy Banks, the Abbey Inn at Byland, has opened its doors and shared its menu.
Described as a “relaxed, 70-cover pub with three luxury rooms” the Abbey Inn is Tommy’s latest foodie venture in North Yorkshire, after his Michelin-starred restaurant The Black Swan at Oldstead and Roots York.
Tommy said: “Washing pots in this building was one of my very first jobs when I was a kid, so to now open my own pub in it is a dream.
“It’s a beautiful venue, with so much history in its four walls.”
“One of my main goals in opening a third place is to continue my mission for championing hyper-local, sustainable produce.
“We’ve been rearing our own cattle, sheep and pigs for a while now, and The Abbey Inn allows us to get one stop further in our journey to complete carcass balance and true nose-to-tail dining.”
With views of the gothic ruins of the historic Byland Abbey, the Abbey Inn was built by monks in 1845 as a farmhouse, but by 1853 had been converted into a pub.
The Banks family say they have taken care to preserve and highlight the old building’s original features. Dining tables have been crafted in the workshops on the farm at Oldstead and the pub’s sign has been hand carved by Tommy’s father, Tom Banks.
The inn’s head chef is Charlie Smith, who has worked at both the Black Swan and Roots York in his five years in the business.
The food and drink
Starters (£10.50-£14) include smoked baby beetroot, ewe’s curd and ‘rhuboshi’; Oldstead Dexter tartare with fermented peppers and bone marrow; and Glazed Herdwick lamb rib with yoghurt flatbread and fermented carrots.
Mains (£20-£27) include the Byland burger, with a patty is made up of Dexter chuck brisket and short rib, topped with bacon and chicory jam and served alongside pork fat fries. There’s also a vegetarian Hen of the Woods burger, halibut cooked over charcoal alongside charlotte potatoes, yoghurt whey and chamomile sauce.
Sunday roasts include pork with pig cheek toad in the hole and salt-aged Dexter beef with braised oxtail toad in the hole – both served with seasonal vegetables, duck fat roast potatoes, brassica cheese and gravy.
Desserts (£9-£12.50) include carrot and chicory tiramisu and a seasonal tart. Homemade soft serve ice cream from Jersey cow’s milk and locally foraged ingredients has flavours including douglas fir with lemon verbena and white chocolate; strawberry and sweet cicely and York Cocoa House chocolate and rye cookie.
Drinks include 30 wines, cocktails made with local ingredients, including the Abbey Inn Summer Cup which features a homemade bramble liqueur.
The inn also has three bedrooms if you fancy staying over. They are due to open on 31 July.
More on the Abbey Inn website.