Pipe and Glass Review

It had been nearly three years since my last trip to the Pipe and Glass, a renowned pub cum restaurant situated in the lovely Yorkshire village of South Dalton. All my previous (three) visits had been eminently enjoyable, so I was very much hoping for another quality meal as I rocked up for lunch with my wife and two children, on a mild February Wednesday.

As per my last visit, booking online had been straightforward with a twenty pound per person deposit, which is very reasonable nowadays for a top restaurant. There's a large on site car park opposite the pub with plenty of spaces, albeit as always when we visit here, it was fairly busy. We made our way across to the entrance and after a short wait to be seen to, we were shown to our table in one of the dining areas.

The decor is very much as I remember; there's a fairly traditional pub feel here, but with a nicely finished upmarket vibe. We were sat at a large round table this time which was very spacious for four people. It was a touch quieter than I recalled from my previous visits (although I appreciate there aren't many venues fully booked on a February Wednesday lunch time) but there were still a good number of tables in which was great to see.

On offer at lunch is a well established three course menu, plus a sizeable three course children's menu for those aged ten and under (which is always appreciated). There's a solid wine list, split by the food group each wine is best paired with, and a decent drinks list also with a good range of options. I enjoyed my usual Hendrick's and tonics, my wife was a little under the weather so started with a peppermint tea (and why not), whilst the kids very perfectly happy with lemonade and apple juice.

First up for me was the smoked salmon tartlet, consisting of hot smoked salmon rillette, cold smoked slices of salmon, a chunky potato and kohlrabi salad, with pickled cucumber, caviar and dill. I was happy with this in the main; I did enjoy the slices of salmon on top of the tart more than the rillette, and the tart case was a bit over-solid for me which didn't help the eating of the dish. But on the plus side, it was fresh and tasty, and a sizeable portion for a one star menu starter.

My wife was more impressed with her beetroot tartare dish, served with a confit egg yolk, which she described as delicious. My daughter went for a portion (four slices) of the homemade sourdough bread as a starter which was uncomplicated but perfectly tasty, whilst my young son very much enjoyed just a side of fries.

For mains, both my wife and I opted for the parkin crusted roast loin of deer, served with a haggis pasty, red cabbage, a celeriac puree and a rhubarb and tamarind pickle. This was a very tasty main course; the meat cookery was good and the celeriac puree was divine, I only wish there had been a little bit more of that on the plate. The only issue I really had with the plate overall was the cabbage was very sweet, and the pickle was quite sweet, it was just a little bit unbalanced for me as a complete dish.

My wife very much enjoyed it though (probably a touch more than me) and it was a decent portion size too; there was a gentle push from our waitress when ordering to add some sides, but I don't think they are needed here in all honesty. My daughter had the ploughman's which was an enjoyable selection of cheese and meat; she had no complaints.

I was fairly full after our mains in all honesty, but of course, there was no chance of us leaving without dessert. After having something different last time, I went back to the always-on-the-menu 'Five reasons to love chocolate' dessert for this visit, now priced at £19.50. It was £13 when I first ate it in 2015, but I think that's a pretty fair reflection of hospitality inflation since then in all honesty (it's probably gone up less than I'd expected in truth). I enjoyed a lot of this; the white chocolate elements were my favourite this time including the creme brulee and a white chocolate mousse in a glass. The brownie though wasn't great and also the cake layer at the bottom of the chocolate orange cone was overly dry which was a shame.

My wife had the baked dark chocolate 'millionaire' pudding with salted burnt butter ice cream. She enjoyed what she could manage of this, but it was naturally very rich and she couldn't finish it. Sadly I was too stuffed by this point after my monster dessert to try any of it either! The kids went for an adult sorbet and child ice cream selection respectively, and they both enjoyed; all of the ice cream and sorbet was well made and suitably tasty.

My wife and I finished with a perfectly decent cappuccino each, which was accompanied by four tasty petit fours (which I valiantly managed to eat, I'm such a hero). And so, after collecting our bill with no fuss (complete with 12.5% service charge), a very enjoyable family lunch came to an end.

Overall, this was another high quality meal. The food perhaps in places was not quite a strong as previous visits, but there was still some very accomplished pub cooking on show. The service too was pretty faultless; all of the staff were very amiable and we were well looked after. The meal was, of course, considerably more expensive than my last visit here and the majority of pub menus you'll find, but I didn't think our lunch was bad value at all given the quality of what we were served and the current hospitality climate.

I think the owners and team here are doing a fantastic job of continuing to offer a great gastropub dining experience; to maintain standards this high for such a long period is no mean feat. I wish everyone involved all the best for the future, and I'm sure I'll be making a return visit before too long.