The Angel Inn at Hetton
Hetton Near Skipton North Yorkshire BD23 6LT
The Angel at Hetton is one of the UK's pioneering gastropubs, dedicated to great food in a pub setting since as long ago as 1985 – back in the Dark Ages as far as pub dining was concerned. It's moved with the times, and added rooms since opening, but the essential characteristics remain the same – seasonal menus, locally sourced where possible, especially strong on fish, and backed up by a great range of wines, with plenty available by the glass. It's a handsome old inn – 500 years old in parts – with a contemporary rustic sheen, offering separate menus in the brasserie and the more formal restaurant, though many dishes cross over from one to the other in slightly different guise. Either way, you can expect things like braised and roasted rare-breed pork shoulder on a fennel risotto or wild sea trout with asparagus and crayfish, with serious cheeses and desserts to follow. The advantage of brasserie and bar dining is that you can just drop in for a bowl of soup and some "Yorkshire tapas" if you wish (like local chorizo, made just down the road). The restaurant is a dressier affair, though country-friendly rather than snooty, and it's all fantastically good value if you're used to London and Home Counties prices.
