The Black Swan at Oldstead

“Enterprising tasting menu on a moorland farm” - AA Inspector
OLDSTEAD, NORTH YORKSHIRE

Our Inspector's View
Down on the farm on the edge of the North York Moors, is where the Banks family calls home. With foraging forays to supplement the growing of fresh produce, it's a very modern enterprise, which is to say it has taken on many of the attributes of the rural life of 200 years ago. James Banks runs a tight ship out front, while his brother Tommy works wonders in the kitchen. It's worth a wander around the kitchen gardens to get a handle on how your dinner will eventually come together. The tasting menu, which is the standard bill of fare, opens with the customary nibbles, and posts notice of the intent straight away: mussel and wood sorrel; Jerusalem artichoke; a langoustine with caramelised whey. You’re offered sour butter to spread on your sourdough bread, then it’s on to raw Oldstead deer, followed by scallop with razor clam and rhubarb wild ferment. There’s more fermentation in the next dish, celeriac this time, which accompanies monkfish, followed by the signature beetroot, cooked for five hours in beef fat. There’s aged sirloin with onion and lovage, and then cheese, which is optional, before rhubarb and clotted cream, hay and Topaz apples, and a final savoury of root vegetable toast.
Awards, Accolades & welcome Schemes
Facilities – at a glance
Vegetarian menu
Tasting menu
Private dining
Features
- Seats: 50
- Private dining available
- On-site parking available
- Wheelchair accessible
- Assist dogs welcome
- Open all year
- Lunch served from: 12
- Lunch served until: 1.30
- Dinner served from: 6
- Dinner served until: 8.30
- Wines over £30:
- Wines by the glass: 100
- Cuisine style: Modern British
- Vegetarian menu
Also in the Area
About The area
Discover North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire, with its two National Parks and two designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is England’s largest county and one of the most rural. This is prime walking country, from the heather-clad heights of the North York Moors to the limestone country that is so typical of the Yorkshire Dales – a place of contrasts and discoveries, of history and legend.
The coastline offers its own treasures, from the fishing villages of Staithes and Robin Hood Bay to Scarborough, one time Regency spa and Victorian bathing resort. In the 1890s, the quaint but bustling town of Whitby provided inspiration for Bram Stoker, who set much of his novel, Dracula, in the town. Wizarding enthusiasts head to the village of Goathland, which is the setting for the Hogwarts Express stop at Hogsmeade station in the Harry Potter films.
York is a city of immense historical significance. It was capital of the British province under the Romans in AD 71, a Viking settlement in the 10th century, and in the Middle Ages its prosperity depended on the wool trade. Its city walls date from the 14th century and are among the finest in Europe. However, the gothic Minster, built between 1220 and 1470, is York’s crowning glory.
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