7 Steps

Rustling up accomplished modern-meets-traditional dishes using good-quality locally sourced ingredients while also serving local ales (as well as the mixologists’ cutting-edge cocktails), 7 Steps is the place for fancy food but in Yorkshire portions and with a local pub feel atmosphere.

A former Conservative Club, 7 Steps (not confirmed, but possibly the number needed to navigate to get into the building) is commanding yet cosy. Matching the rustic setting are rustic recipes the likes of Chef’s Proper Pie (unspecified) with beef dripping chips and gravy, and rare breed pork chop with bubble & squeak, plus game such as wild boar Scotch egg and pan-seared pigeon breast. There’s also a whole separate “from the grill” section, featuring all the steaks, all the sauces, a posh cheeseburger and a sharer Chateaubriand. Foul comes courtesy Gressingham, and duck breast with salsify, ajo blanco, almond crumb and garlic chive mash, while fish has included herb-crusted salmon, lemony turbot and roasted hake. Vegetarians aren’t quite so lucky, although a shallot tarte Tatin with “truffle snow” certainly cuts the mustard while leeks are teamed with coconut, lime, coriander and tarka dhal for a take on tandoori cooking. They’re not afraid of trying out ideas here, and the menu even lists the Chef’s Experiment, when the man in the hat creates “something different using the best Yorkshire produce”. Head over on a Sunday for award-winning beef or roast of the day, served with Marmite roasties, mash, seasonal veg and a “good old-fashioned Yorky”.

Desserts don’t mess about either, with the winter menu featuring a pear tart with spiced walnut crumble and tonka bean ice cream and substantial crowd-pleasers like chocolate brownies and sticky toffee pudding. Worth a look, though, is the now legendary dippy egg and soldiers, a passionfruit and brioche number eaten with a chocolate swoon, sorry, spoon.

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