The Box Tree

While there’s been a restaurant on this site for more than 50 years, owner-proprietor team Simon and Rena Gueller keep things firmly up to date at Ilkley’s picture-perfect The Box Tree. Expect a contemporary take on classical French cooking at a restaurant which has seen famous chefs like Marco Pierre White behind the pass.

The two restaurant rooms are famous for their art and antiques; this is an extremely plush Yorkshire stone farmhouse, dating back 300 years.

Food – and wine – is the real draw though. Soufflés (such as mandarin, with milk chocolate sauce) are a signature while grand French and Italian-inspired dishes come laden with local ingredients. Dishes could include Yorkshire lamb cutlet with wild garlic gnocchi, chalk stream trout with a caper and parsley jus, or celery panna cota with Yorkshire Fettle.

Wines include buttery Soaves, Tokajis, and hand-picked Spanish reds at this restaurant that exudes a sense of occasion.

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