Cute & cosy country pub based near Knaresborough serving some fantastic food and hosting various regular themed nights! Definitely worth a visit if you’re nearby. Overall rating 8/10.

Whilst visiting Knaresborough for the day, I wanted to find a decent looking country pub for the evening that served fine-dining style, classic food and came across The Bluebell at Arkendale.

The pub was very busy but the staff were great, I couldn’t fault them! We managed to get a table for 2 and decided to try a full 3 course each with the A La Carte menu offering dishes such as; King Scallops, Butternut Squash Soup, Beef Fillet, Monkfish, Chocolate Cheesecake, Tarte Tatin etc.

For starters we decided to try;

Seared King Scallops with Cauliflower textures, Caper & Raisin dressing & Pea Shoots – The scallops were cooked to perfection and everything on the plate was delicious. A really good starter that was refreshing and not too big a portion.

Seared Venison Loin Carpaccio with Shallot Rings, Diced Blue Cheese, Red Wine Dressing, Rocket Leaves and Roast Hazelnuts – This is something a little different to what I would normally choose but all the ingredients worked so well together and again this was a refreshing starters not heavy at all.

Starters demolished, we did find that we were waiting quite a while for our mains which I think was because the restaurant was so busy. However when the mains finally came, they were worth it.

We had;

Pan Roast Beef Fillet with Truffle Dauphinoise, Braised Red Cabbage, Roasted Leeks and Bourguigon Sauce – The fillet of beef was MASSIVE and cooked medium rare to perfection! Everything on the plate was yummy but so filling!

Pancetta Wrapped Monkfish with Langoustine Risotto, Charred Fennel, Red Wine Braised Salsify, Prosecco Velouté and Herb Salad – The monkfish was really good, however for me the risotto was a little too al dente, but tasty! A bit heavy to finish the full course unfortunately.

Initially regretting the decision of ordering desserts due to being so full, we had;

Chocolate Crunchy Cheesecake with Triple Chocolate Cookie Based – this was fabulous but I was gutted as couldn’t eat it all, but it got finished for me 😝

Almond Panna Cotta with Baked Apple, Cranberry & Golden Raisin Compote and Nutty Crumbs – Not usually a fan of panna cotta so this wasn’t our favourite dessert to try but the baked apple was actually a nice pallet cleanser from the heavy mains. Part of me though does wish that we had ordered the Tarte Tatin! If it had have been an apple Tatin not pineapple there would have been no question about ordering that.

In summary we had a great evening consisting of delicious, well-cooked food and great service, the DJ was a bit questionable though haha! To check out their menus and their upcoming events, please click here.

Happy munching 🙂 

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Thanks,

Jen

@jensfoodblog

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