If you have ever wanted to eat at a Tommy Banks table without the full Michelin-starred commitment, Roots York is the place to do it. It is Banks' second restaurant, a more informal and affordable sibling to his Black Swan at Oldstead, and it sits in a Victorian building on the banks of the River Ouse at 68 Marygate, the former Bay Horse mock Tudor pub. The space is bright and airy, keeping nods to its pub past with white walls, wainscot oak panelling, exposed brick and a restored fireplace, while the tables are made in Oldstead with metal 'root' legs. Kilner jars and pickles from Oldstead dot the room.
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The cooking follows the Banks family's 'farm-to-fork' philosophy, with ingredients coming from the family farm and garden in Oldstead. It is vegetable-forward, and most dishes are finished with a touch of vinegar, lactic or floral. The menu is split into small plates, roughly £6 to £10, and larger plates at £14 to £20, with a 'Feast' option at £50 a head. A tasting menu sits around £110, and lunch is not cheap: a meal for two with wine and service lands at roughly £150. There are two main menus, the Core and the Signature, both built to preserve produce grown on the farm and garden for months or even years.
That preservation is the whole point. The seasonal menus rotate through the year: 'The Hunger Gap' from January to May relies on what was preserved the previous year; 'Time of Abundance' in summer brings in the fresh produce; and 'The Preserving Season' from autumn to December works through the gluts of onions, beetroots and apples. In spring, a Sunday Feast appears with roasted beef loin, leek and swede gratin, roasted carrots with tarragon butter, grilled savoy cabbage, crispy roast potatoes, bone marrow sauce and Yorkshire puddings, finished with a fresh lemon verbena tart and crème fraîche ice cream.
Dishes to look out for include sourdough and seed crackers with Lincolnshire Poacher custard, raw sweet kale with sheep's yoghurt and pickled walnut, fried rye bread with wild garlic and charcoal emulsion, Oldstead carrots with cow's curd, lamb and fermented turnip bao, thornback ray wing, and pork fillet and belly with tomato, lardo and onion soubise. Dessert often leans on the white chocolate, Douglas fir and lemon verbena combination, created in memory of Tommy's grandfather and twice scored 10/10 on Great British Menu, alongside the Mary Banks apple cake with Oldstead honey. Wine is served by the bottle, carafe and glass, with many drinks made from fruit, vegetables and herbs grown back in Oldstead.
Roots is run by executive chef Will Lockwood, who won Great British Menu North East, under Banks' guidance. Banks himself is a self-taught Yorkshire chef from Oldstead of agricultural background, one of the most recognisable faces on Great British Menu and Saturday Kitchen, and the youngest chef in the UK to win a Michelin star, which he did at twenty-four. The restaurant was named best in the country at the Observer Food Monthly Awards in 2022. It opens for dinner Wednesday to Saturday from 18:00 to 19:30, lunch Friday and Saturday from 12:00 to 13:30, and Sunday lunch from 12:00 to 15:30, and closes Mondays and Tuesdays. It sits a short walk from the train station, with parking about 112 metres away.
