If you are after a dinner that lets you pick and choose rather than commit to a single main, Skosh is the place. It sits at 98 Micklegate, just past the Micklegate Bar, one of the city's twelfth-century gateways, and the whole building is Grade II listed, recently refurbished and reimagined. The name comes from the Japanese sukoshi, meaning a small amount, which also doubles as Yorkshire slang for the same thing — a fitting nod to the way the menu is built.
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The kitchen is run by chef and owner Neil Bentinck, who opened his first restaurant in the summer of 2016. In January 2024, he took over the neighbouring property, which grew the place into what it is now: a bar with walk-up tables, a private dining room with its own bar for up to twelve, and a second dining area looking straight into the open kitchen. The cooking is contemporary British with a wide reach, pulling in flavours from Asia, Europe and the Americas, and it is served as snacks and small plates meant to be shared. The idea is to graze, ordering several portions and letting them arrive as they are ready.
The menu changes often and is split into Snacks, Fish, Meat, Veg and a savoury pudding. It is hard to pin down a single signature dish because the line-up shifts, but the range gives you the idea: xianji lamb and mushroom dumplings, wild monkfish sashimi with grapefruit and mirin vinaigrette, salt-aged beef sirloin with chimichurri, pork belly satay skewers, venison kebabs with quince ketchup, and monkfish tempura with burnt apple, celeriac and yuzu. There is also a hen's egg served in a ceramic shell with St Andrew's Cheddar, mushrooms and PX Sherry, salt-aged duck breast with rhubarb jam and Sichuan chilli oil, braised beef cheek with broken rice, Galician octopus with wild garlic nahm jim and kohlrabi, and a vacherin mont d'or and rye mille-feuille with artichoke, truffle and horseradish. For something lighter, there are crab puris with broad beans and tamarind, crispy saddleback pork with fig ketchup, spring peas and radish with lemongrass, coconut and Thai basil, hanger steak with kimchi turnips, and a wild garlic flatbread with Yorkshire pecorino fresco. On the sweeter side, a gorgonzola dolce cheesecake with fig chutney ice cream or a pineapple cremeux with Madagascan vanilla, chilli and passion fruit round things off.
On price, it is not cheap but not out of reach. Plates run from about £4.50 to £25, and a dinner for two with six or seven courses lands somewhere around £70 to £80 a head, while lunch is closer to £40 to £50. It carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand, a SquareMeal Silver Award, and has turned up as one of the most talked-about spots in Harden's annual survey. The drinks list is broad, with red, white, orange, sparkling and sweet wines, Yorkshire craft beers, lagers, ciders, cocktails and a gin made with Cooper King Distillery that carries a smoky cardamom note.
A few practical notes before you go. It is open Wednesday to Friday from 12:00 to 14:00 and 17:30 to 22:00, and all day Saturday from 12:00 to 22:00, with Sunday, Monday and Tuesday closed. Bookings go through the website, and groups of six or more need to call 01904 634849 or email info@skoshyork.co.uk, with twelve as the largest table. A card is needed to secure a booking, and you will be charged £20 a head if you cancel with less than 24 hours' notice. Wheelchair access and an accessible toilet are available on request, so it is worth mentioning when you book. There is no strict dress code, though smart-casual is the general note.
