The one where we escape the rain…
Roots in York has been on my must visit list since it opened. To be honest, so has the Black Swan, but that one will require a chauffeur.
Roots is the York home of Tommy Banks and the Black Swan team. And much like the Black Swan the theme is around the seasons, and local produce, with much of it coming from the farm at Oldstead. If you’ve watched any of the Great British Menu series’ you may see a few elements that are familiar, as Tommy Banks is a bit of an old hand.
The building is gorgeous. Built in 1894, just across from the Museum gardens and a stone’s throw from the river bank, there are lots of period features, including the fireplace, stained glass windows, and Tudor style timberwork.
Inside, it’s got a modern edge to it, but whereas The Rattle Owl does the same with softness and a hint of clutter, Roots is clean and modern. The wooden flooring, and root like sculpture to the table legs keeps it natural, and flowing, but it still has a very clean edge.
When it comes to lunch time dining, you have two options. You can select options from a menu and dine, or you can put yourselves in the hands of the kitchen, and opt for the Feast Menu.
It was my birthday, there was no real decision to be made. We ordered a cocktail each, and prepared for the feast.
And it really was a feast. The bread and butter was not just bread and butter. Alongside some delicious sourdough, seeded crackers and chive cultured butter, was a tomato powder topped Lincolnshire Poacher custard. Yes, rich cheesy custard, sharp tomato, smeared onto your bread. Or as I tried to do quietly, my finger as I cleaned the pot. Yes, it was that good.
As I tried to this, our first plate arrived, the nasturtium ‘caesar’. Fresh salad leaves, nasturtium flowers, horseradish and buttermilk dressing, topped with a grated cured egg yolk. If I could have a salad like this for my lunch daily, I happily would. Fresh clean leaves, hints of pepper from the horseradish and the nasturtium, a light acidity from the buttermilk, and the richness of the yolk.
Our second would normally have me handing the whole plate to my husband. Heritage tomatoes with a raw milk ricotta. Fresh tomatoes are not my favourite. But it seems I enjoy them far more when they’ve been warmed to 50°C – when the texture changes somewhat. Fruity, light acidity, well seasoned, paired with a soft, creamy milky ricotta. So simple, but absolutely delicious.
The third course was a palate cleanser – and a somewhat unexpected pairing. Leaves of onion with lavender, lemon verbena with gooseberry and apple juice. The apple was crisp, but without any heat, the liquid a sweet, sharp and floral all at once. It did exactly what we wanted it to, cleaning our palate ready for what was to come.
You may recognise this from the tellybox. ‘Strawberries and cream’ was a dish that won Tommy a place in the 2017 Great British Menu. It’s refined somewhat since then, but having sampled it, it’s easy to see why it went through. Green strawberries in elderflower vinegar, with wafer thin slices of sea bass. The fennel in the cream adds a herbal note, but still the fish isn’t overwhelmed. Very well balanced.
Our following fish dish was a very different one. Trout with very crispy skin (still outdone by Rattle Owl, sorry), oyster leaf, with a tomato and onion compote, a red pepper sauce and smoked basil powder.
Whereas strawberries and cream was all about freshness and vibrancy, this was all about fruity richness. It was distinctly more intense in flavour, but without feeling weighty.
We moved from something complex, to something simple, but still just as delicious. A butter roasted Charlotte potato from Oldstead, served on top of smoked cods roe, with mini potato fries. It was a melody of potato. Everything you love about a good potato – waxy, creamy, slightly earthy, backed up by the smokiness of the roe. Something that would be so easy to have as a side, showcased as a full dish all of its own.
After potatoes, came meat. Salt aged short rib of beef, kimchi, Old Winchester cheese, gherkin ketchup and mustard mayo. The beef was soft and tender, the kimchi sharp and crisp, the cheese added that rounded acidity. I now need to know how to make gherkin ketchup. That little bite of sharpness was delightful.
Onto the last of our savoury courses. Lamp rump, cooked beautifully pink, velvety courgette puree and lamb jus, served with roasted vegetables in a white wine butter sauce. I don’t know that I need to add anything here. The lamb was delightfully tender, the courgette fresh and soft. The vegetables had a touch of charring, but still had plenty of bite and flavour. Good quality food, treated well.
Dessert beckoned. Eton Mess with an oat mousse, strawberry jelly, berries macerated in a tarragon sugar, tarragon meringue and strawberry sherbet. It’s worth mentioning here, that I’m not the world’s biggest fan of tarragon. I can find it incredibly astringent and a heavy hand ruins my palate. This was a very gentle touch, that added a herbal note to the dish. Instead of it being light and fluffy, it gave it a bit more oomph, a little more solidity.
Our final dish. An anise hyssop almond cake with dehydrated plums, plum compote and a whey ice cream. The ice cream was soft and light, and used up the whey leftover from the ricotta way back at the beginning. I love that they waste nothing, and celebrate everything. The plums were sweet yet tart, the cake dense – but the anise was complimentary, rather than dominating. A delicious dessert – and another I’m going to have to play with at home.
So Roots isn’t going to be your run of the mill venue, and probably not one I’d be able to go to too often. Not just because it’s in York, but temptation to go for the Feast every visit would probably bankrupt me.
All that said, the creativity, the celebration of local, and home grown produce, and of the flavours they have, it was just fabulous.
Now to get saving for another visit!
