The Farsyde

Well I am pleased to have the honour of writing the first review of this excellent restaurant right in the centre of Ilkley. Indeed I am kicking myself for not having discovered it before, given that I have stayed many times at the Rombalds Hotel (qv my reviews).
Was eating alone, and arrived at opening time of 6pm. So I ordered a pint of bitter (John Smiths smooth it would have been good to have had Ilkleys own brewery bitter Mary Jane). I was shown to a nice window table in a pleasantly decorated, and quite large room. Good ambience. Menus were brought (Early bird, A la Carte, and some daily ‘specials’) — I didnt really fancy the ‘early bird menu’ but others may have been perfectly happy with it. Ordered a starter Mushroom, Leek and sundried tomato tartlet (£6.25) and for main a Duo of Lamb (Rump and a cutlet at £16.75). An excellent selection of home made bread rolls was brough, together with pots of butter, olive oil/​balsamic vinegar, and sun dried tomato paste.
The tart arrived hot on a bed of greens with some small cubes of cheese, and a sweet/​sour type of relish which complemented the tart brilliantly. I thought one of the most enyable starters Ive had for a while.
The two types of lamb were equally good, they came on shredded savoy cabbage with pancetta and served with side dish of veg comprising Dauphinoise potato, carrots, sugarsnap peas and ratatouille. For me the carrots were a bit too ‘al dente’, needed cooking for longer, but this was the only minor adverse comment I have to make. Dining alone, I declined a dessert. No hesitation in giving 5 stars
I have another recommendation in Ilkley (Martha and Vincents) which I will try next week as I am staying over in the area again. Noone has yet reviewed it on Qype, and it has been described to me as the best in Ilkley. Well it will have to be good to beat The Farsyde.
PS forgot to say the Wine list is reasonably priced and that there are 14 wines available by the glass (and three sizes) Further visit 27^th March 2012, Standard as above still maintained. Crispy Duck starter with ebasprouts, pine nuts and mustard mayo was well executed and delicious. Trio of lamb, composing some medaillons of rump, a parmesan coated cutlet and some confit, was outstanding Highley recommended anf form what Ive heard locally about The box Tree, this is the best food in Ilkley

Sadly, this place has nothing to do with Gary Larson. It is, however, a rather smart looking restaurant housed in an impressive stone building in the heart of Ilkley, with an impressive looking menu and prices to match. With dishes like ‘warm salad of woodpigeon and roast artichokes’ and ‘braised pig’s cheek on mash with poached quail’s egg’ this is high end gastronomy more suited to central London than suburban Yorkshire, and perhaps unsurprisingly the socially aspirational locals lap it up. I visited with my parents, and although they enjoyed themselves I was less than impressed. The overall impression I got was one of a restaurant that’s trying too hard, and everything from the paragraph-​long descriptions of dishes to the over-​elaborate presentation of the food felt as though it had been created to emulate other, better establishments instead of just being itself. This opinion was cemented by the fact that Farsyde’s moments of brilliance occurred when it appeared to think about what its customers wanted — such as in the impressive, reasonably priced wine list or the fantastic value early bird menu — rather than what might impress a hypothetical Michelin judge. Oh, and less of the foie gras please… you can get away with it in London where the majority of people have probably never even seen a goose, but this is Yorkshire!

Another quality Ilkley restaurant, the Farsyde is probably the best place to eat in the town.
I went months ago but can still remember just how good it was — which explained how busy it was. We booked a week in advance and even then we were lucky to get a spot at the weekend, such is the popularity of this restaurant.
The décor was what you come to expect from Ilkley — classy but not garish, and, because of the crowds, the atmosphere was good but not overbearing as it might have been
The menu is hugely varied in here — you will need a fair while to look at it all and decide before choosing, and while some say it’s too big a menu, I love the choice. It’s refined without being pretentious — it’s your meat and veg, but posher.
The best thing about the place is undoubtedly the prices though — for food that is tastier than the expensive Box Tree down the road, they charge very down-​to-​earth prices. It’s almost a steal! I highly recommend.