The Bore is a new venture for the acclaimed chef Scott Hessel and his team from the renowned Old Bore Inn at Rishworth in West Yorkshire.

I relented to this intrusion into my Sunday routine because of a memorable visit to the Old Bore where, despite my protestations, I had previously enjoyed a very good Sunday lunch.

It's a huge stride across the county from Rishworth to Carlton Husthwaite and I couldn't help but wonder why would someone want to have two businesses so far apart?

On arriving it was easy to see the attraction though. This is a picturesque village with stunning views towards the North York Moors. But is that a good enough reason in this financially-precarious spell? What is needed to endure these hard times surely will
be great food and value for money. However, with a Sunday lunch sensibly priced at £14.95 for two courses and £17.95 for three we were certainly off to a good start.

The inn has undergone a major overhaul since Scott and his wife took the reins a few months ago. There's a profusion of restful Farrow and Ball muted tones on faux wall panelling, art in the form of quirky illustrations of Scott and his various food suppliers plus a stylish yet sympathetic-to-its surroundings bar.

The menu reeks of the confidence expected from a chef-businessman of Scott's calibre with almost 100 per cent of produce sourced in Yorkshire. There are six well-balanced starters sweeping across meat, veg and fish. The eight mains were equally poised and my only query was over the five desserts, three of which – sticky toffee pudding, treacle tart and a rice pudding – seemed a touch heavy for a summer's day.

Lunch charged forward with two remarkable starters of a black pudding hash brown, poached egg and Hollandaise and a terrine of guinea fowl, gammon and rabbit. The hash brown resembled a Cubist sculpture with a large chunk of well-seasoned, sweet black pudding and potato with a soft-yolked egg perched precariously on top.

The terrine, though more gammon than guinea fowl, was assured and clearly came from the hand of a chef experienced in taste, texture and technique. The presentation of the terrine was another creative piece – the terrine encircled with tiny Girolle mushrooms sitting on a cushion
of tartare.

This was Sunday and nothing would stop me from my roast and Yorkshire pudding. The lamb and the pork had finished so beef it was.

Sirloin to be precise, two enormous, thick slabs cooked exactly the side of rareness (almost raw but not quite mooing) that I love.

The Yorkshire pudding was fresh from the oven though the same couldn't be said of the duck fat roast potatoes which were too far towards well-done but not inedible. Honey-roasted carrots and mustard dressed greens were almost superfluous but eaten with gusto.

A braised Dexter steak pie, cooked in ale under a short crust was another clear winner. What can be so captivating about a steak pie one might wonder. This one had to be seen (and eaten) to be appreciated. It was easily one of the biggest I have seen served for one. The crust laid across the top at some point had begun to melt down the sides of the dish, but stopped like volcanic lava caught in a moment in time. Breaking through the crust revealed weighty chunks of tender steak bathed in a velvety, deep ale-flavoured gravy. A truly great pie both in appearance and in taste.

After such weighty dishes the heavier puddings held no appeal. Not so a lemon posset, a long forgotten pudding making something of a comeback. The original posset of warm milk and honey, (or in Lady Macbeth's hands a poisoned concoction to do in Duncan's bodyguard), bore no resemblance, the creamy, tangy confection served today with summer berries and lavender, honey biscuits.

It is the first time I can ever remember fighting over a dessert – we had ordered only one as I felt too full after roast beef. But, once tasted, this dessert was so more-ish I realised I had made a mistake and should have had one all to myself. My Sunday lunch at the Carlton Bore – as at the Old Bore – was a triumph. The setting is lovely, the food and wines remarkable. The front of house staff are young yet assured and astonishingly friendly. Clearly from the success of the food, there's a competent kitchen behind the scenes.

Will they succeed in a time when many will struggle? They deserve to because this is one of the best restaurant I have found in quite some time and I certainly look forward to going back for an evening meal.

The Carlton Bore, Carlton Husthwaite, Thirsk, 01845 501265.
Open, Wed-Sat: noon-2:15pm, 6pm-9.30. Sun: noon-3pm.