The Ilkley Moor Vaults

The first thing you notice here is the welcoming atmosphere. Known locally as "The Taps", its bar faces the main doors and the staff are immediately warm, helpful and friendly. Having explained that we would like to eat, we were handed menus – printed on old-fashioned brown paper – and told we could sit wherever we liked.

The proprietors, Joe and Elizabeth McDermott, took over about four years ago and sensibly realised that the Vaults is first and foremost a local pub (the sign at the front describes it as "pub and dining room") and they keep things relaxed and informal. It has a homely feel. The main bar has a traditional stone-flagged floor and lovely open log fire blazing away – most welcome on a chilly winter's night – and there's a side bar for a more intimate dining experience. On our early evening midweek visit it was comfortably full, some people were eating, others were there just to enjoy a drink.

It's furnished with an appealing mix of mismatched dark wooden tables and chairs with bench seating around the edges. There's a bookcase full of books you can borrow or swap and dotted around both rooms are comforting objects and pieces of furniture. There's a standard lamp of the kind your granny might have had in her front room and quirky knick knacks. Lighting is gently subdued with fairylights decorating the fireplaces and tea light candles on each table to add to the cosy ambience.

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Having settled ourselves in a corner, bread and butter and a carafe of water and two glasses arrived. The sensibly limited menu declares "Our pub is all about slow food". Everything is made from scratch in their kitchen, including bread, sausages, sauces, pickles, puddings and charcuterie. Herbs and vegetables are grown in the kitchen garden and all the smoked fish and meats produced in their own smokehouse. Ingredients are seasonal and locally sourced.

Several of the wines on the extensive wine list are available by the glass. We chose a Sauvignon Touraine which was crisp, dry and chilled to the right temperature. Prices range from 13.50 per bottle for the house white and red, up to 27 for a top quality Sancerre and, if you're really pushing the boat out, 36 for a Chateauneuf du Pape.

A starter of pub smoked salmon, beetroot and horseradish was delicious. Served on a bed of leaves, the fish was superb and the shavings of fresh horseradish added the perfect peppery contrast to the sweetness of the crunchy beetroot and balsamic dressing. The portion size satisfied the taste buds but left plenty of room for a main course.

The soup of the day, winter vegetable, was a lovely creamy combination of parsnip, carrot and potato – with enough coarseness to give it that authentic homemade quality. The sourdough bread had a crisp crust and nice open texture.

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Other starters, between 4 and 5, included pub smoked sausage, pickled peppers and mustard, Vaults rarebit and homemade pork and herb terrine, toast and chutney. The cashew and hazelnut roast with red wine gravy and winter vegetables had a crunchy texture and the gravy added an appealing juiciness, as did the carrots, Savoy cabbage and celeriac – all cooked "al dente".

The only slight disappointment was the Goosnargh chicken and bacon pie. As is often the case these days, it was not a pie in the conventional sense of pastry bottom and top. It was served in a ceramic bowl topped with puff pastry. The chicken, named after the Lancashire village where the supplier is based, was, however, succulent, the bacon flavourful and the gravy superb. This too was served with winter vegetables.

Main courses cost between 9 and 11.50 and extra side dishes – salad, chips or vegetables – are 2.50. There were three delicious sounding desserts to choose from – at 4.50 each – all of the reassuring "comfort food" variety.

We tried a chocolate and hazelnut truffle cake with cream, and rhubarb and apple crumble with custard. The other choice was a steamed marmalade sponge and custard. The crumble was delicious: the tartness of the seasonal rhubarb made it not too sweet and the custard was a nice thin one, the consistency of single cream. The chocolate cake was delicious – good quality chocolate, smooth truffle texture and generous chunks of hazelnut.

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A selection of Yorkshire cheeses with oatcakes and quince jelly is also available. We had two waitresses, both of whom were accommodating, amiable and knowledgable about the menu. In all, a wholly pleasurable dining experience. We left replete, relaxed, revived and looking forward to the next visit. Highly recommended.

The Ilkley Moor Vaults, Stockeld Road, Ilkley, LS29 9HD. Open for lunch (noon to 2.30pm) and dinner (6pm-9pm) every day except Monday. Tel 01943 607012. On Saturdays, children's lunches are free when adults order food. Their Sunday roast has reached the final of the Great British Pub Food Awards 2010. Upstairs room available for functions. www.ilkleymoorvaults.co.uk