Merienda review: Beverley restaurant 'a fine addition to the town’s dining scene'

I find myself, however, sitting in the garden of said establishment staring not at the gorgeous façade of the regency period sessions courthouse (replete with huge Greek ionic-style columns) in which it operates, but facing the exact opposite direction marvelling at a long-lost wonder of a bygone age. For in the garden of Merienda is one of the finest examples of an original cast iron pissoir to be found anywhere in the country.

The pissoir has a long and storied history in Hull as, a couple of centuries ago, they were designed and used to collect the urine of the ordinary townsmen, which was then transported to Whitby to be used as a fixative in the alum industry, which was once rife along the North Yorkshire coast. The tale - the actual origin of the phrase ‘taking the p**s’ - is well-known but what is lesser-documented is that the alum barons soon found Hull urine to be too tainted by alcohol to be suitably effective and so they installed pissoirs in other towns around the East Riding which were populated by more cultured/less thirsty occupants who would provide a reliably purer supply. It’s likely that the excellent example of the form standing in the garden at Merienda is one of these later models. And beautiful it is. Hull foolishly demolished all surviving ‘walk-through urinals’ in the nineties, which is a criminal shame. Some were beautiful examples of Georgian and Victorian functional architecture and should have been repurposed rather than destroyed.

Enough, though, of irrelevant, parenthetical, micturitory social history, let us return to the putative subject of this review - Merienda. Opened in March this year by husband-and-wife team Josh and Ileana Parkinson, it operates as a café/bakery with an English-meets-Spanish vibe. This is because Beverley-born Josh met his future wife while cheffing in her home, Mexico City. On returning to Beverley, Josh and Ileana teamed up with Josh’s parents – who had most recently operated the former courthouse as a very popular spa – and correctly determined that Beverley needed a new place to eat. Conversion took a while and is ongoing (there are plans for more dining space and, eventually, guest rooms) but it doesn’t affect the day-to-day business of Merienda, which appears to be - to put it mildly - extremely brisk.

The division of labour is, broadly, Josh takes care of savoury and Ileana handles sweet. So everything on the menu is his and what you can see under the glass at the counter inside is hers. It’s an arrangement that seems to be working as the dishes rattle out at an admirable rate.

On the current menu, I can heartily recommend fried eggs and pico de gallo on toasted ciabatta (£13.50), that adds a piquant, salsa-y edge to a breakfast classic; or, for something lighter, a tomato and peach salad with lemon ricotta (£11), which was very similar to a dish I had in Siena recently but this was sharper - probably because of the canny targeted deployment of green toms - and featured a welcome minty/lemony taste.

Of the more robust dishes, I enjoyed the barbacoa beef sourdough toastie (£16.75), which comes with a little bowl of beef broth to dip it in, as well as some pickled red onions. Equally beefy is the fresh tagliatelle and short rib ragu (£19.75) which was the best example of the dish I’ve had since a memorable bowlful in Naples a couple of years ago.

When Ileana takes charge of your taste buds with sweet stuff, you’ll find options changing seemingly every day. Keep your fingers crossed that either the chocolate and wholemeal granola cookie (£3.80) or – particularly – the olive oil and polenta cake (£6) are available. Both are great and the polenta cake particularly is a cut above. (There is a Greek place round the corner from me which serves something very similar, but Ileana’s is better. Don’t tell them I said that or they’ll ban me.)

There are also intriguing drinks available. As well as tea and (superb) Mexican coffee, there are boozy options, but I actually preferred the fruit juice combos – watermelon and rosemary (£5.75) is particularly refreshing – and, most intriguing of all, a Mexican drink called horchata (£5.50), which I’d not come across before. It’s made with rice and tastes milky and toasty and cinnamony.

Merienda currently opens early morning to late afternoon, half the week, but I get the feeling they’re still finding their feet, and opening times may change once Josh and Ileana have properly nailed down who their client base is and when they like to visit. One very welcome problem they will soon face is seating space. The restaurant is currently constantly full inside and out, but that outside space will soon be lost to weather. Since they don’t take bookings and don’t even offer a phone number, it’s hard to imagine where they will cram the unpredictable but constantly arriving stream of customers come the rainy days. A proper upcoming autumnal headache.

And so, the long history of the Sessions courthouse in Beverley continues. From criminals to beauty-seekers to famished diners, the handsome old building has staunchly stood and been re-invented and is still pulling people to it to this very day. With talented, experienced people running the show both in front and backstage, I reckon Merienda will prosper mightily in coming years, but I can’t help but wonder how many punters/history buffs will, like me, be first drawn by the cast-iron edifice out front and the food and drink second.

Ratings:

Welcome – 4/5

Food – 5/5

Atmosphere – 4/5

Prices – 4/5

Merienda, The Sessions House, New Walk, Beverley, East Yorkshire www.merienda.uk

Open: Wednesday to Saturday 8am – 4pm and Sunday 8am – 3.30pm