Pignut, Helmsley: Yorkshire restaurant with seasonal tasting menu and local ingredients is added to the Michelin Guide

Pignut on Bridge Street, which only opened in June, is the only Yorkshire addition to the prestigious publication in November.

Run by a young couple who were formerly head chef and manager at York restaurant Rattle Owl, it occupies a historic building owned by the Duncombe Park Estate, who agreed to lease it to them after being impressed with the dining concept in a town that already has a large number of cafes.

There are just six tables and fewer than 20 covers, and Michelin inspectors described Pignut as ‘cosy, clean and unfussy’. The tasting menu – four or eight courses – features produce from the local area, including Helmsley Walled Garden and the Castle Howard estate, as well as ‘wastage’ dishes using leftovers. The cocktails include foraged ingredients; pignuts are themselves a type of wild nut found in abundance around Helmsley in the spring. The wines are all organic and natural, and beers are supplied by Helmsley Brewery.

Yorkshire Post food critic Elaine Lemm described herself as ‘immensely impressed’ by the ethos and ambition of Pignut when she visited for a review in August.