The Kestrel, Knaresborough: The Yorkshire country pub serving high standard food at sensible prices
The owners of the Kestrel are so confident about its future that recently they spent more than half a million pounds modernising and developing the interior.
One of the busiest pubs in the Harrogate and Knaresborough area, The Kestrel, as you drive on the A661 from Wetherby through Spofforth, is on the left-hand side as you approach Harrogate on Wetherby Road.
A former farmhouse, it’s been a pub since 1999 and employs more than 30 staff; indeed, employees have increased since the costly improvements which closed The Kestrel for a month before being due to reopen today.
The wooden beams on the low ceilings and the many pictures of the area emphasise what The Kestrel is – a country pub serving high standard food at sensible prices.
Now that it’s open again, the restaurant has grown from 120 to 140 seats and, as before, Sundays continue to be extremely busy for head chef, Simon Parsons, and his kitchen staff.
Between 12pm and 8pm on Sundays, more than 300 lunches are eaten – one course with drinks will set you back £27 pounds, but mid-week, a two-course meal at £19.50, is good value as are the bar snacks, three helpings for £12.00.
Ensuring the refurbishment has gone to plan, carried out by a Harrogate contractor, is The Kestrel’s general manager, Louise Jackson, whose previous job was working in a sports bar in Twickenham, near the rugby stadium.
The pub’s not only open for food and drinks, but it also has 10 bedrooms which are in full use during the Great Yorkshire Show just up the road.
The Kestrel’s part of Vintage Inns, owned by brewers Mitchell and Butler, and they’re keen to retain its character following the expensive redevelopment.
If a pub’s success can be judged by the number of cars parked, The Kestrel’s is prospering as the car park, capable of taking more than 50 vehicles, is often full.
Welcome 5/5
Atmosphere 5/5
Drinks choice 5/5
Prices 5/5
The Kestrel, Wetherby Road, Knaresborough, HG5 8LY.