The Old Greengrocer, Acomb: The 'best kind of neighbourhood restaurant' in Yorkshire serving 'Desperate Dan' portions

So why in the 21st century would anyone open a greengrocer’s shop? In 2018 Darren O’Mahony did just that. Together with his wife Sarah, he opened the Greengrocer of Acomb, packed it full of lovely seasonal fruit and vegetables and waited for the good people of Acomb to bypass Morrisons and come to him.

He had all the staples: potatoes, carrots, beetroot and parsnips, but also more special and seasonal stuff. Jersey Royals, bunched carrots, the first Yorkshire rhubarb, Seville oranges, English asparagus, soft fruits and sometimes bunches of garden flowers.

It was a wonderful, colourful display spilling onto the apron in front of the shop. Indoors were deli items like cheese, prosciutto, coffee, marmalade, and pickles. What could go wrong?.

Covid struck just as they were establishing themselves in the neighbourhood. They cleared the shelves, switched off the lights and went home to sit it out like the rest of us.

When life resumed after lockdown O’Mahony began making a few takeaway items: pork and wild garlic sausage rolls, black pudding scotch eggs, quiches, gammon and leek pies. People liked it, so they added a few tables and chairs and began serving brunch.

In time, they were selling more breakfasts than beetroot, so they added more tables, fairy lights, and some decorative nick-knackery. In December this year, they finally ditched the fruit and veg. and became a full-time café rebranding themselves The Old Greengrocer.

My visit, on a bitter January day, found people wrapped up and sitting at the outside tables. My friend Charlotte, an Acomb regular, had found us a spot indoors.

The wood-burning stove crackled cheerily. The Old Greengrocer could not have been cosier.

The breakfast/brunch menu runs throughout the day. Eggs Royale (poached egg with smoked salmon and Hollandaise), Eggs Florentine (poached egg, spinach and Hollandaise), Eggs Benedict (with Prosciutto and Hollandaise).

Craster kippers; buttermilk waffles, with berries, maple syrup and cream; crushed avocado with smoked salmon or Halloumi; shakshuka (eggs, peppers, tomato, spices) or the full Greengrocer’s breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, tomato, fried bread, potato cake, the lot.

Breakfast segues into lunch with all the above (apart from the full English ) and a menu of blackboard specials.

You can tell from the menu that O’Mahony still respects good produce: heritage tomato with buffalo mozzarella, basil and olive oil; honey roast figs with halloumi and asparagus; gammon with a crispy poached egg and fries with kefir and piccalilli on the side. I’m beginning to realise this is no ordinary caff.

Take the Cauliflower and Cheddar soup. It is gorgeously rich and warming and should rightly be called Cheddar and Cauliflower because the soup is laced with a proper tangy Cheddar, giving way to a soothing creaminess.

It’s dressed with an oil of parsley and roasted garlic then garnished with pea shoots and charred leeks and comes with thick slices of bread and a pot of butter – not those irritating packets cold from the fridge – but proper, room temperature butter.

This kind of attention suggests someone in the kitchen knows what they are doing. Sure enough, Darren O’Mahony is an experienced chef. He’s worked all over.

A long time in Norfolk he says, without naming names, until he settled in York, Sarah’s home town, and after dabbling in greengrocery he’s back at the stove.

Everything is made in-house, from the cakes on the counter or the gammon he roasts himself. The exception is the bread, and why would you bother when you have Phil Clayton’s Haxby Bakehouse delivering his slowly fermented loaves that are arguably the best in town?

O’Mahony uses chunky slices of Haxby’s focaccia to add heft to many of his dishes. My Cajun chicken breast arrives as a heap of craggy, crunchy nuggets of tender fried chicken sandwiched between slices of salty and herby-topped focaccia.

On the side, a pot of spicy siracha and another of cooling tzatziki all for a recession-beating £10.

Another fabulous ten-quid dish is the crisp pork belly, sourced from the outstanding Acorn butchers across the road – it’s been slow roasted to render down the fat, pressed overnight to release more fat then served beautifully crisp the next day, again heaped on focaccia in a wobbly tower.

All that pressing means well-rendered fat while keeping the meat juicy and tender. He sends out a pot of apple sauce to go with it and a jug of proper gravy.

Most dishes are generous, which really means Desperate Dan proportions, but there are lighter dishes too. Maybe red pepper soup, a fish stew, or a watermelon salad.

Veggies, vegans and gluten-free are catered for. Traditional Sunday lunch is popular with Greengrocer regulars. Roast pork or roast beef (and lamb when the price is right) go flying out of the kitchen. It’s served with plenty of veg, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.

Even in summer he tells me, when it’s 30 degrees outside, customers insist upon a roast. At £13.95 I can see why.

If you have room for a pudding, there are cakes and pastries on the counter: an iced chocolate layer cake, a sticky date cake, almond frangipane tart, a gluten-free jam and coconut sponge with custard and Yorkshire rhubarb crumble cake.

The Old Greengrocer is the best kind of neighbourhood restaurant, one that serves well-cooked, crowd-pleasing, generous dishes.

Everything is keenly priced (most dishes are £10 and there’s nothing much over £13), served by lovely, friendly people who don’t have to explain the food and just want you to have a nice time.

The Old Greengrocer, 63 York Road, Acomb YO24 4LN 07402 149715

Price: lunch for two £45 inc service. BYO drink

Welcome 5/5

Food 5/5

Atmosphere 5/5

Prices 5/5