The Waterside, Ruswarp: Couple behind stylish Whitby pizza restaurant have raised their game with latest effort
Jill Turton returns to familiar territory near Whitby and has dinner at newly-opened Waterside in Chainbridge – and is wowed by what Chloe and David Ellis, the couple behind it, have pulled off. Pictures by Amanda Wragg.
From time to time, I’ve hired a rowing boat on the River Esk at Ruswarp near Whitby, and meandered down that graceful river to the River Garden Café.
On a sunny day, there’s nowhere better, with the alders dipping their leaves into the water, the swifts skimming down to take a drink and the promise of tea and cake at the end of our little voyage.
Last month things got a whole lot more sophisticated with the opening of Waterside at Chainbridge, just a few yards from the boat hire in an idyllic spot right on the river.
It’s the work of Chloe and David Ellis, the couple who created Pizza West in Whitby, the stylish pizza restaurant launched in those risky post-pandemic days of 2021.
Now they’ve raised their game with an ambitious 50-cover restaurant created out of a former café and holiday cottage business in a drop-dead location into which they appear to have sunk an awful lot of money.
Outside, the lawned riverbank has been replaced with gravel footpaths and a variety of decks set with tables for outside dining or pre-dinner drinks.
One terrace, strung with Japanese-style paper lanterns, has gorgeous velvet loungers. Elsewhere there are picnic tables, a fire pit, pot plants and fairy lights everywhere.
The optimistic owners have given children have their own space, with mini deckchairs, mini picnic tables and a play area. There are newly planted shrubs, herbs and even a couple of well-established olive trees.
Inside it’s just as glam. A bar area with arched windows is furnished with big round tables, while the main dining room has a beamed ceiling, exposed brick, and views to the open kitchen where chefs are hunched, artfully plating up the food.
Breathe though, because there are no tweezers, no small plates and no tasting menu. This is old school, with just four starters, four mains and a couple of puddings.
Crab on toast is just that. It needs nothing more than its garnish of fennel and a squeeze of lemon, save perhaps, for a bit more seasoning. How could it be otherwise when Ruswarp is a mere two miles from Whitby where the crabs are landed?
Monkfish crudo brings a tangle of cucumber and pearly white, paper-thin slices of monkfish, soused in olive oil and scattered with crushed pink peppercorns, though a squeeze or two of lemon or lime would have helped to bring it to life after its time in the fridge.
The waiting staff are mostly on message, asking (perhaps a little too often) if we had everything we needed. We were especially fond of our young waiter who was having a few first-night jitters telling us he’d worked at a café in Whitby, ‘but nothing like this’.
My lamb navarin was a generous, near-collapse, piece of lamb shoulder, full of sticky, lamby juices that come from cooking long and slow. In with those juices came new potatoes, baby turnips peas, courgettes, asparagus and mint. A lovely spring dish for our chilly June evening.
There are two non-meat dishes on the menu: heritage tomato carpaccio with stracciatella (mozzarella curds) and an oyster mushroom kebab with borlotti beans and a summer green stew, dishes which sound as if some thought and effort might have gone into their creation.
But the wild sea bass was calling, its skin cooked to a fine crisp and served with a cream sauce and a gentle whiff of heat from green peppercorns. A Jersey Royal (that’s one sliced Jersey Royal) was served alongside. It hardly needed more; portions are plentiful. No one will leave hungry after this good value £59 menu. At least not for as long as they keep the mid-course pasta dish. The cacio e pepe was my stand-out dish of the night.
Cacio e pepe, translates as cheese and pepper and that’s all it is. Tagliatelle tossed in butter, black pepper and grated pecorino, with some of the starchy cooking water whisked to an emulsion to make a sauce. Trust the Italians to produce something spectacular from three ingredients. And trust these chefs to execute it to perfection.
By the time we reached dessert the restaurant was rocking, with every table taken and nothing to absorb the noise bouncing off those brick walls.
It didn’t stop us from trying a rich and creamy ice cream with that stretchy quality found in Middle Eastern ice cream, topped with ground pistachio. Nor the tonka bean tart, the spice with hints of vanilla and almond, beloved of chefs, giving a lift to a textbook custard tart, served with strawberries and cream.
I wouldn’t bet on it being quieter any other night, but some of the chatter must come down to the excitement of the opening night. There was a genuine buzz of people enjoying themselves and a tangible feeling of optimism.
If places like Waterside can make a success of it, then perhaps it’s not all gloom in hospitality after all. And in what could prove to be an astute move, Waterside opens at weekends only.
Lunch is aimed at families with children, offering a sensible menu for kids and an informal menu of burger and fries and the like for grown-ups, with dinner a more adult affair.
Lunch or dinner there can hardly be a dreamier setting, but the owners have not allowed location to take priority over food. Two chefs Rob Miladinovic (formerly at Star Inn the Harbour) and Brianna Harrison (formerly of Brawn in East London) have created a well-judged menu, superbly executed.
And if it’s generally considered unfair to review a restaurant on its opening night, I can only say the Waterside smashed it.
Just as Pizza West brought a stylish new restaurant to Whitby, the Waterside looks like doing much the same for Ruswarp.
Waterside, Chainbridge, The Carrs, Ruswarp, Whitby YO21 1RL
W: www.thewaterside.co
Open: Fri/Sat 11am-3pm & 6.30pm onwards
Sun 11am-4.30pm
Price: £171.60 Dinner for two including bottle wine and service.
Welcome 5/5
Food 5/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Prices 5/5