Tykes Restaurant at Sandburn Hall: Yorkshire restaurant marks 20 years in business with interior redesign and new menu

Tykes Restaurant, near York, has had an interior redesign, new menu and greener power.

Tykes is part of the 1,000 acre Sandburn Hall estate which includes the 40-bedroom Sandburn Hall Hotel, Sandburn Hall Golf Club and Grand Function Room that comprise one of Yorkshire’s leading hospitality, golf, wedding, events and business venues.

The redesign of the restaurant space blends the traditional outlook of Sandburn Hall’s original oak barn features with contemporary touches and includes a total refurbishment of the Tykes’ restaurant dining and bar areas by award-winning interior designer, Rachel McLane.

Director, James Hogg, said: “Since we opened Tykes in 2005, it has established itself as one of the most popular restaurants in the York area and is much loved by locals, residents and visitors to the area.

“The restaurant has been successful for the last two decades and has a strong and loyal customer base.

“Our 20th anniversary year felt like the perfect opportunity to breathe new life into Tykes and bring it more in line with the hotel style and décor.

“We’re delighted that we have managed to achieve this whilst retaining the original identity and features of Tykes that everyone knows and loves.”

Ms McLane said: “The refurbishment of Tykes aims to harmonise the restaurant with the hotel extension by creating a distinctive and relaxed atmosphere, through eclectic lighting, bespoke ceiling rafts in the bar area complemented with fitted booth seatings with an earthy colour pallet.

“The restaurant has been given more of a focal point with glass partitions and sliding doors, and an extended kitchen with redesigned serving counter.”

The redesign comes as Tykes’ head chef Mark Hudson unveils a new menu of seasonal Yorkshire ingredients for traditional modern English dishes with breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, evening a la carte and Sunday menus and a six-course Chef’s Tasting Menu.

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Dishes on the new a la carte menu include starters such as: a Game Terrine, and an Artichoke and Wild Mushroom Filo Tarte; mains of Duck Breast with fondant potato, beetroot, kale, blackberry and red wine puree or a Salmon Supreme with lemon and dill gnocchi, courgette, pickled celeriac, creme fraiche; and desserts including a Pecan and Dark Chocolate Torte, chocolate ganache, caramel choux, pecan praline or an Affogato with Yorvale vanilla ice cream, shot of espresso and homemade biscotti.

Another feature of the Tykes Restaurant is a greener, more environmentally friendly kitchen that includes a switch from gas appliances, including ovens and hobs, to electrical appliances.

These are powered by a new range of 1,000 solar panels on the estate, producing around 500,000 KWh of electricity also used by the hotel and function rooms.

The hotel’s finance director, David Holmes, said: “The kitchen and solar projects will significantly reduce Sandburn Hall’s carbon footprint, as we will be using less gas and a good proportion of our electricity usage will be generated by the solar panels.”

The scheme, which ensures all existing wildlife habitats are preserved, involves the installation of 1MW of battery storage to make sure that any power generated that isn’t used immediately can be stored and used in the future.