The best restaurants in Helmsley Ryedale Yorkshire and The Humber

In all of the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Market and the hordes of people traversing the Shambles it would be very easy to overlook the hidden gem that is Sandwitches. We almost did, but by chance noticed it and ventured in out of the crowds. In such a small setting we were not hopeful of a table but as luck had it there was one free on the first floor. The cafe promises 2 floors of themed and informal dining and it did not disappoint. The chairs were comfortable, tables felt a little low (but I'm well over 6 foot so most things are) but the surroundings were cosy and the staff were quick and attentive. We were there at lunch time so my partner ordered a Sandwich and I had the steak and mushroom filled jacket. Considering there was not much difference in the price, we felt the Sandwich was a bit disappointing. 4 triangles on supermarket bread and basically some crisps... But on the other hand, when you order a sandwich in a cafe... You get what you get and you don't get upset! My loaded jacket was excellent, steak was a little bit over how I prefer it (blue/rare)... but I'm fairness, I didn't ask for it a certain way and I'm not exactly sure what the random dusting on the edges of the serving plate was meant to be but it definitely didn't have a negative impact on the taste meal as a whole. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Couldn't have picked a nicer, more intimate place to celebrate our anniversary! Staff must have legs of steel going up and down those stairs all day and still keeping a smile on their faces! If you changed the bread on the Sandwiches to be home/local bakery made or even a thick farmhouse/crusty it would have been 5* without question and if we were more local we would definitely be back!!

Great spot. Lovely food and wonderful service. Ploughman’s was magic - the pork pie spectacular! Really accommodating for our large party and making daughter a cheese toastie. Will def go back.

Been here so many times for our ice creams. The choice is extensive and the quality outstanding. By far the best ice cream in the county. Definitely 5* Lunch in the Black Swan and an ice cream waffle cone from here afterwards is the perfect finish before the drive back home.

Very nice venue. Good quality food and drink. Dog friendly. I hate waste so when I was left with 1/2 a pot of tea I asked for another cup for a friend... to be told it's one per person. Bit tight if you ask me.

I recently stopped by Thomas the Baker in Helmsley for some lunch after a business meeting, and I have to say, I’m disappointed. The place was packed, which is fair enough at lunchtime, so I joined the queue for the bakery to get my food. After waiting ages and finally paying for my lunch, I decided to grab some meat from the separate deli counter. The lady there handed me my order but told me I had to return and join the bakery queue again to pay for it! Despite there being an empty til point right in front of her, What should have been a quick 5-minute stop at a lovely village bakery was a 20-minute waste of time. By this point, the queue had grown to over 14 people, with just one till open and only one person doing any work while the others were wandering around. It was absolute madness, especially at lunchtime. There’s no organisation; to make matters worse, the staff seemed to be at odds with each other. It’s ridiculous to expect customers to queue up twice for different counters. They need to sort out their system and get the staff working properly.

Really friendly and tasty fare. Plenty of choice which was a real representation of good Yorkshire fare. Reasonably priced too

It was my first visit and I was not disappointed. I loved all the restaurants, cafes and shops. It was market day while we were there but as it had snowed, only a few stalls came. We certainly got friendly service from the stall holders though. I shall go back for another visit soon, but book everything in advance, especially the restaurants, which get very busy.

Visited the dome last night with friends and family. Food was excellent, the staff were amazing and the attention to detail was exceptional. Surely there is a Michelin star waiting.

Amazing cakes & scones, & the coffee is great! Well worth a visit Can not recommend enough, they definitely went out of their way to help when we had an issue with our accommodation - thank you so much Will definitely visit again when back up in Yorkshire

Prepared in front of us. Lovely friendly owners. Great tasting fish and chips, still piping hot after a 5 min drive home. Thank you!!

We enjoyed our food here this evening, the madras was quite tame in heat to what we are used to but on the whole an enjoyable meal.

A lovely restaurant, spoiled by poor food and inattentive staff. Dipping oil/olives starters were served with bread containing dried fruit. Salmon was raw in the middle and everything on the plate was lukewarm at best. Fruity bread made another appearance on the cheese board. Took ages to order our food because the bored young waitress, who was hanging around doing very little was studiously avoiding eye contact. Clearly, we weren't sat at one of 'her' tables; we weren't able to place our order until another waitress appeared. We have eaten lunch at The Dome and were very happy, but it appears to have deteriorated - what a shame!

Pub with plenty of character. Good choice on menu, Yorkshire sized portions and food of good quality. Staff friendly, welcoming and helpful. One perhaps drawback for some in having to use public pay and display car parks. Convenient though.

We haven’t visited Helmsley spice for about 7yrs so decided to give it a go it’ll be longer than 7yrs before we dine here again - the place in non authentic no table cloths no little tea lights nothing as you would normally get at an Indian restaurant- the place is cold and dismal looking an the tables are so close together you get the sardine in a tin feeling ! The food itself isn’t much better lamb chop starter came which was absolutely covered in partially raw onion an I think peppers I had to dig the 2 very scrawny chops out which were again covered in a thick red marinade what are they trying to hard I asked myself ? The main I ordered was meant to be mild an sweet it was so spicy I couldn’t eat it my lips were burning off an I don’t mind ‘ abit ‘ of spice it’s what Indian foods about but this was just too hot - the keema rice tasted of grease an mutton - an then the cauliflower bahji well if you like crunching on soil go ahead an order yourself one ;) oh an the little waiter should remember his smile before going to work ;)

Great place. Was very busy but we got a table. The food was fantastic. Normal menu, vegetarian menu and a vegan menu. Great staff as well.