Read Reviews About Leyburn Restaurants

Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Leyburn

Hardens guides have spent 34 years compiling reviews of the best Leyburn restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 5 restaurants in Leyburn and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Leyburn restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.

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1. Samuel’s, Swinton Park Hotel & Spa British, Modern restaurant in Masham Swinton Park - HG4

Struan Macintyre now presides over the stoves in the flagship dining room of this stately country retreat. It has seen a number of head chefs come and go in recent times, but still inspires good all-round feedback following its significant refurb concluding earlier in the year. The menu format nowadays is that of an upscale brasserie (including grilled steak, fish and lobster) rather than the more ‘haute’ tasting formats of yesteryear. Elsewhere in the property, its plush lounges also win the thumbs up as a place to “live the high life in the afternoon” – “served in the traditional way in the drawing room, there is no better place in the area for afternoon tea”.

Price*

£98

££££

Food

Good

Service

Good

Ambience

Very Good

2. The Sandpiper Inn British, Modern restaurant in Leyburn Market Place - DL8

More solid reviews this year for the 40-seat restaurant within this attractive old inn, situated in a market town: “really enjoyable” modern bistro cooking wins praise as does the “great service” (including with kids in tow).

Price*

£64

£££

Food

Good

Service

Good

Ambience

Good

3. The Blue Lion British, Traditional restaurant in East Witton

“This inn is a gem” overlooking a picture-postcard Dales village green, and “the food is excellent – on a warm sunny day it’s a joy to sit outside, eat well and relax”. Originally a shooting lodge, it became a drovers’ inn in 1840, and is within walking distance of Jervaulx Abbey where the Cistercians developed Wensleydale cheese!

Price*

£79

££££

Food

Good

Service

Good

Ambience

Very Good

4. The Wensleydale Heifer British, Modern restaurant in West Witton Main St - DL8

Stewarded by father-and-son duo David & Lewis Moss for two decades, this “fantastic Dales inn” (notably friendly to doggos) has a prime setting in the national park, and combines “friendly service” with “great food” that (despite the name) is notably fish-centric. If you want to make a night of it, they have pleasant themed rooms (including one dedicated to 007, to assuage fans irritated by the long delayed next instalment) and a private two-bedroom cottage just a few steps away.

Price*

£89

££££

Food

Good

Service

Very Good

Ambience

Good

5. Hansom Restaurant and Wine Bar British, Modern restaurant in Bedale 7 - 9 North End - DL8

Ruth Hansom’s name has regularly cropped up in a series of launches in London in recent years, and till last year she was head chef at nearby luxury hotel, Swinton Park. Here the Darlington-born chef launched in 2024 under her own name, with a 16-seat venue occupying a stylishly refurbished venue on the market place of a picturesque North Yorks town. You can dip your toe in the water from the small plates menu or go for a more ambitious seven-course tasting menu at £75 per head. No reports as yet, but this should be one to watch.

Price*

£49

££