I’m very excited to announce I’ve collaborated with OpenTable to review a wonderful restaurant in York, The Star Inn The City. Located in the old engine house on the edge of York’s Museum Gardens, The Star Inn The City is a go to choice due to it’s riverside location. The restaurants terrace is perfect for watching the river flow by. On this occasion, I booked ourselves a table for dining inside. I would love to experience having a relaxing drink whilst watching the river at some point though.

 

OpenTable – The booking process

I personally used OpenTable a lot during and between all of the lockdowns over the past few years, as you had to pre-book tables for restaurants. Again, when booking The Star Inn The City, I was reminded of how easy the process is. I specifically looked for Restaurants In York and selected the date, time and how many people I wanted the booking to be for. The results then showed all of the restaurants which had availability for my specified time and date. After selecting your reservation, you have 5 minutes (it shows a countdown) to fill out your details (or log in) and complete your booking. You will then receive a booking confirmation. Simple!

The entrance to The Star Inn The City – York is located near the main entrance to the Museum Gardens. It has a big sign and you will see an entrance with doors, decorated with white lights. You can access the restaurant through the gardens or via the river. The Star Inn The City has a big reputation – it opened in 2013, after Andrew Pern of the Michelin-starred Star Inn at Harome joined the building owners in establishing a restaurant in one of York’s most unique locations.

I would describe the restaurant as having a modern and cosy vibe. It has a country feel, even though you’re in the city. On the table was the main menu, a drinks menu and a specials menu for that specific day. We both ordered our starters from the “nibbles” section on the main menu, although we both had some of each others starters. For the main, I ordered from the main menu but Tom decided he wanted the steak which was on the specials menu.

Nibbles – The Star Inn The City

Salt ‘n’ Pepper North Sea Squid with Lemon Aioli – £10

The salt and pepper north sea squid with lemon aioli was absolutely delicious. We could have ate an entire main course worth of these, plus I find lemon aioli to be really addictive (in the best possible way).

 

Artisan Bread and Whipped Butter – £4

A lot more bread arrived than I anticipated, which isn’t a complaint at all! I could tell the butter was whipped, it was so creamy and even Tom commented on how nice the butter was.

Mains – The Star Inn The City

Chargrilled 10oz Dry Aged Yorkshire Reared Sirloin Steak, pickled red onion & wensleydale salad with skinny fries – £34

Tom’s steak looked and smelled great, it was a decent size and cooked rare at Tom’s request. He also chose peppercorn sauce. The skinny fries were nice, but with this dish being on the specials menu we thought it would have maybe come with “proper chips” aka thicker chips. I tried some of the steak, it was very tender and juicy.

 

Lemon Thyme Roasted Loin of North Sea Monkfish, Saffron Risotto, Heirloom Tomato ‘Caponata Dressing’, Garden Oregano – £32

Monkfish is a dish I rarely get the opportunity to have, but when I do I always enjoy it. I didn’t need to order a side for this as it came with a very generous portion of risotto which was incredibly flavoursome. This dish in particular was presented beautifully.

Drinks – The Star Inn The City

El Dorado 12 Year Rum and Coca Cola – £5 & a Coca Cola Regular – £3.40

I wasn’t feeling well all weekend and even though I was looking forward to an alcoholic drink, I decided to stick to cola. Tom opted for the El Dorado 12 Year Rum and coca cola. He told me it was very nice and really enjoyed it. He’s a big fan of a nice rum!

 

The price – this is something which a lot of people seem to mention when they talk to me about The Star Inn The City. The food is nice and was presented beautifully. The service we received was excellent, I really couldn’t fault it. Our waitress was so helpful and answered any questions we had. The overall experience justifies the price in my opinion. Food arrived in a timely manner, plates were taken away from the table quickly after we’d finished eating and there was no waiting around for the bill. I’d say it’s nice as a treat every so often (if you’re lucky enough to be able to treat yourself!), it’s definitely a place to visit on special occasions.

 

Location:

The Star Inn The City,
Lendal Engine House,
Museum Street,
York
YO1 7DR