The Dawnay Arms

Martel Smith spent his early career serving caviar and foie gras to the prosperous diners of Leeds before throwing in the tea towel to pursue his own venture in a village pub near York. In 2007, he and his wife Kerry restored the struggling Dawnay Arms on the banks of the river Ouse, turning his back on fine dining in favour of casual pub classics such as like steak and chips, pork belly and venison burgers – and he has been doing it successfully ever since.

The pub is well placed in pretty Newton-on-Ouse, close to the entrance to the National Trust’s Beningbrough Hall. Picnic tables placed on the greensward overlooking the river, make for pleasant alfresco dining on temperate days. Indoors, the snug bar is warmed by a log fire, while the sunny restaurant has views (beyond the car park) to the river. At night it is moodily lit with candles and lamps on the chunky oak tables.

A crowd-pleasing menu comes with additions from the blackboard. A spring dinner brought a liberal plate of thick-cut gravadlax served with a gently spiced mustard mayonnaise and a delightful, dark, seeded, beer bread. Smith bakes a good chicken, bacon and leek pie – in this case served with seasonal wild garlic mash, hispi cabbage and a welcome jug of gravy. Desserts take on the pub classics of sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate fondant and pistachio ice cream and a pitch-perfect Bakewell tart with crème anglaise. Don’t come here looking for fireworks. Smith provides reliable and pleasing dishes, and his cooking is all the better for it. Don’t tamper with a winning formula.