The Pine Marten Review

The Pine Marten has featured in my life since I was a little girl. I grew up around Yew Tree Lane, spending time walking the family dog across the local fields… many of which are now housing estates (I sound old!). We had the choice of three local pubs, The Squinting Cat, which is packed full of children; The Black Swan, which requires walking up hill back home and The Pine Marten, a traditional Inn with a good pint and good food. So The Pine Marten it was with great views across to the American golf balls (or Menwith Hill, if you’re local) and the dales beyond.

A beautiful gastro pub

I remember when they completely gutted the pub and refurbished it into a swanky gastro pub, very rare in its day but so much more appealing. Today the pub offers a modern and relaxed dining experience. The menu has classics such as the beef wellington and steak but also offers stone baked pizzas and buttermilk southern fried chicken.

I hadn’t been to The Pine Marten in a while so it was nice to be back. Greeted by Richard, he offered us my favourite drink… a G&T. Disappointingly there was no Slingsby in sight so I had to settle for a mediocre Bombay Sapphire. We browsed the menu whilst waiting for our table. The atmosphere was warm and inviting; everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The pub had a business night ahead of them with a wedding party in their private dining area along with a pretty full restaurant.

Sitting down in the oak paneled room I started to notice how historic this building was. It wasn’t until Matt went to the toilets and came back to tell me it was haunted. Now those of you who do know me, I have had ghostly experiences so this slightly freaked me out… maybe I should write a post about them or maybe not.

Eating at The Pine Marten

So it’s the food you want to hear about not the fact that I’ve seen three ghosts. None of them scary ghosts, quite pleasant actually. For starters I chose the tempura prawns (£8.95). Sadly these were a little over cooked and not as crisp as I would have liked but the flavour was still good. Matt had the Thyme-Roasted Portobello Mushrooms in a Cropwell Bishop sauce on rustic toast (£6.50) which he really enjoyed and looked divine. I chose really well for my main; from the special menu I had the Beef Wellington with fresh asparagus, roast new potatoes and a madeira sauce (£23.50) although expensive I’d say it was worth it. Perfectly cooked with crisp pastry and mouth-watering beef; I gobbled it up like I only have five minutes to live! Matt has the burger with smoked Irish cheese (£11.95) but I think he was quite jealous of my glorious dish.

For pudding, yes I was going for three courses and no one was going to stop me. I had the Strawberry and Mango Eaton Mess (£6.50); deliciously creamy with strawberry puree and crunchy meringue. Matt had the sticky toffee pudding (£5.95) which looked lovely and comforting.

Overall thoughts

The Pine Marten is really accessible with lots of parking, friendly staff and good food. I would say it’s a little price but the interior does reflect that. It’s great for family get-togethers and celebrations. I’ll always come back to this place, it’s home.

P.S. Thank you to the Pine Marten for the lovely meal for two.