Angel at Hetton, Yorkshire: Go for Michelin-star fine dining, stay for the five-course breakfast
From a carefully crafted multi-course breakfast to a flawless tasting menu, this hidden gem is worth the journey for those seeking an extraordinary escape into the heart of English gastronomy, writes Lilly Subbotin
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Nothing quite spikes my adrenaline like a breakfast buffet at a hotel. The choices, the decisions. Do I go healthy – fruit, yoghurt and granola; all out with a greasy full English; eggs benedict, an omelette, smoked salmon; or pastries, OJ and coffee?
Or do I surrender to my greed and try and do an amalgamation, with a weird slice of nondescript cured meat thrown in for good measure?
I’m not trying to equate Michelin-starred cooking with a breakfast buffet, but I think The Angel at Hetton really taps into this frenzied mindset of wanting to have a bit of everything for fear of missing out. Taps into it, calms it down and takes all the best bits – so instead of the strange hodge-podge you so often end up with at a buffet, it’s a precise, beautiful and meticulously thought-out brekky.
A teeny bowl of toasted nut granola and homemade aigre-doux – a sort of sweet and sour fruit sauce, essentially a compote – toast with plum jam and a choux pastry filled with chocolate cream and home-cured salmon arrive in unison.
Already I’m smiling at the thought of having all the breakfasts – and that’s before a perfectly runny hen’s egg, a big fat sausage and thick-cut bacon.
As good as it sounds, I didn’t just come to Yorkshire for a five-course breakfast. Rewind to the previous day, we check in following a surprisingly smooth three-hour-or-so train journey and 10-minute cab from London to Hetton. Arriving a little bit before we can check in, we’re immediately handed walking maps of the area.
The different walks come, very helpfully, with rough completion times; we opt for a leisurely 25-minute triangular stroll that takes you through several fields, a winding “fairy” path, and introduces you to cows, sheep, goats and chickens.
The scenery is gorgeous – the sort of quintessential Englishness that feels akin to a Jane Austen novel – and the difference in air quality to London is… noticeable, to put it nicely.
Before the main event, ie dinner, there’s time for a hot soak in the tub of the stunning bathroom that looks out onto the rolling hills and a lie down on the insanely comfy cloud of a bed.
There’s a very specific kind of bliss when you know the only task of the evening is to flop out of your lovely room and go downstairs to enjoy a tasting menu – a feeling I could get used to.
Dinner is a total delight from start to finish, and in all honesty – faultless. Seriously, I have tried to think of a criticism and I can’t. Even the things that sound pretty bizarre – such as white chocolate, caviar and eel – are exquisite.
A particularly memorable course is the “tomato” dish, where they ferment tomatoes for a whole year to make a sort of XO sauce and pair it with more tomato and basil, as well as frozen ricotta. It’s a tingly, vibrant, clever little plate that plays with your senses.
Another standout is the lamb; several tiny pieces done all different ways. A slither of shoulder, a mini rack, some loin, a bit of sausage and a baby kebab.
They make sure to use every single piece of lamb they can – which interestingly come from Devon rather than the surrounding fields as their supplier’s milk-fed lambs are of the highest quality.
As it’s a tasting menu there’s lots to try, and though the portions are small I’m left feeling entirely satisfied. There’s an optional additional cheese course which was fabulous, but I’d recommend sharing one portion between two as the courses do sneak up on you.
From the first bite of a smooth, wonderfully rich parfait on a dainty cracker to the last of a superbly elegant tiramisu which is almost too pretty to eat – there’s a smile on my face throughout.
Plus a sense of childhood wonder which I’ll have to put down to experiencing a meal that felt a bit magical.
The Angel at Hetton is pretty much in the middle of nowhere; not exactly a gaff you’re likely to just stumble across, but for those looking for a whimsical destination that hits all the notes of quaint English countryside plus impeccable, enchanting food – it’s definitely worth the trip.
The Angel Inn, Hetton, Near Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 6LT | 01756 730263 | angelhetton.co.uk
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