Our pro says…
At Roots there are glimpses of a team who know about Michelin-starred quality – such as the front door opening for you, as if by magic, by a greeter as you approach, and a separate space to drink foraged cocktails and sophisticated soft drinks such as a puckering gooseberry lemonade, while you wait for your table. *I wasn’t recognised, and Tommy was on his first day off since opening.
The rest, though, is decidedly more casual (and affordable). Small plates come thick and fast. Way too fast. But, luckily, they’re delicious. Every plate on the 10-dish Feast Menu earns its place. Sourdough – warm, bouncy and with plenty of welcome crevices for moreish cultured butter and Lincolnshire Poacher cheese custard (like grown-up Dairylea) – with crisp multi-seed crackers kick things off nicely. There’s delicate cured trout; sticky lamb belly bao buns with fermented turnip; and a surprisingly good salad of kale, tenderised with a sharp pickled walnut and sheep’s yogurt dressing, gratings of rich, cured egg yolk and hazelnuts.
As the plates get bigger, so do the flavours. Crapaudine beetroot gets a long, slow cook in beef fat, making it sticky, sweet and savoury all at once, while fiery horseradish and salty, smoky cod’s roe creams, sharp, pickled discs of more beetroot and crunchy linseed crackers make for a spectacular plate of food.
Skirt steak has a dark bark and a ruddy heart, making it so juicy, so full of umami flavour, helped no end by a ridiculously good pickled onion purée of sorts, and ‘chips’ made of potato gratin, sliced and fried into crunchy cigars. Turbot comes with broccoli (blanched, puréed and as pickled ribbons) and a salty, creamy mussel sauce with a whisper of smoke.
To finish there’s an apple cake with berries and crème fraîche for those that like stodge (although, it’s lighter than you’d expect), and another shock winner of white chocolate, douglas fir and lemon verbena – so playful in textures, so masterful in its balance of sweet and sour.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Let me be clear – the food is ace. Near faultless. But the staff do need to relax. It’s only a few weeks in, so a little tension is understandable, but it can at times feel rushed and robotic. A little more warmth in this new casual site, and this will be a cracking addition to not just York, but the UK’s dining scene. Total bill for two, excluding service: £132