chloedickensonLast Updated on 9th May 2023
This post about Pitcher & Piano York contains affiliate links.
If you’ve followed my blog for a good while now, you’ll know that one of my favourite kinds of posts to write is about the best places to eat in York. I’ve written dozens of food guides about York over the years, but with spending the last year in and out of lockdowns in the UK, and then travelling the world for a year before that, I’ve not really had much chance to go out and try many new restaurants in York recently.
Last week, however, I met up with my very good friend Katie, for an evening of food and (one too many!) drinks and as I was excited to be heading out properly in York for the first time in months, I decided to try somewhere that I’d heard plenty of great things about, but I’d never actually tried myself; Pitcher & Piano York.
P.S. Please bear in mind that our experience was based upon the easing of the latest lockdown in the UK when you had to sit and eat outside, so I can’t speak for their indoor dining experience just yet!
I’m not sure about you guys, but whenever I go out for food, I always like to look at the menu online before I go to see what I might fancy to eat when I get there, and upon attending Pitcher & Piano York, I was no different!
The menu at Pitcher & Piano York is pretty extensive, so it was hard to narrow it down to just one dish, and in the end, I didn’t even quite manage to do that, so Katie and I decided to opt for the P&P Plates, which are almost like little tapas sharing dishes.
To begin with, I ordered a glass of wine and Katie went for the Hendrick’s Hydration gin twist, but I forgot to take a picture of them before I started drinking, so they must have been good 😉 . One thing I will say about the cocktails at Pitcher & Piano York, although it very much applies to almost every bar and restaurant in York, is that they’re pretty expensive. Thankfully, our drink prices in York are nothing compared to London prices, but you can still expect to be paying at least £7 for a cocktail in most places if there are no deals or happy hour promotions on!
There were a few dishes that we both wanted, but instead of getting the same thing, we decided to try out as many different ones as possible, so we selected the pulled pork tacos, salt and vinegar battered fish goujons, halloumi fries, sticky BBQ chicken skewers, padrón peppers, gunpowder potatoes and then we ordered a side of cheesy garlic bread to share as well!
As you can probably tell from the photos, we were sat outside as our visit coincided with the UK still easing out of its third lockdown, so dining facilities were still only operating on an outdoor-only basis. Normally, I quite enjoy al fresco dining, but the weather in the UK is very rarely on your side when it comes to outdoor eating! Still, we had a wonderful time and the food was scrumptious; check out my thoughts on each dish below!
The pulled pork tacos were my first choice of dish when I saw the P&P Plates and they actually turned out to be my favourite dish of them all. I asked for them without coriander however, as that’s quite literally the devil’s herb in my opinion (anyone else can’t stand coriander?!).
The padrón peppers were Katie’s choice and while I don’t mind peppers in certain dishes, I’m not really one for eating them just on their own, so I let her tuck into them by herself! I think she enjoyed them, but she did say that they’d have been a bit better with cheese stuffed inside as they were a tad on the plain side.
Next up we have the salt and vinegar battered fish goujons and while I don’t think the flavours of salt and vinegar were particularly overwhelming, these were still absolutely divine. The thick, crunchy batter, paired with the light and flaky fish served with the mint pea purée made for a very delicious dish; I only wish there were more of them!
The gunpowder potatoes were also very delicious, and the flavours, especially when dunked in the mint yoghurt dip, were very tasty and I loved that they were served with spring onions as well as these made the flavours really stand out!
One of Katie’s choices were the halloumi fries and I was a little apprehensive about these at first as I’ve never really had halloumi fries before 😲 . However, as soon as I took one bite of these, I was so glad that we ordered them and I’ll definitely be making halloumi fries part of my restaurant/pub food orders from now on! Drizzled with Korean-style ketchup, sour cream and spring onions, and coated in a crispy batter, the halloumi fries were a real surprise to me in the best way possible, and I’m so glad we ordered them!
The BBQ chicken skewers served with a garlic mayo dip were also very yummy; the chicken was cooked perfectly and they had a real chargrilled taste to them. My only slight qualm with these was that they weren’t quite big enough, I could have eaten many more of them!
We also ordered a side of cheesy garlic bread to share and for less than £3, I was pretty happy with how much garlic bread we got. Although, we did have to cut one of the slices in half as there were only three and we’re both pretty huge garlic bread fiends!
Of course, in typical UK weather-style, it absolutely chucked it down with rain pretty much the whole time we were there. We did manage to sit under the canopy bit of the outdoor seating area, but we still got pretty soaked as it wasn’t fully covered and the rain was so bad, it was practically coming in sideways!
Overall, I was tremendously pleased with the food and drink at Pitcher & Piano and despite the bloody rain, we had a great time. The staff were very lovely and accommodating and our waitress Lucy, was especially lovely, depsite having to work in the pouring rain!
I already can’t wait to head back to Pitcher & Piano York, and I’ve already got my eye on their bottomless brunch for next time I visit!
Related posts:
- The Ultimate Guide Of The Best Places To Eat & Drink In York
- Bill’s Restaurant York – The Best Places To Eat In York
- Source Restaurant – Best Places To Eat In York
- The Cut and Craft York – Best Places To Eat
- Trying Out The New Menu At Cosy Club York
Pin for later – Pitcher & Piano York
Have you ever been to any of the Pitcher & Piano restaurants? Where’s your favourite place to eat in York? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram @imjustagirl_16.
