Thor’s Tipi York – Everything You Need To Know

Last Updated on 4th January 2024

AD | This post about Thor’s Tipi York contains a press visit review. All opinions are my own, please see my disclaimer for more.

There are three things in life that I love more than anything in the world (aside from the obvious of my family, friends and Matt) and that’s travel, food and writing.

So you can imagine my absolute elation when we were very kindly invited down to Thor’s Tipi Sól Ást summer event last week to see what all the fuss was about and to give me the chance to eat, “travel” (within my own city lol) and then write about it afterwards.

The York Thor’s Tipi is something that I’ve been attending every winter since its inception (apart from when we were travelling last year) so when I discovered that they were hosting an extravagant summer version, I couldn’t wait to head down there and see it for myself.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that it’s all I’ve been raving about all week, so I’m delighted to share my full review with you guys today to hopefully inspire you to check it out yourself.

*Updated July 2022. In the section at the end of this post, you’ll see an updated review of Thor’s Tipi York after I returned for another visit to their Parliament Street location in July 2022.

Thor’s Tipi York Sól Ást – The Principal Hotel

Thor’s Tipi York Sól Ást is held in The Principal Hotel gardens during the summer months, right in the city centre of York, just minutes from the train station.

This prime location allows for a huge garden space where Thor’s have set up their huge Tipi tent, along with dozens of indoor and outdoor benches.

The area looks truly beautiful during the day, as well as on an evening when twinkling fairy lights and lanterns light the paths. It’s got such a romantic feel to it and that’s thanks to the guys at PapaKåta who provide Thor’s with the tent.

There’s also an outdoor bar which is perfect for sunnier days, as well as a substantial bar inside the Tipi too, for when the UK inevitably does its classic summer thing and rains nonstop…

With benches of varying sizes, Thor’s has accommodated all kinds of guests and visitors so it’s the perfect place for families, couples and large groups of friends.

I also think they’ve chosen a fab location to host the Sól Ást event as it’s in extremely close proximity to the train station which is great for guests arriving from different cities. The Principal Hotel is also undoubtedly one of the grandest and most magnificent hotels in York so if you were really looking to treat yourself to a luxe weekend in the city, it’s the perfect place to stay, with Thor’s right on your doorstep.

During our visit, we sat inside the Tipi which was pretty lucky as it had just started to lightly rain when we arrived.

The interior of the Tipi is absolutely stunning and so spacious; I think it’s actually quite deceiving from the outside as to just how big it really is!

With the summer of 2020 playing host to the unwelcome Covid-19 global pandemic, many businesses, Thor’s included, have had to adapt somewhat in order to keep guests and staff as safe as possible.

One way that Thor’s has ensured this is by spreading out the seating areas so that each table is at least 1m apart if not 2m in most cases. This definitely helped us to feel more comfortable while dining there, but it was also nice to have the atmosphere of being around other diners too.

The Hog and Apple

I’ve been lucky in my 24 years on this planet to eat some of the most incredible cuisines all around the world. From pasta and pizza in Italy, afternoon tea in New York, kebabs in Amsterdam, unbelievable curries in Asia, and of course, some truly wonderful food right here in my hometown of York.

So as soon as I saw the menu that The Hog and Apple Food Co were providing at this year’s Thor’s Tipi York summer event, I couldn’t wait to try it out.

Ged, the genius behind The Hog and Apple usually specialise in wedding catering, but with a sophisticated and unbelievably elegant twist (seriously, head to the website to check out some of his wedding packages, I’m tempted to tie the knot just for the food 😂 ).

This year, however, saw Covid throw a huge spanner in the works for these kinds of events, but thankfully The Hog and Apple were available to provide the food at Thor’s and I’m honestly so grateful; just wait until you see some of the dishes below…

As part of our visit to Thor’s, we were very kindly provided with glasses of prosecco upon our arrival; I always feel like prosecco is somewhat of a fancy treat whenever I go “out, out”, so it was so lovely of the team to offer this as a way of welcome.

Just a quick side note as well before I get started on the food; I really can’t rave about every single member of staff enough. Even when the Tipi started to get pretty busy, they were all so cool and collected and really couldn’t do enough for us. They’re all so attentive to each and every guest and were so friendly and chatty so I’m really very appreciative of that as it makes for a much more welcoming and inviting atmosphere.

Once we’d sat down and got settled in (meaning: once I’d taken an abundance of pictures of everything because it was so bloody beautiful!), Ged came over for a quick chat and to take our orders.

I was actually pretty overwhelmed by the menu at first because even though there’s not an absolute tonne of things to choose from, each and every dish was clearly so well thought out and curated perfectly; it was very difficult to choose just one thing each!

Unbelievably, Ged was the most generous guy and said that alongside our own respective dishes, we had to order a side of the dirty fries too, as they were just too good to miss!

My main dish of choice was the Odin’s Bowl, which comprised of sirloin chargrilled steak, skinny fries, peppercorn sauce (my absolute favourite) and rocket salad.

I’m such a huge fan of steak anyway, especially when it’s served with peppercorn sauce, but having been travelling for a year and then coming home straight into lockdown, I hadn’t had a good restaurant steak in well over a year.

The one I had at Thor’s Tipi thanks to the guys at The Hog and Apple, however, ended my hiatus and provided me with one of the most delicious steak dishes ever.

It was cooked just to my liking (the rarer side of medium rare) and was served on a bed of an abundance of skinny fries; my go-to accompaniment for any steak dish. The peppercorn sauce was also heavenly and I practically inhaled the entire thing, it was just that bloody good.

Matt opted for The Ragnar which was a grilled ciabatta sandwich consisting of BBQ brisket beef, Monterey Jack cheese, pickled slaw and “filthy” sauce.

He’s usually a “messy” sandwich kind of guy anyway, but even he was blown away by this one. The sandwich was absolutely dripping with sauce, so it’s probably not something to go for if you don’t want to get messy, but it is something to go for if you’re in the mood for a hearty meal.

While this didn’t come served with fries, the sandwich alone is an immense portion and the variety of ingredients instead means that it really doesn’t need any additions to accompany it; it’s pretty perfect on its own!

The Flokis “dirty” fries surprised me the most about the food at Thor’s Tipi as they’re not something I’d probably ever go for myself, so I’m really glad that Ged insisted on us trying them out.

A substantial helping of loaded fries topped with lashings of cheese sauce, chilli, spring onion, jalapeños and filthy sauce made for the perfect sharing side dish.

The flavours of the different sauces are the main “attraction” of these fries, with plenty of “secret” ingredients thrown into the mix. The sauce almost tasted like guacamole (which Ged later told us was sort of like chimichurri) and I couldn’t believe how much I loved it, considering I’m not a big fan of avocados or even guacamole at all.

The chilli was also absolutely divine and something I’d never really think to put on fries myself, but my goodness, it was immense.

After we’d absolutely stuffed ourselves with salty goodness and had the chance to let our tummies settle for a little bit, we were treated to a beautiful dessert pot called The GYDA.

Cited as a “posh summer fruits Eton mess”, it was the perfect way to finish our meal and our time at Thor’s and it’s a great choice of dessert for the warmer weather.

I’m honestly not sure if I could recommend just one thing from The Hog and Apple menu at Thor’s; everything was just too damn good! I think my personal favourite would have to be the steak, just because I’m so obsessed with it, but absolutely everything we ate was bloody fantastic.

Thank you so much to the guys at Thor’s Tipi York for inviting us down to try everything out; we had one of the best date nights we’ve had in a very long time and it’s one of my favourite nights since being back in the UK since March!

Thor’s Tipi York – Parliament Street York

While this post was originally written in the summer of 2020, I was very kindly invited back to Thor’s Tipi York in July 2022 to experience their new pop-up event for the summer on Parliament Street.

This set-up is different to the one at The Principal Hotel as it’s mostly outdoors and doesn’t involve the typical Thor’s get-up of a giant tipi tent. Instead, it’s a pop-up consisting of wooden structures, a bar and several York-based food trucks that have partnered with Thor’s Tipi York to provide delicious food and drink options.

It’s an incredibly cool concept, with plenty of seating options, a live DJ set, awesome background music when the DJ is not in session and even outdoor firepits when the UK summer decides to do its thing and pretend that it’s autumn!

While it’s definitely a great outdoor space when the weather plays ball, unfortunately, it’s not quite as good if it inevitably rains during the UK summer as there’s no shelter. Of course, if the rain doesn’t bother you, then it won’t matter either way!

The bar at Thor’s Tipi York on Parliament Street is stocked full of awesome beverages. From fancy cocktails to spiked summer slushies to a vast range of beer, cider, wine, spirits and more, there’s a tipple for everyone!

The prices are a tad on the expensive side, but the cocktails are positively scrumptious; try the strawberry daiquiri and the strawberry and watermelon mojito, they’re truly awesome for the summer!

As for the food at Thor’s Tipi York on Parliament Street, in 2022 they’ve teamed up with three local food providers to offer guests a vast and varied menu. Yuzu, Miller’s Fish and Chips and the York Roast Company are all on Thor’s Tipi 2022 line-up.

The fish and chips from Miller’s are constantly being voted among the best in the entire country and my family and I have been frequenting the fish shop in Haxby for so many years now. I’ve also had the pleasure of eating at the York Roast Company on many occasions and the mini Yorkshire Pudding skewers that we were served did not disappoint! The food from Yuzu; in particular, the vegetable gyozas surprised me the most as I’d never really been a big fan of them before now, but these were absolutely delightful and I’m already planning to head to their restaurant on Walmgate for an official visit!

As you can see, the two locations of Thor’s Tipi York in the summer provide an excellent place to meet with friends or on a romantic date night in York. With tremendous food, fancy drinks and beautiful settings, both The Principal Hotel and the Parliament Street pop-up locations are must-visits during a weekend in York!

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• The Cut And Craft York – Best Places To Eat In York

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Have you ever been to Thor’s Tipi York? Is it somewhere you’d like to go after reading this post? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram at @imjustagirl_16.