The Waiting Room in North Yorkshire is a veggie vacation! (11-7-24)

Our friends Sue & Steve found a vegetarian finer dining option for Samuel, so we tried The Waiting Room in Yarm last night. The name comes from the train station nearby and apparently, they have been in business for 40 years! The dining room is small and simple with some cute art (a lampshade made of photographic slides was cute), with hewn wooden tables and quite uncomfortable wooden chairs which must have come from a schoolhouse as they had book slots in the rear of each one. The menu is large, so we asked our server, Rosie May, what items were the best and most popular. The wine list was short with about 3 or 4 whites and reds each, but a note to ask about the wine list from the sister wine bar next door. I walked over there and looked at a shelf of wines with price tags on them and was quite amused by the variety and options. The first wine we chose was fizzy and corked and Rosie May said it had been on the shelf for ages, so we chose a Dominio de Punctum Petit Verdot/Tempranillo from Cuenca, Castilla in Spain which we all loved, as Sam had his local cider.

The starters included several orders of Spiced Pumpkin Soup as it was a very chilly and damp evening, and we had been out galivanting all day. Funghi Misti al Dragoncello sounds like a fiery mushroom dish with alcohol made by dragons, but are tarragon sauteed mushrooms on Waiting Room seeded toast. My Twice-baked Wensleydale & Pumpkin Seed Oil Cheese Souffle was divine and came with a yummy Goosegog (gooseberry) chutney that was only marred as it was quite cold (coming from the fridge, I guess) and took away from that wonderful steamy hot souffle. 

Our second wine was a Mirasoles Appassimento "Finca el Olmillo" Monastrell which turned out to have a slight sweetness to it, but actually went nicely with our mains which, by the way, were all huge portions!:

Mushroom Bourguignon with celeriac dumplings and swede (turnips)

Puy Chilli Enchilada- sizzling hot & Spicy Puy chilli in a seeded tortilla was smothered in melted cheese with sour cream, salsa and jalapenos

Mole in the Hole (a take on Toad in the Hole, a local sausage dish in bread) was Leek/Halloumi/Winter Herb/Garden ats Sausage in a Yorkshire Pudding with Autumn mash (sweet potato), Roast Roots (Carrots) and Butter-Roast Savoy (Cabbage) all in a yummy Port Gravy! 

Delicious (have you ever seen a menu using the word "delicious?") Mélange Lasagna made with Buttery Jerusalem Artichokes, Spinach & Sage, Roast Tomato, Garlic & Butter Bean Lasagna and a Salsa made from Artichoke hearts/fennel/tomato.

We were all quite full and there were lots of leftovers for Sue & Steve to take home, but we did share one Vanilla Ice Cream with Butterscotch that was yummy and caramelly and delish.