We always look for a great menu with vegetarian options when we travel with Sam, so on our first night in North Yorkshire we chose to revisit The Waiting Room which is a simple little spot which was indeed the waiting room for the station nearby at one time in a previous life. It's cozy, but alas not the most comfortable of chairs as they have many mismatching wooden chairs that were clearly used in churches or schools at one time in the way past! That said, the 7 of us settled into the large wooden table feeling much like a family from somewhere in the precious century!
We all recalled the very large portions in the past so decided to share some breads and spreads to start rather than overdoing it with starters. The spreads were a superb pea and mint hummus; a smoky, spicy aubergine red pepper, black cardamom zaalouk and a sunblushed tomato and thyme pate all served with yummy homemade breads and a nice serving of superb purple slaw.
The wines here are simple and all natural, vegan and bio, but I did miss the wonderful library of wines they used to have which was stored at the tiny bar room next door. Our server said they could not keep them well with the heat and cold and alas many had spoiled, so they did away with them :-((..... Instead, I chose a Running Duck Chenin Blanc Fair Trade form South Africa and an Adobe Pinot Noir Bio Bio from Chile both of which were very reasonably priced and tasty as well.
The dishes here are inventive and as varied as can be. The chef is not afraid to use spice as he does in the Puy Chilli Enchilada or the Chilli & Brown Rice Bowl. Simpler dishes such as the Double Rainbow Sald come overflowing with veggies and more and are indeed a full meal in themselves. Sam loved his Halloumi & Leek Sausage Rigatoni although oddly it was the smallest dish of all the ones we ordered. One dish I wanted to try which got raves was the Coconut cream broth Laksa with "exquisitely sauced broth, thick ribbon noodles, roast pepper, tamari-roasted sweet potato, sugar snaps and more topped with fresh slaw, crunchy peanuts and sambal", again with a kicky spice. You just gotta love the descriptions!
I chose the Cauliflower, Sweet Potato & Artichoke Thermador Pancake which was a dosa-like crispy crepe filled with all the veggies in a white wine, cheddar cream sauce with celeriac remoulade, browned butter and capers which was a huge creation that was full of flavor and indeed a vegetarian delight.
Since we did not have starters there was indeed room for the fab desserts such as Sticky Toffee Pudding (mine was with custard!!); Vanilla Ice Cream with Butterscotch or the very different Stem Ginger and Lime Basque Cheesecake.
We loved it all and went home very full after a superb evening with dear friends.
