Today we visited the fabulous Dyl’s in York. It’s a little out of the way, so you might or might not know about it, but I am here to tell you that’s it’s absolutely worth the trip. It’s located in Tower Gardens, which is opposite Clifford’s Tower and right on the end of Skeldergate Bridge. It has a lovely outside eating space which people were using, even in January. I can imagine this will be a marvellous space on a summer’s day and even better on a warm summer’s evening, surrounded by fairy lights, watching the boats go by on the river. The picture below I took during last summer, there weren’t THAT many people wanting to brave the January cold!
We love a good brunch and this was a really good brunch! Also check out this round up of brunch in York.
We were in The Tower Room (you can see this to the left of the chimneys in the picture above) which is Dyl’s private dining space. It’s absolutely perfect for a friends’ get together or family meet up. It’s the most amazing and quirky space, (at the top of a stone spiral staircase) just large enough for a table in the middle and circular seating around. Imagine yourself at Hogwarts or as Rapunzel in her tower!
It’s free to book, and before 3.30pm there is no minimum spend, the brunch menu is available and you can stay between one and two hours. After 3.30pm it’s just drinks and nibbles – it’s still free to book but the minimum spend is £50 per hour.
We visited in order to sample a Dyl’s brunch. Everything is as locally sourced as possible, and there are vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options. I tried the Three cheese & jalapeno kicker with caramelised onion chutney served on Haxby sourdough, and I have to tell you that it was utterly divine! Lots of cheese, a bit of heat from the jalapenos and then sweetness from the caramelised onion – perfect.
One of my friend’s tried the Johnsons Farm fried eggs on Haxby sourdough with streaky bacon, and was similarly impressed:
Finally, my other friend tried the butchers ham, vintage cheddar, dill pickle, mustard mayo and caramelised onion chutney, again on Haxby sourdough.
There are other tables inside as well as the Tower Room.
As well as brunch they serve teas, coffees and these magnificent looking cakes:
Dyl’s is open in the evening for nibbles and drinks, they have an extensive gin and cocktail menu as well as plenty of wines and beers. We sampled a glass of sparking wine each (decadent!):
And my friend tried their gin!
I was really impressed with Dyl’s it has so much going for it. Perfect location overlooking the river, gorgeous quirky building, an outside eating area, great food and a good price. I don’t think you can say fairer than that!
We were invited to visit and try out Dyl’s lunch menu, but as always, all opinions expressed are my own.