Find Out What We Thought of Rudding Park's Newest Restaurant
Not that we need an excuse to visit, but we've come to Rudding Park to try their newest restaurant, FIFTY TWO, which promises to be 'an immersive dining experience' with chef Adam Degg at the helm
We are greeted on the restaurant’s covered terrace with a mulled apple drink made with apples from the garden, and an onion biscuit with Yorkshire pecorino (the biscuit, we’re told, has been made using a powder made from leftover onion skins). It’s a cold night but the terrace is dotted with heaters, our drinks are warm, and we’re soon shown inside.
There’s no menu here. Instead, the restaurant has the feel of a theatre, with long shared tables all facing the ‘stage’ which is the open kitchen. It’s part theatre, part dinner party, and as we take our seats we can see ducks sitting over the flames of a grill at one end of the long run, a hob section, prep section, and a cocktail bar at the far end. Chef and host Adam introduces himself and the small team, and we begin.
In the absence of a menu, each dish is a welcome surprise. An apple blini is topped with whipped cod’s roe and more apples from the garden, while a truly inspiring honey and oat soda bread comes with celeriac remoulade, potted trout and mustard leaves also from the garden. It’s the perfect balance of sweetness and spice. Next, a tiny, pretty tart of fresh beetroot, which cuts through the light, yet rich duck liver parfait.
Throughout the night we’re brought wine and cocktails (the drinks pairing here is part of the package). The restaurant’s take on a Black Velvet is made with stout syrup with a hint of miso, topped with Champagne. I fear it might be a bit beer-y for a wine drinker like myself, but it works well with the next course of fermented potato bread. The team have made hummus using sunflower seeds (they don’t yet grow chickpeas in Harrogate), as well as a green goddess butter with garden herbs and a cultured butter.
A non-alcoholic juice of oxidised pear and burnt hay acts as a palate cleanser (something like a healthy take on shot). As at any good dinner party, next up we’re served crisps and dips. Mushroom crackers take the place of crisps, and we dredge them through house ricotta (which is made fresh each day) topped with truffle and Jerusalem artichoke. They’re better than any crisps and dips I’ve ever been given at a party before – clearly my friends need to up their game.
As we watch what’s going on in the kitchen, we’re served a glass of German Riesling (very minerally and slightly acidic) which complements our next course of cod poached in butter, with pumpkin purée, pumpkin salsa, a pumpkin milk foam and caviar.
We can see the chefs working on the next courses as we eat and this is food as theatre, but none of the quality is lost in the performance. I’ve genuinely had less entertaining nights at the theatre, and seen less polished productions than this on stage. At one point my partner and I realise we haven’t spoken to each other for about 10 minutes, both engrossed in watching the chefs go through their well-practiced choreography.
Having lived through both the trend for replacing pasta with ‘courgetti’ and the recent rise in popularity of bao buns (many of which are a stodgy mess), I’m a little nervous about the next dish – but without any need. A hot and sour duck broth with noodles made from kohlrabi is an unexpected pleasure, and it’s served with a duck bao with crispy duck leg, chives and crispy onions. I can’t help dipping the last bit of my fluffy bao in the rich broth.
A fruity and slightly smoky Cotes du Rhone is served with the Thirkleby duck which we saw cooked on the barbecue in front of us earlier. It’s then been smoked over pine, and comes with a bitter chicory salad, parsnip and quince on the side, and a duck gravy.
Nothing can be hidden here. We see a sauce tasted, found wanting, tweaked, then checked again and served (it’s perfect, of course). Throughout the evening, our vantage point allows us to see a few tips and tricks you wouldn’t normally see – using a plumber’s torch to warm up a knife blade so it slides neatly through a custard tart, or attaching a thermometer to a pan handle with green tape so that someone doesn’t have to stand and hold it. For those of us who think Great British Menu is the highlight of the TV calendar, this is the equivalent of a live episode.
Our next course takes us from sweet to savoury – last year’s beetroot has been dehydrated and then rehydrated in beetroot juice, and is served with milk ice cream. A Disaronno sour (made using kafir lime and rhubarb from the garden) is among my favourite of the cocktails we’ve enjoyed.
FIFTY TWO’s signature dessert is a brown butter custard tart with baked apple puree. We’ve lost count of how many courses we’ve had at this point, and being presented with a generous slice of tart is slightly overwhelming – but also divine. Adam explains that they aim to serve proper Yorkshire portions here – some of the courses may be delicious, one-bite wonders, but nobody is going home hungry. As proof, we’re then given a Valrhona chocolate disc with white chocolate and marshmallow, and, finally (because we haven’t quite eaten enough), warm Madelines, straight from the oven, dusted in lavender sugar.
After all that, a wander back down through the gardens is really a rather nice way to end the evening.
In the morning we take breakfast in The Clocktower Restaurant. It’s a bright and welcoming space, and there’s a substantial buffet of continental options, plus a menu of hot dishes to order from the kitchen. I go for a classic and well-done eggs Benedict, while my partner tries something more unusual – a large Yorkshire pudding filled with shredded duck leg, topped with a poached duck egg and hollandaise sauce.
We’re heading home today – but there’s still plenty of time for a visit to Rudding Park’s rooftop spa. The extensive facilities here are set over three levels, with multiple steam rooms, saunas, ice baths, indoor and outdoor pools, foot spas, treatment rooms and relaxation spaces.
My partner makes his way around the various spaces, while I make a beeline for the outdoor hydrotherapy pool on the roof, where the bubbling warm waters are the perfect place to relax on a crisp winter morning. Before long I make my way downstairs for my treatment – a fabulous, hour-long Destress and Energise massage (which goes a long way towards undoing the knots which are constantly to be found in my shoulders).
Returning to the rooftop afterwards, we float in the warm waters of the spa pool on the terrace and try in vain to spot a glimpse of FIFTY TWO through the trees. Rudding Park has long been high on our list, but in FIFTY TWO they’ve not only created something unique, they’ve also made it memorable in all the right ways.
