Maunby is a little village in North Yorkshire, and is on a road to nowhere; cul-de-sac; dead end. In other words, you have to be going to Maunby with a purpose, you won’t stumble on it by accident. The pub has existed for years and we last went, oh, twenty five years ago? Not surprisingly, the pub closed through lack of custom. Maunby used to have a bridge link across the River Swale to Pickhill but alas no longer.

It’s been going a couple of years now under the skilful management of Head Chef Matthew Roath & partner Sammy Clark and produces a range of dishes that, well, we could have anything from the menu of four or five starters, mains and puds. The fixed-price market menu was equally good, with a couple of us choosing that. It’s also a surprisingly successful village pub. You can eat in the bar as well as the restaurant and, as we had coffee in the bar, it was full of people actually drinking beer. So a good combination of food and proper pub. Much like the Golden Lion at Osmotherley, the standard by which others are judged. The food here has more emphasis on occasion, thoughtfully designed plates of food that make you pause and admire before eating. The Pea velouté – brilliant.

Lots of awards and recognition – rightly so. Another great place to eat. The food is stylish, beautifully presented but, most importantly, it tastes really good. We expect to see more recognition and look forward to more visits. And the chips…

Pub with food The Buck Inn Maunby

STP Score: 8/10. Interesting variation, with black treacle used to give a rich, moist texture and sauce. Lovely.

The cosy bar

The many, many accolades