The Penny Bun

The à la carte menu opens with a selection of bar snacks — treacle soda bread with penny bun mushroom and truffle butter, house olives with pickled garden chillies, and a Tamworth pork sausage roll with homemade brown sauce. Starters build on the estate-sourced theme: a creamed parsnip velouté arrives with pickled pears and warm bread, while a game and prune terrine comes with celeriac remoulade, estate leaves, and pickles. The king scallop, paired with roasted hen of the wood mushroom and an English sparkling wine sauce, stands out as the most indulgent opener.

Mains lean into slow-cooked, richly sauced plates. Slow-braised Denton beef comes with confit leek mash, beef fat parsnips, and buttered sprouts, while Denton venison haunch arrives alongside a celeriac and potato gratin, red cabbage purée, and roasting juice sauce. For a lighter option, handmade gnocchi with seasonal mushrooms, penny bun and truffle butter, and black garlic glazed hen of the wood mushroom offers a rich, earthy vegetarian-adaptable plate. The heritage steak and bone marrow burger — topped with Harrogate blue rarebit and miso aïoli — provides a more robust, informal alternative.

Sunday is the standout service. Roast plates of slow-braised Denton beef or slow-roast Denton Reserve leg of lamb come with duck fat roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, glazed carrots, butter roast parsnip, and bottomless gravy. A salt-roasted celeriac with mushroom gravy serves as a dedicated vegetarian option. Children can enjoy a smaller version of the Sunday plate.

The weekday Field to Fork set menu rotates seasonally, offering dishes such as wild garlic pearl barley risotto and white park beef sausage with mash and pickled red cabbage gravy. Sticky toffee pudding, a consistent favourite among diners, appears regularly across seasonal menus.

Dietary options are well integrated. Most dishes carry gluten-free-adaptable and vegan-adaptable markers, though a shared kitchen means the venue cannot guarantee completely allergen-free preparation.

The bar leans into a carefully curated wine programme with an emphasis on organic, sustainable, biodynamic, and natural wines. The list spans by-the-glass and bottle options, with recent additions including a Portuguese Raza Vinho Verde Branco — a crisp, spritzy white suited to the terrace on warmer evenings. English sparkling wine also features, both on the list and in the kitchen’s scallop sauce.

Beyond wine, the bar pulls draft beer from brass taps, with bottled dark ales lining the wooden shelving behind the counter. The candlelit snug serves as the natural spot for a pre- or post-dinner drink, where spirits and cocktails are poured in a low-lit, intimate setting.

Soft drinks and non-alcoholic options are available for those not drinking, though no dedicated alcohol-free menu is published.

The first impression is the exterior: a striking run of dark charred vertical timber cladding — yakisugi-style — on the contemporary extension, set against the original rough stone and rubble wall of the historic inn. A hanging metal sign engraved with a penny bun mushroom illustration marks the entrance.

Inside, the dining room commits fully to darkness. Near-black painted walls absorb the light, leaving amber wall sconces and candles at every table to do the work. Black metal cross-back chairs sit around small round dark wooden tables dressed with white linen. A large gilt-framed painting hangs on one wall. A black multi-pane window lettered “Kitchen” in serif type offers a view into the pass — considered, deliberate, and quietly theatrical.

The snug is a separate world: a cream linen curved sofa, a dark leather armchair draped with a thick sheepskin throw, and round wooden side tables lit by candles. Incense burns on dark slate. Red wine glows in the low amber light. It is more meditative than social — a place to settle before or after dinner.

Outside, a terrace overlooks fields and open moorland across Wharfedale, with firepits and weekend grill specials during warmer months.

Askwith sits on a quiet stretch of country road between Ilkley and Otley, each roughly ten minutes away by car. From Leeds city centre, the drive takes around forty minutes. By train, Leeds to Ilkley runs in thirty minutes, with taxis available from Ilkley station. Cyclists can follow the Leeds to Bolton Abbey route via Wharfedale, with The Penny Bun a twenty-minute ride from either Ilkley or Otley. From Harrogate, a scenic twenty-five-minute drive crosses Denton Moor.

Free on-site parking is available at the venue.

Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 12:00 – 22:00 (last sitting 20:30)
Thursday: 12:00 – 22:00 (last sitting 20:30)
Friday: 12:00 – 22:00 (last sitting 20:30)
Saturday: 12:00 – 22:00 (last sitting 20:30)
Sunday: 12:00 – 21:00 (last sitting 18:00)