retiredmartin

March 2026. Malton. North Yorkshire.

This won’t make a lot of sense to most of you, but my brain only really comes to life when I’m taking in new sights, sounds and smells experiences, which is why the repetition of those A1 trips from Sheff to Cambridge are so exhausting.

But stick me on a train heading north-east from York for half an hour and I’m happy. “What’s that ?” (a field),

“Kirkham Priory looks nice“, “What’s Malton famous for ?“.

Well, not a lot, but I’ve just noticed how close it is to Castle Howard, and it’s the self-proclaimed “Yorkshire Capital of Food”, but what about Guide newbie ØMNI ?

And more to the point, how do you find the slashed Ø on the keyboard ?

Using Scandivanian letters gives out a certain image, but ØMNI feels a modern but traditional English bistro-cum-boozer with its “Yorkshire cheese board with tonka bean honey, quince and cracker” on the menu, John Grant on the stereo, cocktail recipes plastered over the Gents,

and M & S shopping bags competing with dog bowls for floor space.

I guess a good comparator would be that Weavers in Malvern, unpretentious but definitely a bit upmarket.

Less crafty than expected/feared, and most of the trade is wine,

but there’s beer you’ve heard of, always A Good Thing.

Empire’s Moonraker Mild edging out the Abbot, and though there’s a touch of sourness to start, it improves dramatically to a 3.5.

And if I hadn’t been condemned to a high table while lone bloke with two dogs hogged four ground level seats I’d have liked it even more. Seating matters, folks.