19 courses and counting

Mýse (Hovingham)

GETAWAYS • North Yorkshire

Stepping off the 8a from King’s Cross into the characterful town of Malton, I wonder why I don’t do this more often. I’ve made it from London to ‘Yorkshire’s food capital’ in two and a half hours, inhaled fresh country air, met a friend for artisan coffee, stocked up on freshly baked sourdough, and even bought a giant meat pie from a local butcher keen on the up-sell, all before noon.

There’s no Uber here, so you’ll need to book a taxi in advance if you don’t have a conveniently located friend. But once you do, it’s just a 14-minute drive through winding Howardian Hills to the main drag of Hovingham. This feels like your typical Yorkshire village: an eclectic store, a trickling stream, dog walkers in wellies, locals who bid me ‘good morning’.

Then I set foot inside Mýse, ready to settle in for a 19-course lunch. It might be the familiar Yorkshire accents (I grew up not too far away) or maybe the log-burning fire in the entrance snug, but there’s a calm that immediately descends on me, along with the sense that this is going to be good.

If Scandinavian uber-restaurants Noma and Fäviken merged, Mýse might be the result, with its minimalist interior and terroir-based cuisine. Dried flowers hang from wooden beams, while walnut wood chairs are draped in local sheepskins and ash tabletops are linen-free. Early courses arrive in creative receptacles: A pickled quail’s egg comes in a carved wooden spoon on a nest of hay, while a pound-coin-sized ‘charcoal pie’ is filled with raw roe deer, topped with Exmoor caviar, served on a piece of charcoal, surrounded by pines.

It's not style over substance though. Every bite is better than the last, from the ball of Yorkshire pudding batter stuffed with braised ox cheek to the ‘beastings’ custard tart with colostrum, my favourite of the five sweet courses. Both the wine and soft pairings are exceptional, and the beetroot, black garlic, and red verjus make a brilliant substitute for red wine. There’s an optional cheese course which I can’t fit in (you absolutely should).

Stretching my legs with a coffee around the fire out the back of the restaurant, I’m envious of the couple unloading their car, ready to sink into the bed in one of the on-site rooms. The cosy new cottage just up the road is even more enticing. But no — I’m heading back on the 18:12 to London, quite possibly with a post-lunch snooze on the train. That’s the beauty of England: You can make a round trip to one of the best restaurants in the country, and be back in your own bed by teatime.

Drop Mýse into London and it’d easily win every accolade, but its off-the-beaten track location in the North Yorkshire countryside means that nearly two years after opening, it’s still under the radar — all the better for those of us in the know. –Laura Price

→ Mýse (Hovingham) • Main St YO62 4LF • Wed-Thu 7-11p, Fri-Sat 1230-3p & 7-11p • £145 per • Book.