Rustique

Very good value. Food excellently cooked and promptly served. Very attentive service. All in all a great meal. R and L manchester

What a lucky surprise this was! We needed a place to eat before a concert in a tiny Yorkshire Dales town, and gave this a try based on Trip Advisor reviews. I’m SO glad we did! We booked earlier in the day, and got a table for 5:45 pm on a Friday. It did start to get quite busy when we left at 7 so definitely book! Service is leisurely, and very professional, so know that if you’re in a hurry. And I’m pretty sure their owner is French, I spoke to him on the phone and his accent is delightful.
The fun thing about Rustique is that they are in what I’d call a former alley, that has been enclosed and given essentially a skylight roof. So there’s an «inner» restaurant that looks normal, and an «outer» restaurant where you’re still technically inside, but it feels like you’re outside. Like being on a patio with walls and a glass ceiling. All the fun of al fresco dining without being really cold — oh, English summers, how sad you make me. Anyway, Rustique has a set menu on Friday and Saturday until 7 pm (and until 9 pm the rest of the week) that is brilliant. 2 courses for £13.95 and 3 courses for £15.95. For the quality of the food that you get, it’s an absolute steal!
I started with lovely, velvety carrot orange soup and some bread (soup of the day, it changes, but is always Vegetarian). I loved it, as did my mom. The men in our group both got the Basque egg (sausage, chorizo, new potatoes, egg and peas cooked with paprika). That was a fantastically creative and beautifully presented dish. If you want a heartier appetizer, we’d all recommend that. I then moved on to the Loup de Mer, sea bass over creamy sweet potatoes and lemon-​dill sauce. Fantastic, flaky fish. Sweet potatoes plentiful and silky in your mouth. And we got a side of green beans at the server’s suggestion — they were absolutely amazing. I feel silly raving about a side of green beans but they were superb — clearly cooked in loads of butter, but worth it! The men got the beef stew (can’t spell bourginion… borginiongnnnn…argh) and loved it as well.
Dessert was a crème brûlée that was the first I’ve had to not be overly sweet and cloying — VERY hard shell on the top that was a delight to crack with spoons. Dad and Mom split a caramel banana crêpe that looked divine and they loved it as well.
We both couldn’t believe our luck at finding this place. It’s an absolute gem and a steal for the price. I’d come back here anytime, I’d even go out of my way for it! Certainly the next time we’re in the area, we’re coming back — my parents have already requested it on their next visit.

I love this restaurant. There’s no other word for it; it’s definitely true love. Whenever I’m in the area and it’s time to catch up with friends, go for a nice meal with my boyfriend, or even just grab some lunch during the day, Rustique is always my first choice.
There’s something on the menu for everyone, and everything I’ve tried has been delicious. The two stalwarts I keep coming back to are the steak baguette (rare steak in mustard mayo in a huge crusty baguette) and the Confit de Canard (succulent slow roast duck leg in a red wine sauce with Dauphinoise potatoes).
They do a fantastic set menu which offers two courses for £13.95 or three for £15.95. Stingy as I am, I usually go for this, though on my last visit it wasn’t available and I had to choose from the pricier a la carte menu. It did not disappoint. Myself and a friend shared the Assiette de Crustaces (oak smoked salmon, dressed crab, dill pickled herring, crayfish cocktail, beet slaw, celeriac remoulade, French bread) and for my main I opted for Selle d’Agneau (herb crusted lamb rump, red wine sauce, green beans, Dauphinoise potatoes). All so delicious it was worth paying a little extra.
I never have anything less than a lovely time here and wouldn’t dream of giving any less than 5 stars, though on my last visit I felt oddly let down by (of all things) the toilets. They’ve made very poor use of the space, so you have to navigate round bins and ornamental dressers to get to it. Then the lock is so stiff you worry you might never get out, and the flush doesn’t work. I heard another customer bringing this to the attention of the staff so hopefully it will get sorted.
If you’re in the area, visitor or local, I urge you to go. There are two other restaurants in York which I can’t personally vouch for, but if they’re the same then get yourself there.

Great food if a little pricey especially in Richmond, but you won’t be disappointed with the quality.

I went to Rustique with a few friends recently and we enjoyed a brilliant evening. The food, of course, was delicious; some of the best French cuisine I’ve tasted in the UK! The value for money was excellent, the ambience good, the staff attentive and charming. Speaking of the latter, it was pleasant to be able to speak to a French gentleman who was on the staff– that definitely helped me to feel more as if I were actually dining in my hometown! Overall, a lovely experience and I hope to return to Rustique very soon. Also, a warning: you ought to book in advance as the place does seem to fill up pretty quickly!