After a morning walking the city walls and York Minster, we spent our afternoon wandering the city before sitting down to one of the best meals of the trip.

Museum Gardens and St. Mary’s Abbey

We do love to hit any parks or gardens when we have the chance, and the Museum Gardens gave us just that — botanical gardens along the River Ouse, with the added bonus of the ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey scattered throughout.

Wandering the City

Some random shots of the city during our wanderings.

A Special Dinner

We often plan one special dinner on a trip. This was the one we planned for York, and it did not disappoint — in fact, it ranks among our top dining experiences. Fish & Forest is recognized by Michelin, built around a very small, ever-changing menu of seasonal and sustainable fish, game, and forest food. The dining room seats just 24, with multiple extremely friendly and charming servers. We opted for a snack, three starters, and an entrée, sharing each dish between us. We were blown away.

The menu for the night.

Snacks weren’t on the board, but we started with a house-cured trout.

Then came the mushroom starter, built in three layers: bottom, creamed and duxelle; middle, creamed and pickled; top, fresh and crisped.

Then the sweet, succulent duck rillette.

Onto our third starter: seared scallops in an XO sauce. We have no idea what’s in that sauce, but if we could buy it by the gallon, we would.

And finally, our entrée: venison, perfectly seared, with beet three ways — roasted, crisped, and smoked puree. Eye-rollingly delicious.

This is a meal we will not soon forget.