The story
Box Tree is a Modern British restaurant at 35-37 Church Street in Ilkley, and the AA awarded it three Rosettes for 2026. It has served the town since 1962, in a Yorkshire stone farmhouse that dates to 1720.
Australian-born Brayden Davies took over as head chef in early 2024. He previously cooked at Grantley Hall, Northcote Manor and The Angel at Hetton. His contemporary cooking brings his Australian background together with foraged and local Yorkshire produce. The restaurant says the menu changes with seasonal availability.
The Good Food Guide's autumn inspection found a chawanmushi made with 24-month aged Parmesan, and agnolotti filled with Yorkshire ricotta and Amalfi lemon. Dessert was a mini île flottante with Ilkley Moor heather honey, finished with clarified milk tea poured at the table. The sample dinner menu is £95 per person, with wine pairings from £80, and a vegetarian version runs alongside it. The guide also singled out the cocktails as a good way to begin.
Malcolm Reid and Colin Long opened the restaurant, and it later held two Michelin stars. Marco Pierre White is among the chefs who have cooked here. Inside the sandstone cottage are an antique-furnished lounge and two dining rooms. Porcelain dogs still stand at the door.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
When Malcolm Reid and Colin Long opened the Box Tree back in 1962, their avowed aim was to present Yorkshire’s affluent diners with a glorious cavalcade of French-accented haute cuisine in strikingly idiosyncratic surrounds. The restaurant’s towering reputation may have waned in recent years, although it is now on the up once again following its acquisition by local businessman Adam Frontal. Porcelain dogs still stand sentry at the door and the carpeting, curtains and ancient fireplaces hard back to the old days, but change is in the air. The arrival of Australian-born chef Brayden Davies (ex-Grantley Hall, Northcote et al) at the beginning of 2024 coincided with a full-scale overhaul of the kitchen and a move towards modernity on the plate. Old-school niceties such as white-gloved service have been consigned to history, although eating here is still a special occasion worth dressing up for – so expect a grand welcome from the long-serving GM and plenty of tableside saucing amping up the no-choice tasting menu into an ‘experience’. Our autumn reconnaissance began with a deeply comforting, savoury chawanmushi (made with 24-month aged Parmesan) partnered by onion consommé, though a rudimentary snack of Brin d’Amour and tomatoes on crusty focaccia was little more than a decent bite of cheese on toast. Agnolotti stuffed with Yorkshire ricotta and Amalfi lemon in a whey sauce tasted admirably of the Sorrentine Peninsula but a dish of Irish langoustine with cubes of Yorkshire chorizo, pepper purée and Australian finger lime on Spanish black rice was overly rich and thick. To conclude, the local larder shone through with a mini île flottante of raw milk ice cream, aromatic Ilkley Moor heather honey, bee pollen and clarified milk tea (poured tableside). Wine pairings are dutifully overseen by the sommelier, although a truncated by-the-glass selection doesn’t do justice to the kitchen’s ambitions. Cocktails, however, are expertly mixed and a fitting way to kick off the occasion.
3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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