Mýse

Joshua and Victoria Overington opened Mýse (pronounced 'meez') in the summer of 2023. It's a converted inn snuggled in a sleepy North Yorkshire village, but with ideas that lift it way out of the country-pub norm. The name is the Anglo-Saxon word that denoted ceremonial dining at table, though that shouldn't lead you to expect a mýse-hrægel (tablecloth). Formerly head chef at Le Cochon Aveugle in York, Joshua leads a team that is single-mindedly dedicated to the principles of modern sustainable cooking, with foraging, fermenting, pickling and infusing high on everybody's skill-set. Nibbles set the tone: Ripon roe deer in fermented plum sauce topped with smoked Exmoor caviar in a little charcoal tartlet; a hay-vinegared quail's egg on mushroom parfait; a twig brochette of ox cheek braised in ale, then deep-fried in Yorkshire-pudding batter – layers of flavour and stunning richness rolling out even before you have reached the dining room. An Orkney scallop is very lightly poached in sea-urchin butter and served in the shell on a bed of seaweed. The thrift principle extends to turning last year's squash seeds into a 'miso' which is used to garnish a soup of this year's squash, its texture firmed up with a little pumpkin-seed granola. A crown of duck is introduced by being carried regally about the room, and now begins its culinary act. After a presentation of duck charcuterie with a crumpet of liver mousse, plus a richly spicy broth flavoured with walnut and orange, comes a thick slice of the breast served with game sausage, confit beetroot and black-walnut relish. A pair of desserts is interspersed with the petits fours, which makes them less of an afterthought than usual – the finale being a flourless fig tart with an ice cream of fig leaves from the garden. Overington himself comes to the table and fires up the dish with flaming Yorkshire rum, harking us back to the dear old flambé days of our gilded youth. The food is matched by an excellent drinks list, which takes in inspired non-alcoholic sodas and kombuchas, imaginative cocktails and a decent selection of wines in small glasses, from a mere £5 for a quality Vinho Verde. Bottle prices ascend rapidly, but the choices are exceptionally good, through to a Georgian Saperavi and Peloponnese Agiorgitiko.

Launched in 2023, Mýse follows the success of Joshua and Vicky Overington’s now closed Le Cochon Aveugle restaurant in York. Located about 30 minutes’ drive north in the village of Hovingham, their new project is intended as a softer-edged, more experiential counterpoint to the urban and, at times, edgy restaurant with which the pair made their name. Another important difference between Mýse and Le Cochon is that its culinary inspiration and to some extent its ingredients come from closer to home. This is partly due to its rural location and also because the pair are now looking to create a narrative-driven restaurant experience with the menu referencing the food Joshua ate as a child. Described by the chef as ‘elevated grandma cooking’, the food is high-end and creative but is largely inspired by hearty dishes. Overseen by Vicky, the 300-bin wine list is big on classic wine regions with a focus on producers from eastern France (both originally from the UK, the pair met in the Alps). The site that Mýse occupies was formerly home to a gastropub but is now pretty much unrecognisable as such thanks to a total refurbishment that has seen the interior brightened and comprehensively decluttered and the rear of the site remodelled to create an open kitchen that befits Joshua’s considerable talent (the kitchen at the Overington’s last place was laughably small). With a dining room staffed by young, enthusiastic and largely local staff, Mýse dazzles, delivering an experience that is unapologetically geared toward special occasions with an impressive lightness of touch.