I was in Harrogate on Easter Sunday to have a mini break. The bloke had heard good things about the "Guy Fawkes Arms" pub in Scotton, near Harrogate, so I decided to make a reservation for Easter lunch. We had had a slightly disappointing Easter lunch last year near Dartmoor, so I was not really expecting much, but the meal we had at the "Guy Fawkes Arms" was the best that I have had in awhile. I recommend it, and the photographs and write-up below will hopefully do it justice.
Scotton is a small village near Harrogate, and the pub gets its name from its famous ex-resident, Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes is immortalised for his plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder, which is celebrated on November 5 in the United Kingdom each year. This act of treason cost him his life, and he was tortured before he was killed. The pub has information about him, the confession he signed, and his signatured before and after he had been tortured. The walls also contain a portrait of him and his coat of arms, of which the pub is named.
We arrived a few minutes early for our Easter lunch and were welcomed by a "Happy Easter" sign and colourful spring flowers decorating the tables.
After ordering and receiving our drinks at the bar, we were shown our seats. I had a soft drink, but the beer/ale/cider drinkers will not be disappointed as I saw many different brands on tap and on offer.
After we sat at our table, we were offered bread. We had two slices of bread each, and this came with soft butter. The bread was delicious and fresh, and it was still warm. One slice was a white rosemary bread, and the other may have been tomato-based as it was orange in colour, but I really could not distinguish the flavour. Both types of bread tasted delicious and were 'light' and not starchy at all.
The service was quick and efficient, and our main meals arrived quickly. The bloke ordered the roast sirloin of beef with a Yorkshire pudding.
I ordered the corn-fed chicken breast with mushrooms in a white wine sauce with grilled asparagus.
The pots of vegetables arrived with the meal. We had a choice of new potatoes or roast potatoes. Another pot contained mixed leek, carrot, peas, and baby peas in pods.
The food was delicious, and I actually could not fault anything at all with our meals. Asparagus is actually not my favourite vegetable, but I ate all of it. I'm also not that keen on potatoes and roast potatoes, but these tasted lovely and were not too filling at all. My chicken breast also came with skin on it, and the skin was cooked crispy with peppercorn, and I also ate the majority of that, despite normally leaving the skin off to the side. The food was also presented well.
We made room for desserts as well, and the bloke had his usual selection of ice cream. The ice cream is Brymor, a brand from the local area. He choose mint chocolate chip and strawberries and cream.
I ordered the trio of chocolate, and this contained a chocolate brownie, chocolate ice cream, and white chocolate sauce. The brownie was delicious and not too rich and not too filling.
I do plan on returning to the "Guy Fawkes Arms" the next time that I return to the Harrogate area. There's actually so much to see in this area of England, as readers of my blog will see when I start to post what I got up to over the long weekend. After our Easter lunch, we actually went to Fountains Abbey and walked off our lunch (and more) around the beautiful abbey and its gardens, and I'll be posting about that soon. This was a wonderful day with lovely warm and sunny weather, and this is a day that I will remember for a long time.
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