Boston Spa – top food haunts of West Yorkshire village

There’s fine bars and restaurants too, making this pleasant and prosperous village just off the A1 Motorway near Wetherby, well worth the visit.

I grew up in Wetherby in the 1980s and 1990s and as a kid, I recall Boston Spa as a pleasant place, if nothing too special.

But helped by its proximity to Leeds, Boston Spa has prospered and is chic, fashionable and trendy even, with a good range of independent shops.

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Enjoying a fine evening outside the Boston Tap in Boston Spa. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Well located in the heart of Yorkshire’s ‘Golden Triangle’ surrounded by beautiful countryside, pretty villages with characterful pubs, Boston Spa is upmarket and thriving, perhaps even more so than nearby Wetherby.

Boston Spa’s High Street (Image: Darren)

So park up in the High Street car park, where you don’t have to pay. The free parking also includes the High Street as well.

There, you will see Tom Foolery and the Boston Tap.

Tom Foolery at 179 High Street has been a popular watering hole for ten years.

Tom Foolery has been a popular venue for ten years. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

The independent bar offers brunch, burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, as well as a range of small plates.

I don’t recall eating there but I have enjoyed its craft ales many times. There’s a pleasant vibe to Tom Foolery and its modern interior features some interesting displays. The TV ‘Log fire’ being one of them and the pictures of humanoid pets wearing clothes being another.

But closer to the car park is the Boston Tap. Previously, known as  Salt Bar, it serves an extensive range of Ossett ales.

Chok Dee offer top class, authentic, tasty Thai cooking. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

The food offering is limited, restricted to pies, pastries, sandwiches, sharing boards and salad bowls. As it’s Ossett, famed for its White Rat ale, the beer is always good.

The steak pie and mash is also enjoyable and delicious, served with a delicious jus, and was excellent value.

This large Costcutter was once the Royal Hotel. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

But it will come in a cardboard box with wooden cutlery, so don’t expect plates and metal cutlery here!

Either way, The Boston Tap has a fine, contemporary interior, and extensive seating outside, ideal for the warmer summer days and nights.

Further down the road, past the former Royal Hotel, which is now a large Costcutter grocery store, you will see Boston Hall, a Grade II-listed mansion built in 1807, where cricketer Geoffrey Boycott used to live. A blue plaque highlights this amid its other history.

Nearby is Thai Chok Dee, a highly rated restaurant, which has great reviews online.

I have been many times and can vouch for its excellent Tom Kha Gai, the curries and the Weeping Tiger. My vegetarian friends are also happy with the extensive vegetarian offering.

Top class dining from a top chef at Amor (Image: Darren Greenwood)

It’s a popular place, often busy, so it pays to book and you will be rewarded with excellent service, superb and authentic food and great value.

Further away from the village centre, heading towards Tadcaster, are two Sam Smith’s Brewery-owned pubs. The Fox and Hounds is a well-regarded traditional drinkers pub I have yet to try, whilst the Admiral Hawke is sadly closed.

So let’s get back to the other side of Boston Spa.

At 174 High Street is the fine dining Inlamentation which has just been added to the Michelin Guide. It has 16 seats and chef Michael O’Hare is noted for his ever-evolving tasting menus. Another I have yet to try.

Aquila is a well-regarded Italian restaurant. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Restaurant Amor a few doors away is another fine dining establishment. Owned and run by Michelin-started chef Nikki Pybus, it gains good reviews, and is another I have yet to try.

But I have tried Aquila at 152 High Street, which is the first of two top Italian restaurants in Boston Spa. I recall delicious garlic mushrooms, followed by a tasty chicken dish.

Da Carlo is the best Italian in town, but you might be lucky to get a table. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

But the best Italian has to be Da Carlo’s Trattoria at 134 High Street, which has a traditional, characterful interior and very pleasant outdoor area.

De Carlo’s is an exceptionally popular southern Italian restaurant and it can be hard to get a table unless you book a week or so in advance. I recall often ringing many times the same day or the night before to no avail. Then, one evening me and my vegetarian friends were just walking past, I went inside to see if they had a vacancy and they had outside.

The Crown Inn could have become a Co-op. Thankfully, it didn’t. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

I recall a most excellent Strancetti Di Manzo starter, which consisted of pieces of tender beef fillet sauteed in garlic, chilli, parsley and rosemary, topped with rocket and parmesan. It was tender, full of flavour and absolutely gorgeous!

My lasagne Napoletana was excellent too and my vegetarian friends were more than happy with their choices. We vow to return, if we can get in.

From inside the restaurant of The Crown Inn (Image: Darren Greenwood)

You then pass a popular patisserie called the Pudding Lab, which I have yet to try, before you eventually arrive at The Crown Inn.

This large pub had been closed for years, with plans to turn it into a Co-op. Fortunately, plans were refused and investors transformed it with a £1.2million revamp, with the venue re-opening around five years ago.

Inside, you are greeted with an extensive bar area, a restaurant area and a large beer garden, ideal for the summer we are having.

There’s always great choice of drinks, be it beers, wines, cocktails, you name it.

The food menus are extensive too, with specials adding to the variety.

Pizza and and chargrilled pork chop at The Crown Inn, where the food never disappoints. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Its standard gastropub fayre, but it never lets you down. It is always reliable and consistently good. The service is also fine and value also good, another to return to.

So that is essentially Boston Spa on a plate, a prosperous, pleasant village not too far from York with plenty of treats on the menu. Go hungry if you can, but you might want to book ahead.

Have you been to Boston Spa? What did you do there? What did you think of the place? And did you eat or dine there? where did you go? Please share with us your experiences of Boston Spa in the comments below.