Tommy Banks grew up at The Black Swan in Oldstead, the village pub his family turned into a Michelin-starred destination, and became the youngest British chef to hold a star at twenty-four. Roots, which he opened on Marygate in 2018, was his bet that the same farm-driven cooking could work in a relaxed city room rather than a country-house dining room. In 2021 it became the first restaurant in York to win a Michelin star, and it has held the star every year since.
The cooking runs on a single idea taken seriously: almost everything starts at the family farm and garden in Oldstead, and the kitchen preserves the harvest — pickling, fermenting, curing, ageing — so that a midsummer vegetable can anchor a January plate. The signature is the crapaudine beetroot, an ancient variety cooked slowly until it eats like meat, served with beef fat and goat's cheese. It is the dish that explains the restaurant in one bite: deep, savoury, and grown rather than bought.
Service runs two tasting menus — the Core Menu at £110 and the longer Signature Menu at £165 — built as a sequence of small, shareable plates rather than rigid courses. Banks splits his time with Oldstead and the Made in Oldstead operation, but the York kitchen carries his method intact, and the consistency that earned the Observer Food Monthly recognition is the reason the star has never wobbled.
Roots sits in a converted pub at 68 Marygate, a quiet street that runs down to the River Ouse near Museum Gardens. The room is warm and close — bare wood, low lighting, around forty covers across two floors — and the sound level is a genuine hum rather than a hush. Tables are set generously enough for the parade of small plates, the dress code is smart casual with nothing required, and the counter seats give solo diners a front-row view of the pass. It feels like a neighbourhood restaurant that happens to cook at star level, which is exactly the trick Banks was after.
Is Roots York worth it?
Yes, if you want the most ambitious cooking in York. Roots holds a Michelin star and was the first restaurant in the city to win one, in 2021. Tommy Banks builds the menu around produce preserved from his Oldstead farm, so the food tastes of somewhere specific rather than generic fine dining. The small-plates format keeps it relaxed for the level of skill on the plate. See more restaurants in York.
How hard is it to book Roots York?
Harder than any other table in York. Reservations open in monthly batches on the Roots website and weekend dates for the Signature Menu disappear within hours of release. Book three to four weeks ahead for Friday or Saturday, sign up to the mailing list for release dates, and consider a Tuesday or Wednesday if you want a realistic shot at short notice.
What is the dress code at Roots York?
Smart casual, with no jacket or tie required. Roots is a converted pub on Marygate, not a hushed dining room, so the mood is closer to a buzzy neighbourhood restaurant than a temple. Most guests arrive in smart-casual clothes — a shirt or a nice top works perfectly. You will never feel underdressed, and you will never feel the room judging what you wore.
How much does dinner at Roots York cost?
There are two tasting menus: the Core Menu at £110 and the longer Signature Menu at £165 per person, both before drinks. Wine pairings and the à la carte snacks push the figure higher, so budget around £180 to £230 a head for the full Signature experience with matched wines. It is a serious outlay, but cheaper than equivalent stars in London.
What should I order at Roots York?
Take the Signature Menu if you can — it showcases the dishes Roots is known for. The crapaudine beetroot, slow-cooked and served with beef fat and goat's cheese, is the signature plate and the clearest expression of the farm-to-fork idea. Trust the kitchen on the snacks and the preserved-produce courses, and let the team pour the matched wines.
