31 Castlegate Restaurant

My wife and I heard through some friends that this restaurant was nice and good value for money, so we booked a table for two on the 20th Oct at 5.30 pm, as it was early evening we found it quiet, which suited us, we opted for the set menu, my wife ordered a main meal of duck, and sea bass for myself, as there was not enough veg with our meals we ordered a mixed veg to share, for desserts my wife had the apple crumble and for myself the creme brulee, alas, this was when our expectations failed, the brulee was ok, but the apple crumble consisted of half cooked apple, granola sprinkled on top, the topping had absolutely no resemblance to the original apple crumbles that we have enjoyed in many other restaurants, it was accompanied by ice-cream in a brandy snap basket, no custard or cream in sight. My suggestion to the chief or cook is to look up the original recipe for apple crumble. my wife complained that it was not good and was offered an alternative, but declined as there were no other desserts she liked as the rest were too sweet for her palate.

Friday night family reunion dinner: great food & service, well priced. Thank you for making me a negroni! My only suggestion might be to change the overhead lighting.

Great food and choice for vegans and non-vegans. It wasn't busy at all on Tuesday, so we were well looked after by a great host.

The food here never disappoints, the staff are friendly and attentive, the set menu is fantastically good value for money and i just wish i lived nearer so that i could go more often!

Delicious food, excellent service, lovely ambience at a very reasonable price. I have been to this restaurant on previous visits to York and was not disappointed on my return. Highly recommended.

Very close to the shops and looking out onto Clifford's Tower. We turned up an hour before our booking time expecting to just get a drink but they said we could sit down. Menu choices were excellent. The set menu has some lovely choices. I had the crispy chicken Asian salad which was beautiful and very well presented followed by chicken, chorizo croquette and green beans. Chicken was a full large chicken breast so very good portion sizes, My friends vegetarian meal was equally as plentiful and delicious. We shared the apple and raisen crumble pudding to finish things off nicely. Lovely quiet atmosphere and very reasonably priced for the high standard of food. Will definitely return. Thank you so much

Lovely birthday lunch for my mum. Our waiter was polite, friendly and helpful. There was a good choice on the menu too. There was also a price fix menu which was good.

Good balanced menu with excellent vegetarian options. Two niggles keep me from giving it top marks, The corner where we sat had a markedly sloping floor and the chair became uncomfortable after 15 to 20 minutes.

The evening was lovely. We unusually had the fixed menu and everything about it was delicious! Only problem was there was a very noisy birthday party in the front room which spoiled the evening slightly but apart from that fabulous. Highly recommended!

Conveniently situated close to city centre and other amenities. Service is excellent, not over the top. Choice of food from set menu or Al a carte menu is very good and varied. Plenty to choose. Nice place for couples or a few of you

Friendly, very proactive and helpful with accommodating 8 of us, effective polite efficient service, good food ( from set menu, starter, main , dessert) excellent location, pleasing ambience, likeable wine

We decided to try the set menu which turned out to be a mistake. We had eaten previously at this restaurant and had had a good experience from the al a carte menu. We may just have been unlucky but the food quality wasn’t very good, not sure if that was because it was the set menu or not.

Had 3 cores meal deal. Excellent. If I had to be really picky the stater fish cake was like a wagon wheel it had gone smaller. The staff was brilliant.

Good food and service but felt ripped off being charged full price £6.95 for a non-alcoholic cocktail which was little more than a couple of mint leaves topped up with soft drink. We felt it was worth no more than the cost of a can of Coke. Sadly the handling over our complaint left a rather bad taste in our mouths.

Fantastic service, delicious food. The vegan menu is very good and the wines are also marked as vegan. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone Vegi/Vegan or in a mixed group. The 17.95 set menu is very good value.

excellent service and great food. Staff were really friendly and accommodating, helping decide on a good wine and giving us a detailed description of the different meals on the menu.

Cut and little restaurant well located at the entrance of the medieval City. Nice old England decoration of the room. Portion generous for a well cooked fish . Good choice of wine. You feel welcome.

Lovely early evening meal in traditional, classy surroundings. Excellent choice of menu - we chose from the set menu- and attentive service. Very pleased with the overall experience.

Great food at great value and great staff. Thank you for a lovely meal. Would highly recommend if you want a nice meal in York.

Excellent. They kindly accommodated my friends disabilities, and from start to finish they ensured that we had a perfect evening. The food, service, ambience were all excellent. One of the best places to go in York, as I've been many times and the standard is excellent.

We were the only people in the restaurant on a Friday night which made us feel quite ill at ease. The food was ok, nothing special. We ate off the set menu which was reasonably good value but a lot of what we ate was pre-prepared, sadly not much fresh food appeared. We think the menu is more style over substance.

Varied men,u good service, excellent food Have visited twice and each time with different friends and family all enjoye\d both the visit and the service was quick and efficient

Excellent value meal. Good value wines and very friendly service. The set menu offers a number of choices and the party of 3 had a range from pate or fish cake as starter, duck confit or chicken breast for mains and sticky toffee pudding for dessert (predictable!!). Will go again.

Very nice restaurant. Pleasant 18th century building almost next to Fairfax House. Attentive staff. Light French Italian style food. Close to the Cathedral and medieval centre.

Food was incredible, just the best fillet steak cooked to perfection. fabulous service and relaxed atmosphere. A great choice of dishes on the menu. Highly recommended.

Lovely food with plenty to choose from. The staff were very friendly and attentive. A hidden gem and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

An excellent personal service and the food was amazing. Will definitely return. The menu has something for everyone and nothing was too much trouble and the staff were very pleasant.

The usual top quality of service ambience and food quality. Presentation perfect with no corners cut. We used our "taste card" with no quibbles or hidden conditions (unlike some). A great, calm and pleasant evening again.

We chose from the set menu, great value at £18 for 3 courses and the food was really good, would recommend. Restaurant a little dated and lacked atmosphere but service and food great

Great Service - attentive but not obtrusive. All the food was lovely but the Assiette of Chocolate is definitely one not to be missed! Pleasant atmosphere even when it wasn't busy.

Wir haben prima gegessen, alles ist ganz gesmackvoll zubereitet und sieht auch so aus. Bedienung ist professionel und sehr freundlich. Wir kommen sicher noch mal zuruck!

a lovely restaurant well placed for the theatre and city centre ,couldn't fault the attentive friendly staff but didn't overdo it.The only fault we could bring attention to was the bread used for the sandwiches which wasn't ideal ,a wider choice of bread would have been appreciated.all in all a good experience.

Always a great experience! If you like a great meal in refined surroundings you can't beat it.

A really lovely evening at 31 Castlegate! This was our Valentines dinner and it was just amazing! The quality of the food was unquestionable and the service team were thoughtful and attentive.

As always wonderful experience at 31 Castlegate, staff always friendly and helpful, we had a party of 12 , including a 3 year old and a 2 years old and nothing was any trouble to them. The food was ias usual very high standard and again with a large party the food came out on time and was hot. I can not praise 31 Castlegate enough, wonderful time was had by all our party.

Great good, great service, great value! I don't need 25 words to put that point across for everyone to see. Will definitely go back again.

We had the set menu last night, 3 courses for £17.95, could not fault it. Service was excellent, Will use again, when back in York, in early March. Keep up the good work. Allan F Clarke

The meal was delicious and the wine was very nice. It was my husband's birthday so it was important that it was a good experience. The atmosphere was very warm and friendly and the staff were very attentive. We had the lamb rump which was pink and tasted lovely too full for dessert but we did have an Irish coffee (hubby) and a ruby port (Me) to finish. It's a very interesting old building also, with an alarming looking lean. You may feel the floor is a bit uneven even when you haven't had a drink. Trust me, you're not drunk.

This is one of the finest meals in the York area. The service, quality of food and fine wine selection all add to make this a fantastic restaurant.

They do good wholesome food. Not as refined as some restaurants but still as tasty. The staff are friendly and helpful. The toilets are down some steep stairs so possibly not good for the less able bodied. Enjoyable meal and would go again.

A lovely evening had for my mums birthday, great food, great wine and friendly staff!

Pleasant surroundings, good but unobtrusive service, excellent choice of food all prepared to the highest standard,, good value for money. What more could you ask for?

Great value for money, really attentive staff good food. Good pork and ham terrine starter. My main the mash was slightly cold compared to the rest of my meal The chocolate and baileys tart was really nice.

The menu doesn’t change much, which is no bad thing. But what they create is excellent. The service was attentive but not pushy. Go try it for yourself.

Fantastic restaurant with food and service at its best. Price is very reasonable and a great atmosphere, have dined here five times and would definitely recommend it.

Absolutely lovely - will defiantly be going again for a return visit . Good service , delicious food , reasonably priced , what's not to like !!!

Great food and service. Not keen on our table, by a cupboard, well used by staff, thus disturbing us to a certain extent. Very affordable for such a good standard of cooking.

We received a very warm welcome, had a great meal and a lovely bottle of wine. Modestly priced. Some of the staff need more training

Some things were really good, and some nice ideas. Unfortunately some items not cooked well which let it down, but overall we enjoyed the meal.

Fantastic food, even from the set menu, and a really extensive wine list. The atmosphere and service were top-notch and the value was up with the best. The mushroom risotto was cooked to perfection, which can be a tricky for a lot of restaurants, and the fish cake starters were light and tangy.