The Sandpiper Inn is a 17th century pub with a cosy interior in the heart of Leyburn. Leyburn is a village which is itself in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, where I spent some time a few months ago. Alas I have only just gotten round to writing up a review of the Daleightful experience, pardon the pun, and am not aware of the current state of the ever-oscillating COVID restrictions at the time of the publication of this review. Rest assured dear reader, I attended when it was acceptable to do so.
Now that the outrageous floundering is out of the way, I can talk about the delightful meal which we experienced. This was my favourite meal which was not the one I ordered. the Sandpiper Burger was just superb. It had a beef steak burger, streaky bacon and smoked cheddar as well as delightfully crunchy bacon. I am unsure whether the beef was local and fed on Wensleydale grass only but it had quite a unique flavour. The texture was quite novel and smokier than what I was used to. The bun itself was a sensation and held the burger together wonderfully, which is always a good sign in a burger. Overall excellent.
M’colleague had the pan fried sea bream on linguine. Sea Bream is considered to be the tastiest of all fish. Its flavour is both clean and meat like. Regular readers of this blog will know that I detest fish and what with social distancing I did not get close enough to M’colleague to sample his dish. Suffice to say by the state of paralysis he found himself in after lunch, one can surmise the dish was a success.
My dish was a true showstopper. Lemon scented Nidderdale chicken breast on a chorizo, sweetcorn, piquillo pepper and basil mint risotto. This was explosively flavoursome. The sweet and spicy flavour of the chorizo blended beautifully with the savoury rice and parmesan. It is almost a shame the menu is changed every day because I would rather like to have this dish again next time I visit.
Overall the Sandpiper Inn is a distinguished restaurant in the heart of the Dales which offers a delightful and economic fare ahead of any cheese infused afternoon adventures. It is highly recommended.