"Tommy Banks's farm-fed tasting room, one star since 2021, £110 entry. Book it for an anniversary that wants warmth over theatre."
About Roots
Tommy Banks was twenty-four when the Black Swan at Oldstead made him Britain's youngest Michelin-starred chef in 2013. Roots, opened in September 2018 inside a former pub at 68 Marygate, is the city restaurant built on the same supply line: his parents' farm at Oldstead, twenty miles north, which decides the menu before the kitchen does. The star arrived in 2021 and has held every year since.
The premise is unusually honest for the genre. When the farm is in glut, the menu swells; in the hunger gap of early spring, fermentation, curing and the previous summer's preserving carry the load. It is the most compelling argument in the York dining guide and the reason the city now supports a serious food scene alongside Skosh and Legacy at The Grand.
The Kitchen
Banks oversees the group, and the Roots kitchen executes a menu that changes with the farm's output rather than the calendar quarter. Two tasting formats run side by side: the Core at £110 and the Signature at £165, with a Sunday Feast from £75 that is the best-value route into the cooking. The fixed point is the Oldstead charcuterie, the course the regulars check for first: lardo from a twelve-week pig and an oak-smoked salami, all cured on site from the family's own animals.
The technique bank is preservation. Vegetables picked in surplus are fermented, vinegared or candied and reappear months later as sauces and garnishes, so a January plate still tastes of August. It is the same playbook that won the Black Swan its reputation, applied at city pace and at two-thirds the price, and it explains why the cooking has a depth that daily-market restaurants in this price band rarely reach. Wine pairings follow the same logic, weighted to English bottles and grower producers.
The Room
An Arts and Crafts corner building beside the River Ouse, a few minutes' walk from York station and the Museum Gardens. The pub bones survive: exposed brick, dark timber, a low warm light that flatters at eight in the evening. Sound stays conversation-easy even on full Saturdays, table spacing is generous for a room this size, and the dress code is no-rules in practice, smart-casual in spirit. The service style is northern and unstuffy; nobody recites a manifesto at you.
Best for an Anniversary
Book this room for an anniversary because it delivers the three things the occasion actually needs: a kitchen with a story you can talk about rather than sit through, lighting and acoustics that let two people hear each other, and a bill that leaves the weekend intact. The £110 Core menu over two and a half hours is the right shape for a couple; the £165 Signature is for the milestone years. Among Britain's best tasting-menu restaurants it is one of the few where the farm-to-table claim is literal, checkable and twenty miles long.
Not for
Not for a quick pre-theatre bite. The menus run two and a half to three hours and the kitchen will not compress them; go to Skosh for speed.
Frequently Asked
Is Roots York worth it?
Yes, and it is the best-value star in the north of England on current pricing. The £110 Core menu undercuts comparable starred tasting rooms by £40 or more while drawing on a supply chain none of them can match: the Banks family farm at Oldstead. If the budget is tighter still, the Sunday Feast from £75 delivers the same kitchen in a looser format.
How far ahead should I book Roots?
Four to six weeks for a Saturday, less for midweek. Roots books direct through its own site rather than a platform, which keeps the scramble milder than the big-city stars covered in our Michelin booking-window guide. Anniversary dates around Christmas and Valentine's are the exception and want eight weeks of lead time.
What is the signature dish at Roots?
The Oldstead charcuterie: lardo from a twelve-week pig and an oak-smoked salami, cured from the family farm's own animals. It opens the longer menus and is the clearest statement of what the restaurant is. Beyond that the menu moves with the farm, so no two visits a season apart will repeat more than a course or two.
What is the dress code at Roots York?
Smart-casual with no enforcement. The room came out of a pub and keeps a pub's tolerance; you will see knitwear next to suits on the same Saturday night. Wear what suits the occasion you booked it for, and check the York dining guide if you want a dressier room such as Legacy at The Grand.
Is Roots connected to the Black Swan at Oldstead?
Yes. Both are Tommy Banks restaurants fed by the same family farm, and the Black Swan is the original: the village pub where Banks became Britain's youngest starred chef in 2013. Roots is the city expression, cheaper and easier to book. Dedicated eaters do both in a weekend; the farm drive between them takes forty minutes.
Reserve a Table
Reserve at Roots
Book direct through the restaurant's site. Saturdays go four to six weeks out; midweek tables are usually available within a fortnight.
Affiliate disclosure: Restaurants for Kings may earn a commission when you book through our reservation links, at no cost to you. Our scores are editorial and never paid for.
Practical Information
Address68 Marygate, York YO30 7BH
NeighbourhoodMarygate, by the River Ouse
CuisineModern British Tasting Menu
Price£110 Core / £165 Signature / Sunday from £75
Dress CodeSmart-casual
SeatingConverted pub dining room
ReservationDirect, 4–6 weeks for Saturdays
