Restaurant in Crayke, United Kingdom
Three centuries of Yorkshire pub done right.
The Durham Ox in Crayke is a Michelin Plate Yorkshire inn with over 300 years of history, a welcoming atmosphere, and hearty Traditional British cooking at ££. Easy to book, consistently rated 4.6 across 737 reviews, and well suited to celebrations or seasonal visits — particularly for those who want substance over formality in a rural setting.
The Durham Ox in Crayke is worth booking if you want a proper Yorkshire pub experience with cooking that takes the Michelin Plate seriously. At ££, this is accessible dining in a 300-year-old inn with a service philosophy that prioritises warmth over formality — and it delivers on that promise. If you have been once and enjoyed it, go back for a seasonal visit: the atmosphere shifts meaningfully between a winter fire evening and a summer courtyard afternoon, and the menu rotates to reflect it.
Crayke is a small Yorkshire hamlet, and the Durham Ox has occupied its position here for over three centuries. The physical space carries that history without leaning on it too heavily: eclectic decoration, cosy bedrooms for those staying over, and a room that feels lived-in rather than styled. The sensory experience is one of warmth and low noise — this is not a pub that hums with urban energy. In winter, an open fire sets the tone. In warmer months, the courtyard opens up and the atmosphere loosens considerably. If you are coming from York or the surrounding area, plan for a longer visit than you might expect; the pace here is unhurried and the room encourages it.
The cooking is comforting and direct. The menu is extensive, with seasonal specials alongside the core dishes, and the style is unapologetically hearty. Steak and seafood platters feature as celebration-friendly options, which signals clearly what the kitchen does leading: full-flavoured, uncomplicated cooking where quality of ingredient carries the dish. This is not the place to look for technical flourish or avant-garde presentation. It is, however, a place where the food earns the Michelin Plate designation through consistency and flavour rather than ambition. For a second visit, the seasonal specials are the better order , they reflect what the kitchen is currently engaged with rather than the crowd-pleasing anchors of the permanent menu.
The service at the Durham Ox is the kind that earns its price point at this level. Staff are described as welcoming rather than choreographed, which suits the room. For ££ dining in rural Yorkshire, you are not paying for precision service theatre; you are paying for a pub that takes hospitality seriously without turning it into performance. That distinction matters. Guests who arrive expecting formal attentiveness may find it too relaxed; guests who want to feel genuinely looked after in an informal setting will find it exactly right. The accommodation bedrooms extend this logic , cosy and well-maintained, they are a practical option if you are exploring the wider area and want to drink sensibly.
Booking is easy. There is no meaningful difficulty securing a table, which is a practical advantage over much of the competition at higher price points. This is a pub, not a restaurant with a six-week waitlist, and it behaves like one. The trade-off is that you should expect a pub-paced meal, not a tightly sequenced dining experience. For groups, the extensive menu and flexible format make it an accessible choice , celebrations around the steak and seafood platters are a natural fit, and the room handles larger parties without the friction that more formally structured restaurants create.
The Durham Ox sits comfortably within a strong network of Yorkshire and northern England dining worth exploring. For context on what else is available in the area, see our full Crayke restaurants guide, our Crayke hotels guide, and our Crayke bars guide. For Traditional British cooking at a comparable accessible price point in the region, Pipe and Glass in South Dalton is the most direct peer comparison , also Michelin-recognised, also in a rural Yorkshire inn format, and worth considering if you are planning a wider itinerary. Fans of inn-with-rooms dining in the English countryside should also look at Hand and Flowers in Marlow for a sense of how far the format can stretch at a higher price point.
For those building a broader dining trip around Yorkshire and the north, the Durham Ox works well as part of a sequence that includes Moor Hall in Aughton or L'Enclume in Cartmel at the higher end. It occupies a different register entirely , accessible, convivial, grounded , but that contrast is part of its value on a multi-day trip. Other strong regional options for context include Gidleigh Park in Chagford and Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder for country house dining at a more formal register. Internationally, if you are curious how Traditional British cooking performs at the luxury end, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in Dubai and The Fat Duck in Bray show the ceiling of the genre.
The Durham Ox holds a Google rating of 4.6 from 737 reviews , a strong signal of consistent delivery rather than occasional excellence. At ££ with a Michelin Plate, easy booking, and a room that works across seasons, it is a dependable choice for what it sets out to do. Do not expect transformation. Expect a very good Yorkshire pub meal in a room that has been doing this for 300 years and knows how.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham Ox | For over 300 years this charming pub has stood in a sleepy Yorkshire hamlet. It's a loveable, eclectically decorated place with a thoroughly welcoming feel that extends to the cosy bedrooms. As at any good inn, the fire is roaring in the winter and a lovely courtyard is available for warmer days. The cooking echoes the surroundings in its comforting heartiness, with full-flavoured and uncomplicated dishes spread across an extensive menu and plenty of seasonal specials. Steak and seafood platters are ideal for celebrations.; Michelin Plate (2025) | ££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
A quick look at how Durham Ox measures up.
Yes, and it suits celebration groups well. The venue holds steak and seafood platters specifically noted as ideal for groups marking an occasion. For larger parties, book well ahead — a three-century-old pub in a small Yorkshire hamlet has finite space, and demand around weekends is likely to be high.
This is a proper country pub in rural Yorkshire, not a fine-dining room, so relaxed, comfortable clothing fits the setting. The eclectic décor and cosy atmosphere signal warmth over formality. There is no indication of a dress requirement, but clean casual is the sensible call.
The menu is extensive with plenty of seasonal specials — this is not a short, chef-driven tasting card, so come ready to choose. The cooking is described as full-flavoured and uncomplicated, which means the kitchen leans into comfort rather than technique-forward plates. In winter, the fire is a genuine draw; in warmer months, the courtyard opens up. The pub also has bedrooms, making it a viable overnight stop from York.
The Durham Ox does not appear to operate a tasting menu format — the offering is an extensive à la carte with seasonal specials. If a structured tasting progression is what you want, this is not the right venue. At ££, the steak and seafood platters are the headline proposition, particularly for groups.
Yes, it is one of the stronger options in rural Yorkshire for a celebration at this price point. The Michelin Plate recognition in 2025 confirms the cooking is taken seriously, and the steak and seafood platters are noted specifically for celebrations. The cosy rooms and courtyard give it an occasion feel that a standard gastropub does not.
At ££, it is good value for a Michelin Plate pub with overnight rooms and over three centuries of operation. You are paying for hearty, well-executed British cooking in a genuinely characterful setting, not for fine-dining technique. If you want elaborate, destination-level cooking, look elsewhere — but for a grounded, satisfying Yorkshire pub at a fair price, the Durham Ox earns its reputation.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
