Fox Inn, Roxby

Remember American Werewolf in London? The scene where two American students stumble into a lonely Yorkshire pub and the whole place falls silent? It used to be like that at the Fox Inn at Roxby, a tiny hamlet on the edge of the North York Moors, a pub for locals who all knew each other. To be fair, it wasn’t really like the Slaughtered Lamb, once they’d sussed you out, they were perfectly friendly.

There was no food on offer in those days, but that all changed a few months ago when a young couple Alison and Carl, took over the lease, smartened it up, put on a short and simple menu and re-opened for business.

Soup, terrines, garlic mushrooms, Yorkshire puds with onion gravy for starters, venison with blueberries or crumble topped steak and ale pie for mains with chocolate pots or lemon crunch for pudding.

It’s simple, homely cooking by Alison, who is self-taught. She’s never run a restaurant and Carl, who has a full time manual day job, works behind the bar. On our visit he skipped back and forth from the kitchen with instructions from Alison, worried about getting it right. ‘We’ve a lot to learn,’ says Al. Maybe, but if it’s not yet the finished article this enthusiastic young couple are serving decent food at sensible prices, making their way in a difficult location. They’ve made a good start. Watch this space.