Hawnby Stores and Tea Room, North York Moors, review

This summer feels different though, with brambles already ripe for picking, and berries of all kinds bright on their branches. Barely a drop of rain has fallen in weeks, and conditions are dangerously dry.

Even as fire crews fought the devastating wildfire at Langdale Moor in the west of the National Park last week, oblivious people were merrily setting up for barbecues on the old drovers’ road above Sheepwash near Osmotherley.

My three-strong group of runners had to just about beg one bemused couple to rethink lighting their bag of charcoal amid obvious tinderbox conditions.

Thankfully, they seemed to heed our warnings and bumped off back across the moorland track in their saloon car, hopefully not leaving either scorch marks, or the bottom of their vehicle, somewhere along the way.

Thankfully, a walk up Hawnby Hill on Saturday led to no further encounters with such reckless behaviour – just fellow hikers enjoying the splendid views – and my sister and I were happy to make it up and down the slidey, dusty slope without having to dish out any health and safety lectures.

We had timed our little expedition so we would arrive at the newly-revamped Hawnby Stores and Tea Room at about lunchtime. It sits in a huddle of properties at the very foot of the village, and has the River Rye as a very close neighbour.

The shop has been serving the community since 1762, and has recently been taken on by Oli Nicholls and Sally Pearson, who have moved to Hawnby from the French Alps, where both worked in the tourism sector.

One half is a store selling local goods and essential items, while the other is a café serving lunches, cakes and light bites five days a week.

As we arrived, I was so excited to see the old Darlington & Stockton Times sign still in situ on the front door that I tripped and kicked the dog drinking bowl over. Way to make an entrance.

The menu starts with an explanation that bread and cakes are baked in-house, and sets out their commitment to championing “great Yorkshire produce”. Small bites include toasted teacakes (£5) and soup of the day (£7) – (celery, potato and feta on Saturday). Savoury bakes such as frittatas and samosas are £10, as are sandwiches on the homemade bread, all served with salad and crisps.

Claire and I were genuinely stuck on what to have, so asked Oli, who was behind the counter, for a recommendation. He suggested the Yorkshire Ploughman’s (£15) would give us a good variety, so we decided to share that. It included a choice of pie (all from Thornton’s Bakehouse at Easingwold) so we went for the steak filling, and added a sausage roll (also Thornton’s) for good measure.

The tea room is cosy, with classic wooden tables and dark beams in the ceiling, but you can tell straightaway its makeover has been done with real care – the old-fashioned dresser housing cutlery and napkins is a lovely touch.

We sat outside in the cute little garden opposite – there are plans to hold community and music events in the space, which leads down to the river – and didn’t have long to wait for our food and drinks to arrive.

As well as the pie, the Ploughman’s included Wensleydale and Shepherd’s Purse Blue cheeses, Mercers Yorkshire chutney, apple slices, grapes, pickled onions and salad.

The pie and sausage roll had been heated up and both were truly excellent. The pie pastry was robust enough to hold its own against the filling, but still light enough so as not to be stodgy.

The meaty chunks inside were juicy and absolutely covered in thick, oozy, delicious gravy. The sausage roll was just as good. Flaky, melt in the mouth pastry, wrapped around a wonderfully-flavoured wodge of sausage meat.

We could probably just have had those between us and we’d have been more than happy, but the rest of our plateful didn’t disappoint. Two of Yorkshire’s finest cheeses complemented well the fresh salad, with its tangy dressing. The apple slices were incredibly sharp, but the sweetness of the chutney helped, and we wrapped it all up with the grapes.

It was a quality lunch, well put together and served with real care for the local produce at its core. From the moment we arrived, the welcome was warm (despite the dog bowl incident) and we genuinely felt valued as customers.

With a hot drink each, the bill came to £25.75. We considered a cake – I almost weakened at the homemade chocolate brownie – but I’m not sure I’d have made it back up the hill to the top of the village where we’d left the car.

More diners were arriving as we left, and as we caught our breath at the top of the bank, The Owl pub was busy with people making the most of the lovely garden out front. Hawnby is now very well served by eating out venues for its size, and long may it continue in this precious corner of the North York Moors.

Hawnby Stores and Tea Room

Front Street, Hawnby, YO62 5QR

Open 10am to 4pm every day, closed Wednesday and Thursdays

Ratings (out of ten): Food quality 9 Surroundings 9 Value 8 Service 10