The Pipe and Glass Inn - Beverley

'A menu of seasonal British food in a culinary desert' is the deal at The Pipe and Glass Inn, an eighteenth-century village pub a few miles north of Beverley that scooped the 2012 Michelin Pub of the Year award. Built on the site of the original gatehouse to Dalton Park, it received a shot in the arm with the arrival of James MacKenzie and Kate Boroughs. They set about transforming the interior, although the bar still retains its rustic feel with wooden timbers, blazing fires and real ales on draught. The result is 'a genial heaven,' according to The Guardian.

The L-shaped dining room puts on a different face and you can guess the kitchen's aspirations by the shelves of foodie books and framed menus from smart European restaurants. MacKenzie was formerly chef at the auspicious Star Inn, Harome: his menu follows the in-vogue creed of 'modern British food, sourcing local produce where possible', and the results are right on target.

Marinated Lowna goats' cheese with watercress, boiled beetroot and juniper dressing or a soup of stinging nettles with smoked eel and sorrel are suitably challenging starters, before - perhaps - hay-baked chicken with sage-braised lentils and creamed leeks or roast rib of Skerne beef with Yorkshire pudding and oxtail gravy. It's all good earthy stuff, crowned by desserts like ginger burnt cream with stewed Yorkshire rhubarb or dark chocolate and cherry tart with Satsuma sauce.