Sunday Roast Diaries: The Devonshire Arms, Bolton Abbey

I’m back with another instalment of The Sunday Roast Diaries. This week’s is the most expensive Roast I have featured on The Sunday Roast Diaries. For Stefan’s Birthday, we visited The Lake District for a few days and on the way back stopped off at The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa at Bolton Abbey. We actually haven’t visited before but heard great things about this place. The Devonshire Arms is a stunning hotel with beautiful grounds, I can only imagine it would be an excellent spot to stay if you’re having a relaxing break in the Yorkshire Dales.

There’s a few spots to dine at The Devonshire Arms including the Burlington restaurant which serves a fine dining experience, the Cocktail & Seafood Lounge and also the Brasserie & Bar. We were dining at the Brasserie & Bar which served the Sunday Roast. It was quite a casual place in terms of the interiors and general vibe. I had made a reservation in advance but did show up 30 minutes early and they were very accommodating and seated us immediately. 

After ordering a few drinks (of course I got a G&T), we ordered sourdough bread and Netherend Farm Butter to nibble on. We always like starting with a bread, this was £4. There was also quite a few delicious sounding dishes on the starter menu, however we thought it was best to save ourselves for the main course.

Obviously we were here to try the Sunday Roast however they did also serve Pan fried Halibut, Haddock & Chips and a few other dishes. We both went for the Beef Sirloin which was £27. This officially is our most expensive Sunday Roast, so was it worth it? The Beef Sirloin was served with roast potatoes, tender-stem broccoli, a single carrot and a Yorkshire Pudding served with a Red Wine Jus gravy. We also each got a side dish of Cauliflower Cheese included and then we opted for a side of their Garlic Herb Mash Potato which was £5. 

You could really taste the quality with the Sirloin Beef, it was honestly spot on. Cooked to perfection. I’ve got to say whilst I had no complaints about the veg, however it wasn’t anything special. I think we could’ve appreciated a few more carrots, however the portion of having a fish of Cauliflower Cheese each was more than substantial. The Yorkshire Pudding was delicious and cooked perfectly although it was a pretty small one. 

So was the Roast worth £27? I’m going to have to say no. The food was really lovely but I wasn’t especially blown away therefore I do think the price was a bit steep. I completely understand though that the Sirloin Beef was top notch for quality therefore that would’ve increased the price point. The grounds of Devonshire Arms were absolutely stunning but I found that the Brasserie had a very casual vibe where as I would expect a 5* service for the prices.

XOXO