How far would you be prepared to travel to a restaurant? For most, it all depends on how good the restaurant is going to be both reputationally and on past dining experience. Anything under an hour’s drive away is probable in my book.
The 50-minute drive from my home to the new Burro Italian restaurant in Riccall, a small village almost equidistant between York and Selby, seemed a good idea when I suggested to my partner that we pay a visit. Although we had to contend with the heavy traffic eastbound on the M62, busy even on a Sunday afternoon.
As the journey wore on, both my partner and I were reminded of long childhood drives to the Yorkshire coast that, at the time, seemed without hope of an end. My only concern now was hoping she going to enjoy the restaurant when we got there! I tend not to use satnav, instead preferring to rely on the old-fashioned ways of reading a map before setting off, though I had heard that the restaurant was not the easiest place to locate.
From medieval windmill to modern-day Italian
The restaurant owners, from Sardinia must have thought so too, judging by the number of brown tourist signposts dotted on the A19 as we got nearer to our destination.
After a few left turns (I gave in at the end and used Google maps) stood what looked like an old windmill without the sails. Apparently, a windmill has been on the site since 1290, although the mill became derelict in 1911. When working as a proper mill, four sails were turned by the wind, and wheat was ground using three millstones. Over the years the building has housed a restaurant and was briefly on the market as a residential property before its most recent incarnation as an Italian restaurant, opening up in 2019.
Burro restaurant and pizzeria
The owners aim for Burro to be a destination in its own right as the owner Gian Matteo explains:
“The decision to open in Riccall was not really a decision. Let’s say it just happened! After working for many years in restaurants and both loving and having experience in food and drink, we were looking to open a business in York.
“Literally one or two days after we started to look for a place to rent in York, a friend of ours just called saying he was going back to Italy for good – he was the owner of the restaurant that was there before us.
“On the way to see the place we were a bit worried as it is far from town and a bit out of the way – we were scared but at the same time very excited. When we arrived we just loved the place and decided to take up the challenge straight away.”
Molto Bene!
Both the menu and wine list are extensive with the usual items you would find at any discerning Italian restaurant, be it in York or anywhere in Italy, from the ubiquitous calamari to bruschetta.
I decided on antipasto di terra as a starter, a selection of formaggio (regional Italian cheeses) comprising of grananglona, truffle pecorino, and caciarone, combined with a meat speck of Sardinian sausages and Sardinian coppa (cured ham). This is offered at £10 for an individual serving to £19 for sharing. Quality and quantity came together for an excellent starter that was just as good as any that may be sampled at a genuine Italian trattoria.
My partner decided on the salmon croquettes (£10), served with four croquettes, although three may have been better because they were very filling, although the generous serving is perhaps ideal for a larger appetite.
We could have chosen an Angus and Hereford steak for our main, though I cannot see the point of dining at an Italian restaurant and not sampling the pasta and pizza. The calzone 4 salami (£13.50) I chose had the kick of ‘nduja and the bite of salami Milano. If I had closed my eyes, I could have been in Naples.
On the evidence of my partner’s parma ham pizza (£13.50), the quality didn’t falter – beautifully made to reveal the subtle salty sweetness of the flavours; like myself she has dined in Italian restaurants from Turin to Taranto and rated hers as highly as any served at a good trattoria or ristorante.
If you have any room left after this idyllic indulgence then the raspberry and lemon cheesecake (£6.25) or the panna cotta ginger e mango (£6.50) are ideal to round off a dining experience that really is authentic and excellent.
Thankfully the journey to Burro was definitely worth it – York is still a lot nearer to home than Sardinia! Molto Bene – as they say in Italy!
Authentic Italian Dining – Burro Italian Restaurant Riccall, York (burrorestaurant.co.uk)
