Stokesley restaurant rubs shoulders with The Ritz

A top Yorkshire bistro has once again been named as one of the best in the area.

Howards in Stokesley has been included in one of the UK’s most high-profile restaurant guides for the fourth consecutive year.

The Harden’s UK Restaurant Survey is the biggest annual survey of restaurant-goers in the UK. The 2013 guide praises Howards for being “value for money” and a “smart village diner” with a variety of “unusual dishes”. It also commends the bistro for its popular takeaway dishes.

Also included in the Harden’s Guide are big names such as The Ritz, Claridge’s, The Ivy, Heston Blumenthal and Michel Roux Jnr and well known chains such as Pizza Express, Ask and Loch Fyne restaurants.

Graham Howard, who took over the Howards bistro in 2008, said: “It’s an uncertain marketplace for restaurant owners at the moment but we’re very consistent in what we do and how we do it – as the Harden’s Guide proves. To be included for a fourth time is very encouraging but we’ll never rest on our laurels and we’re always researching our markets.”

Family-run Howard’s prides itself on working with local suppliers and employing local people, with all of the 15 staff living within a ten-mile radius of Stokesley.