Stepping into Forest in York felt like stepping out of the hustle and bustle and into a quiet little retreat. A delightful restaurant at a solid price point. Based on Lower Petersgate this is right in the centre of the main area and whilst you can sit outside and enjoy the sunshine and sit as that constant foot traffic passes by taking a moment to sit inside shuts all that out.

They had a variety of Fentimans drinks, which you might have noticed from my rose lemonade post that I am a fan of, and I was going to opt for the raspberry one but they were all out so I went with this mandarin and Seville orange one instead and that made for a pleasing accompaniment to the meal I selected.

Alright it is basic and incredibly British but I found myself being lured towards fish and chips. A lot of the menu was classic pub food done in the usual gastro pub style but they did it well. I also opted for an extra side of onion rings because honestly I am an absolute sucker for a warm crispy battered onion ring.

The fish was a reasonable size and super well battered. Some batter can be too thick and become a bit claggy but this completely avoided that. It all allowed it to be cooked in a way that allowed the fish to remain moist and perfectly cooked inside with that break apart flakiness whilst the batter crisped up, became golden and not drenched in grease.

The chips were all cut to different sizes and cooked slightly differently depending on where they were in the basket, that’s my guess anyway, but they were all cooked well and pleasantly warm. They weren’t anything extraordinary but they were tasty and went well with the fish. They could have probably done with a bit more salt and pepper which they asked me if I wanted but I declined as I’m a big believer in it should be cooked and served as the chef would want it to be intended to be eaten.

On the plate there were mushy peas and tartare sauce as well. Both of these were well done. The tartare sauce wasn’t as strong as some of the ones I have encountered are and the mushy peas remained thick with the odd piece in there instead of becoming watery or more like a puree. These both made for great dips for the rest of the meal and saved me from asking for mayonnaise for the chips.

The onion rings deserve a moment to shine. They were pretty solid onion rings and especially when I tell you that whole serving cost £3. I’ve seen much smaller onion ring portions for a pretty similar price point. You can tell they were made on site though as mine were coated in batter, super crispy and enjoyable but my other half got some as well and said some bits were missing batter in general. That sort of inconsistency, especially on the same table, is an issue but mine that were done right were delicious and should be the benchmark for all the portions of onion rings they put out.

I had a really lovely time sitting in Forest, by the window, and watching the world pass on by for a little whilst getting to enjoy tasty food in a restaurant that wasn’t incredibly loud and buzzing around me.

And for £16 for the fish and chips, £3 for the onion rings and just under £5 for the drink the whole meal felt like solid value especially given the location. If you happen to be in York, Yorkshire, England and aren’t sure about where to eat then Forest is worth considering.