See our outdoor dining video from Alfresco April above
It’s Outdoors Month in Otley. And while the Chevin, Wharfemeadows and Gallow’s Hill are all amazing spots we’re lucky to have on our doorstep, Outdoors Month also means we can highlight another of our favourite activities in Otley – al fresco dining. Here are a selection of some of the fantastic places you can dine outdoors in town, for a full list, please see here https://www.buyinotley.co.uk/al-fresco-food-drink/ *
By the river
The prosecco garden at Buon Apps, one of Otley’s most superlative restaurants, remains one of our favourite outdoor dining venues in town. In a lovely spot overlooking the River Wharfe, you can sit outdoors, watch the river flow over the weir and see Daubenton’s bats skimming the water from their nests under Otley Bridge. Another favourite riverside venue, the beer garden at The Fleece can sit almost 100 people given it stretches from Westgate right down to the river below. If the weather’s not great, you can always duck into the small, covered space closer to the pub – colloquially known as the VIP area.
Kirkgate
The beer garden at Whitakers is certainly one of the town’s hidden gems. While the frontage of the pub on Kirkgate might be small, the beer garden spreads out beyond it into the space behind neighbouring buildings. There’s a marquee and heated lights to help take that chill off the evening air and the beer’s not bad either. If you’re after a more café like feel, you can always head to Cranberry which has tables and chairs outside.
Around Market Place and Orchard Gate
Not much traffic flows down Newmarket, which makes it a great place to sit outside. Choose from delightful tearooms Café Café or the prosecco bar at O’Deli for teas, coffees, cakes and … prosecco imported from Italy. If it’s a pint you’re after, you can choose from the outside space at the historic Black Bull, or head a street over to North Bar where the tables spill out to the neighbouring Woolpack Studios. Orchard Gate’s pedestrianised area makes it ideal for dining outdoors. At Mr Blinok Pancake House you can pick up sweet and savoury treats, while award-winning Groovepad is Otley’s home of beer and vinyl.
Boroughgate and Bay Horse Court
Pretty Bay Horse Court between Boroughgate and Clapgate is home to one of Otley’s best afternoon teas at Nostalgia. A visit to this pretty little café with its courtyard seating is like stepping back in time thanks to the sumptuousness of the teas and the vast collection of memorabilia. A couple of tables from Little Corner Of The World spill out onto the small ginnel that runs by the side of the café and leads up to Market Street, or you can head to the Otley Tap House. Its beer garden is a great place to kick back on weekends when there’s (mostly) free live music on too.
The Chevin
If you’re out hiking around the lovely Otley Chevin, there are a couple of options to save yourself from having to go up and down the Chevin Steps down to town and back. On the one hand, you can take in stunning views over Wharfedale as well as a bird’s eye view of Leeds Braford Airport from The Royalty, or you can head to veggie café the Chill Yard Kitchens housed in a converted barn on East Chevin Road is open for teas, coffees and snacks at weekends.
*know a place missed off the list? Drop us a line by clicking here