THAT HAS A SECRET (BEER) GARDEN

Situated on West Park overlooking The Stray is Three’s a Crowd – the jewel in Harrogate’s modern gastro-pub dining crown.

It’s easy to spot with its distinctive dark blue paintwork and modern white signing and tables outside on the pavement that have been created to tone in beautifully with the paintwork.

But what you cannot spot from outside is Three’s A Crowd’s best kept secret – its exceptionally large and varied outside areas at the back of the hostelry – this is truly their secret garden.

Walk through the front door of the gastro pub and you will be amazed by the spacious feel and the ingenious way seating and tables are arranged. You can chose to sit watching the world go by at the tables that grace the windows or in some of the smaller breakout areas. Wherever you chose there’s a convivial atmosphere to enjoy their top quality and imaginative menus. A large tiled bar dominates one side of the pub with exposed brickwork decoration and marble pillars and some wonderful heavy woodwork doors and panels.

After a very busy morning we decided to relax for a while over a glass of wine and explore the beer garden.

But we were very pleasantly surprised by what we found – this is no ordinary beer garden it has so many seating options. Outside the rear door there is a slightly elevated terrace with flora and plants a plenty and tables with umbrellas; walk a little further and there’s a three sided large tended seating area where some heaters are on permanently all the time with very comfortable chairs and smart tables whilst further back there’s an area with tables and chairs a plenty.

It must be one of the best planned beer gardens in North Yorkshire.

After a while we decided to tear ourselves away from outside in the secret garden and order our starters.

I was tempted by the Chargrilled Courgette and I was not disappointed. It was a wonderful concoction and its presentation was a work of art. The courgette was thinly sliced and came with a very generous portion of smooth and light Ricotta cheese. Served on toast the Garlic and Lemon Crumb and Chilli Crunch gave the dish an extra dimension and flavour. As either a starter or a light snack its easy to understand why this is one of their most popular dishes.

My colleague chose the Manna Bakery Bread with EVO oil and Balsamic with a portion of Marinated Nocellara Olives.

Again  this was a very generous portion of bread, very soft with a crunchy crust whilst the  marinated olives were large and very juicy.

For main my colleague opted for the TAC Caesar Salad with an add on of prawns.

Again presentation was excellent and was accompanied by a generous portion of succulent prawns.  The Garlic and Parmesan Dressing was not overly spiced and wonderfully smooth which allowed with Garlic Crumb flavour to do its job.  As well as the crispy Cos Lettuce there were other salad ingredients including some very flavoursome cherry tomatoes a veritable stack of salad favourites

My choice for main course was the Roasted North Sea Cod.  This was cooked to perfection as fish is not an easy thing to get right especially using the roasted method. The fish was white, succulent and flaky and full of flavour.  To accompany my fish I had the local charred asparagus, Grana Padano with a herb and garlic crumb which was tender and tasty and cooked well to preserve the taste – a wonderful way to energise and make vegetables so delectable.

When the time came for puddings my colleague decided on her childhood favourite of Treacle Tart. This, she said was just like ‘mum used to make’.

The pastry case was warm and very short and just melted in your mouth. The filling was sweet and sticky just as it should be.

My dessert was more than heaven on a plate – I swear it had been prepared in the angel’s kitchen.

Our server told me they couldn’t make enough of these and once I saw it and tasted it I realised why. The design of this is culinary excellence at its best. The Local Rhubarb Trifle is like no other I have ever tasted and I have tasted many in my time. Decorated with rhubarb, layers of jelly and sponge with pink custard and not overly sweet – this is pure decadence.

Three’s a Crowd is certainly a winner when it comes to food, quality and value and also service. The staff are considerate, know their product and cannot do enough for you.

The pub is also dog friendly so no need to leave fido at home. Three’s a Crowd also have a calendar of events happening so check their website for these.

Three’s a Crowd, 11 West Park, Harrogate HG1 1BL

Tel: 01423 391459

Open: Fri/Sat 12 noon to 12 midnight; Mon,Tues,Wed,Thurs. 12 noon to 11pm; Sunday 12-10.30.