Food & Drink
Sunday lunch in the North York Moors
By Jon Cosson · Updated 17 October 2026
36 pubs in this guide record Sunday lunch. Sunday times vary widely, from a short lunchtime service to food served through the afternoon and evening. Booking is advised; confirm the Sunday menu and serving time with the pub.
This guide is independent. No pub pays to be listed, and nothing is ranked. Pubs are grouped by area and ordered alphabetically by village and name. An absent detail means it is not stated in the records.
Sunday times that catch people out
| Pub and village | Recorded note |
|---|---|
| The Fauconberg, Coxwold | Sunday lunch is pre-order only, in two sittings, noon to 3 and 4.30 to 6.30. |
| The Horseshoe Inn, Levisham | Opens only from 3pm Monday to Friday. Sunday is the only day they serve lunch, noon to 1.45. |
| The Buck Inn at Wrelton, Wrelton | Closed Monday and Tuesday all year; open Wednesday evenings only from March to November; Sunday closes at 5pm from January to March. Sunday roasts run from noon until they are gone. |
| The Hart Inn, Sandsend | Sunday 11am to 5.30pm only, which is unusually early. Sandsend parking is roadside along the sea wall and fills by mid-morning in summer. Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026. |
| The Coach House Inn, Rosedale Abbey | Food Monday to Saturday 12 to 2 and 5.30 to 8; Sunday 12 to 8. |
| The Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge | Dogs are welcome in the bar areas but not the dining rooms. Food is served 12pm to 9pm without a break, which is unusual out here. |
| The Cayley Arms Inn, Allerston | Closed Tuesdays, and opens only from 5pm Monday to Saturday, so not a lunchtime pub except on Sundays. Dogs are not allowed inside; guide dogs excepted. Note there is a different Cayley Arms at Brompton-by-Sawdon. Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026. |
| The Plough, Scalby | Opens at 3pm Monday to Saturday with food from 5pm, so not a lunchtime pub except on Sundays. Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026. |
| The Eskdale, Castleton | The bar stays open to 11pm but the kitchen shuts at 8pm, and on Sunday food stops at 5pm. |
Every pub recorded as serving Sunday lunch
36 of 36 pubs shown
High moors (8)
The Lion Inn
Blakey Ridge, YO62 7LQ
A 16th-century free house standing alone on the watershed at the highest point of the National Park, at 1,325 feet, with Rosedale falling away one side and Farndale the other.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
- View
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Dogs are welcome in the bar areas but not the dining rooms. Food is served 12pm to 9pm without a break, which is unusual out here.
Downe Arms Country Inn
Castleton
A country inn run by a husband-and-wife team from a hotel background, pitched squarely at walkers and dog owners coming off the moor, with Sunday vegetables brought to the table in bowls.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: yes, see restrictions below.
Dog-friendly bedrooms as well as a dog-friendly bar, which is rare locally.
Horseshoe Hotel
Egton Bridge
An 18th-century inn on the bank of the River Esk, doing honest seasonal local cooking, with six en-suite rooms.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
- View
Dogs in rooms: yes, see restrictions below.
A fixed weekly rhythm: curry night Mondays, fish Fridays, roasts Sunday. All dogs welcome at no extra cost, with rooms 3 and 6 suited to larger dogs.
The Arncliffe Arms
Glaisdale
An early 19th-century former coaching inn standing directly on the Coast to Coast path, a straightforward walkers' and locals' pub with six en-suite rooms.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
A proper locals' pub with pool, darts and quiz nights rather than a dining destination. Glaisdale station on the Esk Valley line is a short walk.
Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026.
The Mallyan Spout Hotel
A substantial stone hotel on the village edge whose restaurant looks across the Esk Valley, serving Whitby fish on a Yorkshire-sourced menu, with a separate bar doing pub food.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
- View
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Goathland has free-roaming sheep. Keep dogs on leads.
The path to Mallyan Spout waterfall leaves from beside the hotel. It also does weddings, so a summer Saturday may be busy with a private function.
The Crown
Hutton-le-Hole, YO62 6UA
The pub on Hutton-le-Hole's green, letting three double rooms that each have their own kitchen, bathroom and private terrace.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Generally closed Monday and Tuesday in winter, though the letting rooms stay open all year. Hutton-le-Hole is one of the busiest villages in the Park and they ask you to book a table.
Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026.
The Blacksmiths Arms
Lastingham, YO62 6TN
A village pub opposite St Mary's and its Norman crypt, built around local game, beef and seafood with a changing specials board.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: no.
Dogs in one restaurant area only, and not in the bedrooms, which is unusually restrictive for this area.
Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026.
The Coach House Inn
Rosedale Abbey, YO18 8SD
A country inn converted from stables, a garage and a petrol station in the 1970s, and by its own account the one pub in Rosedale without rooms, which makes it the village's drinking pub rather than a hotel bar.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: not stated
- Real ale: yes
Food Monday to Saturday 12 to 2 and 5.30 to 8; Sunday 12 to 8.
Southern edge (12)
The Cayley Arms Inn
Allerston, YO18 7PJ
A refurbished roadside inn with separate bar and restaurant seating and five bedrooms fitted with handmade solid oak furniture.
- Dogs: no
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Closed Tuesdays, and opens only from 5pm Monday to Saturday, so not a lunchtime pub except on Sundays. Dogs are not allowed inside; guide dogs excepted. Note there is a different Cayley Arms at Brompton-by-Sawdon.
Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026.
The White Horse Inn
Ampleforth, YO62 4DX
A recently refurbished village inn cooking locally sourced food from scratch, with an outside bar and a private dining option.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
The restaurant runs Wednesday to Sunday only, though the bar opens daily.
Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026.
The White Swan
Ampleforth, YO62 4DA
Reopened in November 2024 under new owners after the previous landlord retired, cooking a seasonal menu of classic British food, with a large beer garden.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: not stated
- Real ale: yes
No food Monday or Tuesday, though the bar opens 4 to 8.
The Abbey Inn
Byland, YO61 4BD
A nineteenth-century inn facing the ruins of Byland Abbey, doing pub classics and a Sunday roast built around filled Yorkshire puddings.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
- View
Dogs in rooms: no.
Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays all year. Dogs in the pub but not in the accommodation. Breakfast is not served on site; guests go a mile to Oldstead.
The Fauconberg
Coxwold, YO61 4AD
A stone inn in Laurence Sterne's village, long known as the Fauconberg Arms, running a separate events space in the Old Cart Shed alongside the pub.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Sunday lunch is pre-order only, in two sittings, noon to 3 and 4.30 to 6.30.
The Star Inn at Harome
Harome, YO62 5JE
A thatched, low-beamed village inn whose kitchen builds its menus around what the season is giving; rooms are across the road at Cross House Lodge rather than over the bar.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
One Michelin star, held since 2002. Normally closed Monday lunchtimes, dinner from 5.30pm. Assistance dogs only in the restaurant; other dogs at garden tables.
The Black Swan
Helmsley, YO62 5BJ
A large Market Place inn assembled from Elizabethan, Tudor and Georgian buildings with fifteenth-century origins, and the biggest bed-and-food operation in the town.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: yes, see restrictions below.
Dogs up to two per room at a nightly charge, with designated dog areas in the pub and restaurant. Food 7.30am to 9pm daily.
The Feathers Hotel
Helmsley, YO62 5BH
A sixteenth-century coaching inn on the Market Place, open from breakfast to late as a coffee house as well as a pub and dining room.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
The Pickwick Bar contains Mouseman oakwork by Robert Thompson of Kilburn. Open 7.30am to 11pm daily.
The Horseshoe Inn
Levisham, YO18 7NL
A nineteenth-century inn at the head of Levisham's green, family-run since 2007 by the same brothers as the Fox & Rabbit, and walkable from Levisham station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Opens only from 3pm Monday to Friday. Sunday is the only day they serve lunch, noon to 1.45.
The Fox & Rabbit Inn
Lockton, YO18 7NQ
A family-run roadside inn on the A169 at the edge of Dalby Forest, run by the same brothers since 2004, with panoramic views south over the Vale of Pickering.
- Dogs: no
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
- View
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Dogs are not allowed inside; guide dogs excepted
The White Swan Inn
Pickering, YO18 7AA
A coaching inn on Pickering's Market Place, family-run since 1983, presenting itself as a place to eat and stay rather than a drinking pub.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
The Buck Inn at Wrelton
Wrelton
A small village pub two miles from Pickering, pitching quality pub food built on Yorkshire ingredients alongside local cask ales.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: not stated
- Real ale: yes
Closed Monday and Tuesday all year; open Wednesday evenings only from March to November; Sunday closes at 5pm from January to March. Sunday roasts run from noon until they are gone.
Coast (9)
Three Jolly Sailors
Burniston, YO13 0HJ
A Grade II listed village pub doing proper country-pub food, steak pie, Whitby scampi and stone-baked pizzas, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Both Cask Marque and CAMRA accredited, the clearest real ale credentials of the southern coastal villages.
The Hayburn Wyke Inn
Cloughton, YO13 0AU
A country inn in ten acres inside the National Park, and the access point for the walk down to Hayburn Wyke's waterfall onto the beach.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
The path down to Hayburn Wyke is steep, wooded and slippery, and the climb back up catches people out.
Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026.
Runswick Bay Hotel
Runswick Bay, TS13 5HR
An upper-village hotel whose own line is that every part of it is dog friendly, with a brown Labrador called Ted presented as the resident landlord.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Winter hours vary. In the upper village, so you can park and walk in. The accessible choice for anyone who cannot manage the bank.
The Royal
Runswick Bay, TS13 5HT
A traditional pub whose beer garden looks out over Runswick Bay, with changing local ales and a private dining room sharing the same view.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: not stated
- Real ale: yes
- View
Winter hours vary. Families welcome until 9pm. The lower village has effectively no visitor parking; the car park is at the top and the bank down is severe.
The Bridge Inn
Ruswarp, YO21 1NJ
A traditional village pub by the bridge on the Esk just upriver from Whitby, with homemade pies the speciality and its own dog account.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: not stated
- Real ale: not stated
Reachable on foot or by bike from Whitby along the Esk or the old railway path.
The Hart Inn
Sandsend, YO21 3SU
A friendly pub and restaurant on the sea front, yards from the beach at the Whitby end of the village.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: not stated
- Real ale: yes
- View
Sunday 11am to 5.30pm only, which is unusually early. Sandsend parking is roadside along the sea wall and fills by mid-morning in summer.
Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026.
The Plough
Scalby, YO13 0PT
A food-led inn with eight en-suite rooms, cooking on local and regional Yorkshire produce.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Opens at 3pm Monday to Saturday with food from 5pm, so not a lunchtime pub except on Sundays.
Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026.
The Cod and Lobster
A pub standing on the seawall itself, with windows over the bobbing boats; their own site records the 1953 storm that washed the front of the building away.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
- View
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
No vehicle access. Cars go in the clifftop car park on Staithes Lane and you walk down a very steep bank. Expect it shuttered in an easterly gale.
White Horse & Griffin
Whitby, YO22 4BH
A restaurant with rooms in one of the oldest buildings on the east side: Cook and the whaling captain William Scoresby recruited crews here, and the first Whitby to London stagecoach left from the inn in 1788.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
More dining room than bar.
Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026.
Western moors (7)
The Carpenters Arms
Felixkirk, YO7 2DP
A dining inn using its own kitchen garden, with eight garden suites around landscaped grounds looking across the Vale of Mowbray.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
- View
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Presents itself for diners and overnight guests rather than boots, though it sits a couple of miles from Boltby and the Cleveland Way.
The Buck
Great Ayton, TS9 6PA
A High Street pub with recently refurbished en-suite rooms above the bar, candid on its own site about noise until closing time.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
Dogs in rooms: no.
Dogs in the pub but not the rooms; they send dog owners to their sister pub, the Royal Oak. No food between 2.15 and 5pm Monday to Thursday in winter.
The Royal Oak Hotel
Great Ayton, TS9 6BW
A 17th-century former coaching inn on High Green that opens at 10am for breakfast, which is rare locally.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
Dogs in rooms: yes, see restrictions below.
Breakfast 10 to 11.30 daily. Wheelchair accessible. Sister pub to The Buck, and the one of the pair that takes dogs in rooms.
The Dudley Arms
Ingleby Greenhow, TS9 6LL
Two businesses in one building: a café doing breakfasts and lunches every day from 9am, and a steak-led evening restaurant butchering in its own kitchen.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: not stated
- Real ale: yes
Bars open from 9am seven days, which makes it the practical stop on the Cleveland Way between Kildale and Battersby Moor where there is nothing else. Closed Mondays and Sunday evenings. No rooms.
The Forresters Arms
Kilburn, YO61 4AH
An old inn next to the Mouseman workshop, overlooking the White Horse of Kilburn, with eight rooms including an accessible one.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: not stated
- View
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Formerly The Mariners' Compass. The closest inn to the White Horse car park and the Kilburn end of the Cleveland Way above Sutton Bank.
Check before travelling: the pub's own site had no recent dated information when checked in September 2026.
The King's Head Inn
Newton under Roseberry, TS9 6QR
An inn at the foot of Roseberry Topping run as a walkers' and families' refuelling stop, with a hand-carved carvery on Sundays.
- Dogs: yes
- Rooms: yes
- Real ale: yes
- View
Dogs in rooms: not stated.
Breakfast from 7.30am, the earliest of any pub on the moors, and light bites 11 to 5 bridge the usual afternoon food gap. The obvious base for an early Roseberry or Cleveland Way start.
The Black Horse
Swainby, DL6 3ED
A village local on Swainby's beck-side High Street that leans on cask beer and a big beer garden, and makes a point of its Sunday lunches.
- Dogs: not stated
- Rooms: not stated
- Real ale: yes
Closed Mondays, and no food Monday or Tuesday, which matters for walkers coming off the Cleveland Way at Scugdale. Opens 5pm Tuesday to Thursday.
Closed pubs people still look for
These are closed-pub records, not places to book lunch.
- Milburn Arms, Rosedale Abbey: Established 1776, last traded in 2017 and now awaits a new future. Booking sites still advertise it with current prices; they are stale listings.
- Blacksmiths Arms, Hartoft: Semi-derelict and on the market for lease.
- The Stiddy, Lythe: The owners are seeking a new tenant and the property is vacant, so Lythe currently has no trading pub.
- Royal Oak, Nunnington: Closed December 2017 and converted to a dwelling, so Nunnington has no pub.
- Malt Shovel, Oswaldkirk: Closed since 2017, so Oswaldkirk has no trading pub.
- The Plough Inn, Sleights: Sold and reported as set to reopen in 2027. Not trading now.
- Black Lion Hotel, Staithes: Closed permanently in 2012.
- The Whitestonecliffe Inn, Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe: Closed long term since 2020. The obvious A170 stop below Sutton Bank, so visitors still look for it.
- Blacksmiths Arms, Aislaby: Long closed and converted to a private house.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to book Sunday lunch in the North York Moors?
- Booking is advised. The Fauconberg at Coxwold records Sunday lunch as pre-order only, with two sittings. Confirm the menu and serving time with the pub before travelling.
- Which moors pubs serve Sunday lunch all afternoon?
- The Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge; The Coach House Inn, Rosedale Abbey. The Lion Inn records food from 12pm to 9pm without a break; the Coach House Inn records Sunday food from 12 to 8. These are food hours, not a guarantee that roasts remain available throughout.
- Which pubs serve Sunday lunch and allow dogs?
- The Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge; The Coach House Inn, Rosedale Abbey; Downe Arms Country Inn, Castleton; Horseshoe Hotel, Egton Bridge; The Blacksmiths Arms, Lastingham; The Arncliffe Arms, Glaisdale; The Abbey Inn, Byland; The White Swan, Ampleforth; The White Swan Inn, Pickering; The Black Swan, Helmsley; The Feathers Hotel, Helmsley; The Cod and Lobster, Staithes; The Royal, Runswick Bay; Runswick Bay Hotel, Runswick Bay; The Hart Inn, Sandsend; The Plough, Scalby; The Bridge Inn, Ruswarp; The Buck, Great Ayton; The Royal Oak Hotel, Great Ayton; The King's Head Inn, Newton under Roseberry. Dog access can be limited to particular areas; the cards include the recorded restrictions.
- Where can I get Sunday lunch near Whitby?
- Horseshoe Hotel, Egton Bridge; White Horse & Griffin, Whitby; The Royal, Runswick Bay; Runswick Bay Hotel, Runswick Bay; The Hart Inn, Sandsend. Check each pub's current Sunday menu and hours before booking.
- Where can I get Sunday lunch near Helmsley or Pickering?
- The Star Inn at Harome, Harome; The Cayley Arms Inn, Allerston; The Buck Inn at Wrelton, Wrelton; The White Swan Inn, Pickering; The Black Swan, Helmsley; The Feathers Hotel, Helmsley. The Buck Inn at Wrelton serves Sunday roasts from noon until they are gone.
- Do all Sunday-lunch pubs serve until mid-afternoon?
- No. The Horseshoe Inn at Levisham records Sunday lunch from noon to 1.45 only. The Hart Inn at Sandsend records Sunday opening from 11am to 5.30pm. Serving and opening hours are not interchangeable.
Where to stay in the North York Moors
Self-catering cottages, village inns and farmhouse boltholes right across the moors, from the southern villages to the coast.
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