The story
In the quiet village of Nun Monkton, just outside York, the Alice Hawthorn Inn is what happens when a community rallies around its last remaining pub. Saved from closure in 2013 by Richard and Kate Harpin, who bought the Grade II listed building with no hospitality experience, the pub has been transformed into a destination for both locals and travellers. Kate’s careful renovation – opening up the Fishermen’s Bar, adding a new kitchen, and creating twelve bedrooms in the historic building and reimagined outbuildings – won four RIBA awards and a Civic Trust Award. The results are calm, contemporary spaces that respect the soul of the old building.
The dining room sits beneath oak beams, softened by gentle light, bringing together the charm of an old country inn with modern touches. The kitchen, led by a talented team, focuses on seasonal British cuisine using the finest Yorkshire produce. The menu changes throughout the year, offering elevated pub classics with real care. Starters might include York ham and duck liver terrine with pickled cherries, or king scallops baked on the shell with garlic butter and melted Gruyère. Mains range from beer-battered haddock with triple-cooked chips to North Sea halibut with dauphinoise and beurre blanc. Sunday roasts – dry-aged sirloin, saddleback pork, or breast of chicken – come with all the trimmings: roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, cauliflower cheese, and Yorkshire pudding.
The Alice Hawthorn’s recognition as a Michelin Recommended restaurant in 2026 reflects the consistency and ambition of the kitchen. It also won The Sunday Times Small Hotel of the Year in 2022 and was named a Top 100 Gastropub in 2023. For those wanting to stay, the RIBA award-winning garden rooms, built from homegrown Douglas fir, offer a serene escape, while the pub rooms provide classic comfort beneath exposed beams.
The Barn at The Alice is available for private dining and celebrations, and the garden opens from late May for sunny afternoons and sunset drinks. With a proper Yorkshire welcome from partners John and Claire Topham, the Alice Hawthorn is a pub that feels both rooted in its history and thoroughly of its time.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
The medieval village of Nun Monkton must be one of the prettiest in Yorkshire, a picture-book collection of ivy-clad cottages, complete with a duck pond, a village green and the tallest maypole (88ft) in Britain. At its heart is the exemplary Alice Hawthorn (named after a famous racehorse), a Grade II-listed inn of old mellow brick with a grassy courtyard at the rear for outdoor dining and 12 newly built contemporary-style bedrooms. Inside are flagged floors, old beams and rough-hewn tables, though if that sounds rustic think again. This country inn is as neat and polished as a pin with Turkish rugs, button-backed banquettes and chairs upholstered in modern ‘Yorkshire tartan’. Current hosts John and Claire Topham are experienced hoteliers – for many years they ran the General Tarleton in Knaresborough and before that, John worked alongside the sadly missed Denis Watkins at the Angel at Hetton. They have made the pub such a go-to destination that it’s sometimes hard to score a table. Persevere, because our autumn seasonal menu was excellent, featuring the likes of heritage beetroot with goat’s curd, pickled cantaloupe melon and double-podded broad beans. A bright sea bass ceviche, cured in lime and combined with finely diced onions, tomato, mango and coriander, made for another superb starter. Generous mains brought a deep, rich, slow-cooked beef cheek, served with stretchy, cheesy pommes aligot and a big-hearted fish stew rich in mussels and clams with a tomato-based broth. For dessert, a prettily presented crème catalan with raspberries and praline shards was spot-on. Everyone is put at ease by the relaxed, personable service – as well as the wide-ranging, kindly priced wine list.
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