Two Recent Accolades Awarded to The Tommy Banks Group, Based in North Yorkshire

Last week, the Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms, The Black Swan, Oldstead, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, was named ‘Gourmet Bolthole of the Year’ at the 2025 Food and Travel Reader Awards.

Owned and run by the Banks family, who have lived and farmed around Oldstead for generations, The Black Swan is a true family creation. Situated on the family’s North Yorkshire farm, the restaurant and nine bedrooms champion a hyper-seasonal, sustainable approach, with ingredients grown, reared and foraged from the farm, kitchen gardens and surrounding area. This dedication to sustainability has earned The Black Swan a Michelin Green Star and three sustainability circles, the highest honour in the 360°Eat Guide 2025.

On Wednesday it was also announced that The Abbey Inn, Byland, the group’s pub with rooms, was ranked #8 in The Good Food Guide’s ‘100 Best Pubs 2025’. The list, created in partnership with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and supported by Tracklements and Koffmann’s Potatoes, marks a first for the guide.

A 19th-century inn transformed into a relaxed country pub with rooms overlooking the historic ruins of Byland Abbey, The Abbey Inn has already received notable recognition. Its roast was named ‘Best Sunday Roast in Britain’ by The Good Food Guide last year, and it was awarded ‘Sustainable Pub of the Year’ at this year’s Gastro Pub Awards.