The Old House
Polly Checkland Harding
The Old House by name, old house by nature – this award-winning gastropub in Hull Old Town is at 5 Scale Lane, the city’s oldest domestic building, dating from the 15th century.
Much like the nearby Ye Olde White Harte pub, The Old House offers a winning combination of history and modern hospitality, with a hefty à la carte menu freshly prepared using locally sourced ingredients. Chef Chris Harrison has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens including Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck and Tom Kerridge’s The Hand & Flowers, and he was head chef at the celebrated 1884 Dock Street Kitchen (now closed). The The Old House, his loosely street food themed menu showcases local suppliers, featuring Warrendale Wagyu beef and Yorkshire outdoor reared pork from Sykes House Farm.
A choice of eight starters takes in the likes of devilled whitebait with Bloody Mary mayonnaise and a smoked haddock Scotch egg with spinach and watercress veloute. The pub favourites with a touch of refinement continue across the ten mains, a meat-heavy selection that includes Yorkshire free range chicken schnitzel and potato gnocchi, Wagyu burgers with truffle fries or poutine, and a Wagyu flat iron steak sandwich in a toasted pretzel bun with rainbow slaw and fries. There are also some classic puddings to finish.
Run by award-winning catering and events company Shoot The Bull, The Old House stocks over 20 gins and 40 craft beers, and if you like the offer here, Shoot the Bull’s other locations are equally popular, including SoLita bar and grill on Hull’s marina and the restaurant at Hull Truck Theatre, home to two stages and one of the city’s most integral cultural venues. The Old House is, however, by far the most historic – providing an atmospheric setting in which to enjoy some culinary classics, cooked with aplomb.
