Changing York: 7 long lost restaurants of Fossgate

OVER the years, Fossgate has built a reputation as a food destination for York thanks to its many restaurants, bistros, pizzerias, pubs, bars and coffee shops.

News that popular Italian Marzano – currently at number 13 Fossgate (formerly Mason’s bistro) – is to move into larger premises, the old Loch Fyne site at the former Stubbs building – has prompted a dip into our archives.

Today, we raise a glass, and rattle our knives and forks, to the great restaurants of Fossgate that have come and gone over the years: which do you miss?

Here’s what’s made our list:

1. Rish

Rish in Fossgate This was a fine dining restaurant decked out in a 1930s Art Deco style at number 7, right at the top of Fossgate, (currently the Everest Gurkha Nepalese Restaurant). Rish was run by Sam and Maria Abu Rish from 2000 to 2006 and won acclaim for the quality of its food.

2. J Baker’s Bistro Moderne

J Baker’s Bistro Moderne in Fossgate When Rish closed, top chef Jeff Baker took it on and opened his Bistro Moderne. The opening of J Baker’s was part of a growing trend over the past decade for some of the city’s finest restaurants to locate in Fossgate and adjoining Walmgate. J Baker’s closed in 2013 and is now the Everest Gurkha Nepalese Restaurant.

3. The Blue Bicycle

The Blue Bicycle, now The Blue Barbakan

The Blue Bike was a legend in its own lunchtime. For years it was the place to go for a slap-up meal in York. It closed after the devastating Boxing Day 2015 floods and never re-opened. Today it is a Polish restaurant called The Blue Barbakan.

4. Trickster’s Lane

Trickster’s Lane, which became Harvilles, and is now the Mumbai Lounge

Trickster’s Lane opened in 2001at 47 Fossgate (now Indian restaurant Mumbai Lounge). A former carpet store, it became a relaxed French-style brasserie (very much in the mould of The Blue Bicycle). When it closed, it underwent another extensive renovation to open as Harvilles.

5. Harvilles

Harvilles, now Mumbai Lounge

Within a year of opening in spring 2007, Harvilles was named Eating Place Of The Year in the York Tourism Awards For Excellence. A blow-out refurb gave the building a glamorous Art Deco-style makeover, and the restaurant had a swanky menu to match, with steaks, oysters and Champagne all on offer. It closed suddenly in 2010 and is now the popular Indian restaurant Mumbai Lounge.

6. Mason’s Bistro

Mason’s Bistro Bar in Fossgate – now Marzano Mason’s Bistro was a popular eating spot in Fossgate for several years before it changed hands to become Marzano. First known for its Mediterranean-influenced food, it changed to become a more wallet-friendly spot with the likes of chilli con carne, steak, and sausages on the menu. Despite swapping owners over the years, the historic interior and windows of the building have been preserved – the site dates back to the late 1920s when the building was George Mason’s grocer’s.

7. Loch Fyne

Loch Fyne – which will become Marzano The popular seafood restaurant chain arrived in York with a fanfare of publicity in 2006, moving into one of the city’s most iconic sites – Foss Bridge House, formerly FR Stubbs ironmonger’s. Stubbs operated from the 19th-century building from 1915 until 2001. The Loch Fyne restaurant, right next to the River Foss, was severely hit by the Boxing Day floods of 2015 and was closed for one year for a refurb. It finally shut  for good in 2023. It is poised to become Marzano, with the owners hoping to open by the end of this year.