Mathew Carver launches Rind in the Yorkshire Dales

Mathew Carver, the man behind restaurants including The Cheese Bar, Pick & Cheese and The Cheese Barge in London, has opened his first restaurant outside of the capital.

Situated next to The Courtyard Dairy cheese shop near Settle, North Yorkshire, Rind offers local and visitors wood-fired pizzas, wine and British cheese. 

Known as a vocal advocate of small producer British cheese, Carver has joined forces with good friend and long-term supplier Andy Swinscoe, founder of The Courtyard Dairy, to create a cheese-focused restaurant that complements the shop. As such, guests of Rind can enjoy seasonal British cheese-topped pizzas, cheese boards and a thoughtful list of natural wines from lunch through to dinner. 

The menu revolves around the wood-fired oven situated at the heart of the 40-seater venue, with pizzas made with Wildfarmed flour. Inspired by the restaurant's surroundings, the menu features the half and half pizza, using half Lancashire and half Wensleydale cheese, along with a selection of more unusual creations such as the No. 8 with la latteria bocconcino mozzarella, cais an tire, Tempus No. 8 'nduja with fennel and honey and the tartiflette with St Sunday cheese, Tempus guanciale, potato, garlic and thyme. The offering also makes good use of The Courtyard Dairy's array of locally sourced small-producer cheeses, many of which are rarely seen elsewhere in the country.

Alongside pizza, Rind offers an ever-changing selection of cheese boards and baked cheeses from the oven. To complement this, The Cheese Bar has teamed up with neighbouring business Buon Vino to curate a distinctive yet easy-going wine list with a focus on natural producers, along with some more classic bottles, each chosen to match particular cheeses. 

Housed in the old falconry centre, Rind offers views over Ingleborough – the second-highest mountain in Yorkshire. The restaurant interiors pay homage to the area with design details and natural materials that speak to the outdoors. 

Carver says of the recent opening: "I've been a fan boy of Andy and The Courtyard Dairy since I got into British cheese nearly 10 years ago. His ethos on promoting and championing farm-made cheese and supporting our rural economies is so in line with our own values, I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather have as our new neighbour! We aim to create restaurants that inspire us as a team and the opportunity to open a pizza restaurant with the most incredible views imaginable certainly does that."

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