A NEW restaurant has opened as part of a York hotel's £3 million upgrade.

The Yorkshire Bar and Grill is based in the Monkbar Hotel in St Maurice's Road, and aims to offer "a stylish and relaxed setting", with food and drink from breakfast until late in the evening and free wifi.

Graham Usher, general manager, said the bar and grill was an "exciting" addition to York's dining scene.

He said: "Our new dining concept adds a brand new city centre experience, and one that we are confident will more than meet with the approval of a wide variety of people – from those who love dining out, to those just having a drink with friends and colleagues in chic surroundings.

"Our kitchen brigade is led by Ben Allnutt, who is one of York’s most exciting young chefs, and the dishes he and his team have created can be summed up in one word: inspirational."

The venue offers locally-sourced produce and recipes, including pressed Yorkshire rabbit, Yorkshire Waygu steak hache, and Yorkshire Tapas including baked duck eggs, crab on toast, Yorkshire steak strips and homemade chunky pork scratching.

Mr Usher said: "Even our staff uniforms have a real Yorkshire look and feel to them."