A bar named after York’s famous Tansy beetle has opened.

The Tansy Beetle Bar at The Rattle Owl also aims to help protect the city’s very own endangered species.

The newly-launched bar in Micklegate promises a local and sustainably focussed casual dining menu developed by head chef Adam Jackson and sous chef Joe Randall.

Customers can also enjoy wine, ales, and cocktails with bar snacks hosted by General Manager Alex Stainsby.

Adam was previously head chef at Grays Court Hotel and Bow Room restaurant.

Top chef Adam Jackson takes reins at The Rattle Owl in York

He said: “Running a different menu downstairs alongside the Rattle Owl’s signature tasting menu in our historic upstairs rooms means we can cater for diners who are looking for a more relaxed dining experience, or just drinks and snacks”.

Joe said: “The Tansy Beetle menu provides an opportunity to bring together our local suppliers and a strong sustainability ethos on a project that is unique in promoting the need for environmental awareness. It’s not just about sustainable purchasing or supply chains - things all restaurants should be doing - this is about using our influence to promote the actual survival of an endangered species”.

Working with St Nicks Environmental Centre and The Species Recovery Trust the bar is raising awareness of the Tansy Beetle’s precarious plight, as well as fundraising and volunteering to repopulate the Tansy plant along the River Ouse.

The Tansy Beetle Bar has also become the Species Recovery Trust’s Tansy Beetle Ambassador.

Former York Rattle Owl chef Tom Heywood to open Pignut

Vicky Wilkins, Programme Manager at the Trust said the support will make a “big difference to our species programme”.

The bar’s first soft service coincided with World Endangered Species Day on Friday May 19, which the bar says was a lucky coincidence, but one that showed it is on the right track.

The idea for the name and environmental activities was developed by Clarrie O’Callaghan, the owner of York’s The Rattle Owl, as a way to raise the Tansy Beetle’s profile after noting that many people in York hadn’t heard of the Tansy Beetle given its only home was in York and was close to extinction.

The Rattle Owl was the first sponsor of the wonderful Tansy Beetle mural painted on Queens Street York in 2019 by street artist ATM and hosted its organiser New Networks for Nature’s mural launch party.

Rare York tansy beetles rehomed at new site

The Tansy Beetle Bar is found on the ground floor of The Rattle Owl.

Upstairs, The Rattle Owl’s small or large tasting menus are served in the restaurant’s 350 year old rooms with sittings at 7.30pm or 8pm Weds-Saturday. People can also enjoy its our award-winning Sunday Lunch every Sunday 12-6.

Last year the restaurant was named in the Michelin Guide and a month earlier they were visited by AA inspectors and were awarded two stars as a result.