Michelin star chef Tommy Banks to open new restaurant in York

The Black Swan at Oldstead was named the world’s best rated restaurant in the annual TripAdvisor awards in October last year, and was the first British venue to achieve the honour.

Brothers Tommy and James Banks took over the Black Swan when they were just 17 and 19 years old, and Tommy was the youngest British head chef to ever win a Michelin star, at the age of 24.

No firm opening date for the York venue has been announced, and the exact location also remains under wraps at the moment, but some information about the new restaurant has been released online.

A statement on the new restaurant’s website said Roots - which is also the name of Tommy Banks’ new book, released last week - “will be a new restaurant and bar from the Banks family”, growing from their roots in Oldstead, where Tommy lives.

It said: “Incorporating the unique style of the Black Swan Oldstead, Roots will offer casual and playful sharing dishes with the same focus on quality cooking that Tommy has become so famous for.

"The dishes will be hearty, fun and always delicious.

"Make a choice. Order as much as you like, eat, drink and be the creator of your own menu.”

Speaking to industry website The Caterer, Tommy said the time was right for a new venture in the city, but it had not been a spur of the moment decision.

He said: “This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, it’s just been about the right time and place.

“The second restaurant is a long time in the planning, so we’ve got people in place who are stepping up at the Black Swan, some people are going across to Roots, everything’s very well planned.

"I don’t feel I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. It’s the right time to expand.”

Tommy also told The Caterer he still had plans for the Black Swan, but also kept them under wraps.

He said: “The progression of the Black Swan is really important.

"We have a couple of long-term plans for the Black Swan which are going to make it really quite special.”