Dome at Yorkshire Spa Retreat: We take a look at the new Dome restaurant at Yorkshire Spa Retreat

As this happens to be one of my favourite activities, it is now on my list, as is a stay in one of their luxury rental lodges.

I did have a sneaky peek at them while there, and I must say they look the business, with each having a hot tub and Kamodo Joe ceramic grills outside on the terrace – very impressive.

Between the spa and the restaurant is a wild pond-like swimming pool where you can safely swim but beware, it is not heated; that pleasure is reserved for the regular pool I can see steaming in the distance.

We had specially booked a lunchtime, given the location of the Retreat, to make the most of the view of the glorious landscape of the area, so I was disappointed that the restaurant did not have one. That said, as the complex is recently opened, from what I saw, the landscaping around the pool and spa will be lovely, given some time and sunshine.

The Dome restaurant is a vast, intriguing place, and on a bitingly cold winter's day twixt Christmas and New Year, lovely and warm.

There are few diners, but they are almost fully booked that evening. We sit initially by a giant TV screen set to display a fish tank to decide on food and have a good look at the place.

As it is Christmas, the decorations are still sparkling and jolly, but I can't help but wonder what it will be like when they are gone, though the brightly lit, abundantly stocked bar does throw lovely light into the space.

I can only envisage that on a warm spring or summer's day, with the doors to the terrace flung open, this will be a great place to hang out. But for now, we are snuggled down and content enough.

The kitchen at the dome is headed up by chef Stefan Rares-Burducea, a name I am unfamiliar with, I am told he trained and has worked with leading chefs, including the hugely talented chef Adam Jackson. Romanian-born Stefan reached the final stage of Masterchef in his home country back in 2013 before he moved to the UK in 2016. He promises a Yorkshire menu drawing on produce here, so he has a lot to go at.

The menu has both a comprehensive lunch offer and a more substantial menu served throughout the day and into the evening. Neither state much provenance, so let's hope.

We hop between the two, which is permissible and makes for more variety. There are sandwiches, sharing boards, salads, cream tea, cakes, and scones on the lunch side. The dinner shows more flair but is slightly restrained in creativity, I suspect, for a more general appeal.

We kick off with a salt-baked beetroot and goat's cheese tart, which comes in a lovely bowl, making it a tad difficult to eat, not that putting it on a plate could improve the beautifully executed and delicious tart.

The pastry was scarily delicate and damn near perfect in shape and crimping; the beetroot was earthy and lightly salted – I could have taken more, and the cheese was deeply flavoured and whipped to perfection. The dish was finished with a crisp sesame cracker and a scattering of salad leaves.

Staying on the dinner menu next comes a colossal six-ounce steak burger gussied up with the usual culprits of tomato, lettuce, and the optional melting mature cheddar cheese nestled in a brioche bun. On the side, there are some rather good chips and homemade slaw. The meat is excellent and cooked to perfection; still softly pink in the middle and caramelised on the outside. Someone here with me was thrilled by this, the best in a long time.

On the other hand, I fared less well with the duck salad on the lunch menu. The duck was cooked perfectly and had a slight smokiness to it. I asked if it was smoked in-house. I was told no. Five minutes later, I was told yes, it was. Whichever, the breast was tasty, with great texture, as did the included pickled and caramelised walnuts. The rest was unimaginative, with just a handful of bagged salad with a lacklustre sauce drizzled over. At £16 I did expect a little more finesse which, given the tart and burger, they are more than capable of in the kitchen.

A highly recommended, much-anticipated Guinness Sticky Toffee pudding lifted the previous slight disappointment. The Guinness bit was conspicuous in its absence, but the rest was very much enjoyed and disappeared in a flash.

The Dome restaurant is still young and developing but has enormous promise.

The staff are lovely and welcoming, and Stefan is working with an unknown audience right now, but I am sure he will have that sorted in no time as things progress; he has the talent to do so. I most certainly look forward to going back when the weather is better and the landscape more settled; I may even take a dip in that pond.

The Dome Restaurant at Yorkshire Spa Retreat, Gale Lane, Nawton, North Yorkshire, YO62 7SD Tel: 01439 413102

Mon – Sat 12pm - 9pm, Sun from 12pm - 4pm

Note: The Dome is closed on Mondays throughout January.