Restaurant Bookings Policy

We highly recommend advance online booking for all dining reservations and regret that no advance bookings are accepted for drinks only. By clicking on the button to book online or enquire over the phone, you confirm you are agreeing to our Terms & Conditions and the usage of your data according to our Privacy Policy. All the restaurant rooms including the terrace and bar area are Table Service Only. Tables are reserved for the period of time based on the party size, which includes arrival and after dinner drinks as follows:

Table Allocations- Please note that The Star Inn The City (York) Ltd cannot guarantee any specific table requests. We reserve the right to change the table allocation up until the time of seating.

Outside Tables– The pergola on our terrace is sufficiently covered and sheltered and is equipped with heaters. However, we recommend that diners arrive suitably dressed and prepared for the weather conditions.

Please note that during extreme weather conditions, we cannot guarantee that tables will be completely weatherproof or that heaters will be available or operational.

We select the best available table at the time of seating. Unfortunately, we are unable to move tables once guests are seated on the terrace and we cannot guarantee the availability of indoor tables for guests who have booked an outdoor table.

Bookings for Drinks- We do not take any reservations for drinks only. We do take walk ins for drinks on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Reservations for drinks and snacks only will be treated as a ‘No-Show’, following rules stated in the policy below.

Securing your Booking and ‘No Show’ Policy’- In order to secure the booking, we require card details. We do not take provisional reservations and if for some reason you are unable to provide card details, we will not be able to make the reservation. Details are held by a third party (Stripe) and no initial deposit payment is taken.

The card given to secure the booking will only be charged £25 per person in the event of a no show, or late cancelation (£50 per person for Mother’s & Father’s Day, Easter Sunday, Tasting Events, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve bookings). The charge-free cancelation periods are as follows:

Tables for up to 8 people, not using a private dining option, will be charged for the late cancelation fee for notice periods less than 24 hours.

Tables for 8 – 19 people, not using a private dining option, will be charged for the late cancelation fee for notice periods less than 48 hours.

Tables for 20+ people or using a private dining room will be charged the late cancelation fee for notice periods less than 7 days.

The Star Inn the City reserve the right to cancel your booking at any time.

Lateness- The Star Inn The City (York) Ltd will hold a booking for 15 minutes past the original booking time to allow for unforeseen circumstances resulting in lateness. During this period, we may attempt to contact you on any given contact details to ascertain whether you still require the table and to ensure there has not been a mistake with the date or time of the booking. After the 15-minute time slot has elapsed we reserve the right to give the table away to another customer or cancel the reservation. We respectfully request that you inform the restaurant if you anticipate arriving late or if you no longer require the reservation.

Events- Additional conditions may apply for reservations for tasting and other events.

Service Charge- A discretionary 12.5% service charge will be added to the bill, 100% of which will be distributed equitably amongst the staff.

Allergies and Intolerances- Guests are encouraged to notify us of any food allergies, intolerances or any special dietary needs at the time of booking and, in any case, prior to ordering. Even though some allergen free items are marked on the menu, we cannot guarantee this allergen will not be present if the allergen has not been communicated to our restaurant staff at the time of the ordering. It is currently not possible for us to guarantee that any product is 100% free from any allergens, due to the chance of cross contamination within the supply chain. We apologise for any inconvenience or disappointment this may cause; the handling of allergens is of the utmost importance to us as is the safety of all of our guests.

Customer Care- Any queries regarding your meal, service, or payment must be brought to our attention at the earliest opportunity, and in any case, prior to your departure from the restaurant. Should there be any matter you wish us to investigate subsequent to your departure, including any potential billing errors, these should be brought to our attention within 4 days.

All offers, menus and pricing are subject to change, this includes all bookings made in advance.

Vouchers- If you have been given a gift voucher for The Star Inn The City, this may be redeemed against any purchase at any time of day and on any day of the week – there are no restrictions or days/times when vouchers may be redeemed. We are unable to issue cash as change for vouchers. Gift vouchers purchased from The Star Inn The City (York) Ltd cannot be used at The Star Inn at Harome, and any vouchers purchased for The Star Inn at Harome cannot be redeemed at The Star Inn The City as the sites are fiscally independent from one another. Vouchers can be purchased online: https://thestarinn.vouchable.co.uk/

All physical vouchers are dispatched by Vouchable ‘same-day’ if ordered before 2pm Monday to Friday. Any orders placed after 2pm, or during weekends or bank holidays, will be dispatched the following working day. The Star Inn the City can enquire about the vouchers on the guest’s behalf, but cannot take responsibility about any delayed or missing physical vouchers.

Personal belongings- Please note that we are unable to accept responsibility for the loss or theft of any personal belongings whilst dining with us. We do not have facilities to accommodate luggage or other personal items to be left in our care prior or after dining with us.

Table accessories- If you wish to bring any personal decorations for your table, which may affect other diners’ restaurant experience, please check first with our Reservations Team. We can hold table accessories such as flowers or balloons for your party no longer than one day prior to the reservation and we are unable to accept responsibility for the loss or damage of any items of this kind. Table confetti is not allowed on our premises, penalty charge of £20 per table will be added to the bill in case this rule has been ignored.

Cakes- Currently we are not able to offer cakes for the celebrations. Diners can bring their own cake. However, a £5 per person cakeage charge will be added to the bill for parties who bring cake instead of ordering a dessert.

Corkage- Diners can bring their own wine. However, a £25 per bottle of still wine/£30 per bottle of sparkling wine corkage charge will be added to the bill for parties who bring their own wine instead of ordering from the drinks list.

GROUP BOOKINGS

A ‘Group Booking’ is defined as any party of 10 or more to a maximum of 36 people with the following dining options:

Outdoor Terrace- up to 10 guests with non-exclusive use.

Garden Room- up to 12 guests with non-exclusive use. This room can be booked exclusively midweek (Sunday evenings through Friday) with a minimum spend requirement calculated based on the specific date. The space holds up to 100 guests seated on small individual tables.

River Room- can be booked exclusively midweek (Sunday evenings through Friday) with a minimum spend of £1300 (£1700 in December). The space holds up to 14 guests on one round table or up to 28 on two tables and should be considered if any of your guests have mobility issues. (Please note there are two steps down into this room.)

Private Dining Room- upstairs mezzanine dining room that can be booked exclusively midweek (Sunday evenings through Friday) with a minimum spend of £1700 (£2250 in December). The space holds up to 34 guests seated on two long tables/four smaller tables or 20 people on one large table. (Please note this space has no disabled access.)

Outdoor pergola- can be booked exclusively midweek (Sunday evenings through Friday) with a minimum spend requirement calculated based on the specific date. The space holds up to 50 guests on the small individual tables.

Tables for 10+ people are reserved for a 3-hour time slot.

Please note we do not offer private dining options all day on Saturdays and Sundays lunch time, as well as the York Race Days, York University Graduation Dates, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

If guest numbers change subsequent to your booking, The Star Inn The City (York) Ltd reserves the right to relocate your group to a more suitable dining area for your revised group size.

‘Hen’ & ‘Stag’ parties- In consideration of other diners, we do not accept bookings for ‘Stag’ or ‘Hen’ parties.

Menus- Groups are welcome to order from either the full All-Day Menu plus Daily Specials, or the fixed price set Group Menu. Please note the whole group must order from the same chosen menu.  We would prefer groups of 10+ to provide us with a pre-order no later than 48 hours before the booking. All menus are subject to change without prior notice. All dietary requirements should be communicated 48 hours before your booking.

Seating Times- If you have booked a table for a group, it is essential that your group arrival and seating time is the time you have reserved, otherwise we will not be able to guarantee prompt food service due to the fact that the restaurant is booked out by staggered time slots and you might miss your allocated slot.

Table Linen– Table linen can be arranged by The Star Inn The City (York) Ltd upon request, with at least 7 days’ notice, for an additional charge of £80, which will be added to the total bill.