Josh Overington’s career took him to some extremely good restaurants before he landed back in his native York – he spent time alongside the Roux brothers at The Waterside Inn, and worked for six months at the three Michelin-starred Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris with Yannick Alleno. Josh learnt a lot from the two, but the greatest lesson of all perhaps was in learning what he wanted his own restaurant to be. ‘It's not that I didn't want to have a place with white tablecloths and stuff like that,’ he explains. ‘It's just that I've never really enjoyed that dining scene. I don't enjoy eating in silence and having people watching over me, so I knew that I wanted to do things a different way.’

Le Cochon Aveugle makes sense in that context – Josh’s classical French sensibilities shine through in his dishes, but the atmosphere is that of a casual neighbourhood bistro. The interior is stripped back but warm – there’s no white tablecloths in sight, just dark wood tables, napkins and a long leather banquette that runs along the side of the room. There’s an open kitchen too, where Josh and his small team prepare dinner from Wednesday to Saturday. A few leather bar chairs sit up at the chef’s counter, for the lucky guests who get an up close and personal look at what the kitchen team is preparing.

Le Cochon Aveugle is French for ‘The Blind Pig’, and true to the name, Josh and his team serve a blind tasting menu every evening. The cooking relies heavily on seasonal ingredients – the kitchen only works with produce that is bang in season and easily available from local suppliers, and they let their creativity work from there. That said, there are a few things you can reasonably expect to eat if you visit. ‘The boudin noir macaron is something we’re known for now,’ says Josh. ‘We’ve had people complain before when it's not been on the menu, so they’re pretty much permanent.’ Scallop à la Ficelle is another signature – Josh takes hand-dived Orkney scallops, ties them up with string in their shells and cooks them with sea urchin butter over an open fire, before opening them table-side. ‘It’s really representative of my style,’ he says. ‘Great produce, with minimal intervention.’

Josh’s wife Victoria looks after front of house and sommelier duties, and curates Le Cochon Aveugle's superb wine list, featuring wines from smaller producers that reflect particular regional styles.