IT'S boom time for restaurants in the suburbs. Diners now have a wide range of places to choose from which don't require them venturing into the middle of Leeds - everything from Indians to Thai, bar food and traditional British fair. The styles are getting more inventive and exciting plus the quality is such that newcomers are now challenging more established names for dominance. There's never been a better time to enjoy top end cuisine - and all on the doorst
Skippy's @ Trio
May 2010
THERE’S a good chance
you might have
dropped into Trio and
not even noticed the
top level of this suburban
warren of food and drink.
The ground floor is dedicated to
dining, the basement is a lively bar
(and we mean lively) which is
extremely popular with the local
population of students.
THE ANGEL’S SHARE
AS selling points go, it’s
certainly unique. Never
before has Oliver been
presented with a dish of
raw meat at a restaurant and
literally cooked the meal himself.
It must be stressed however, that we
had willingly chosen the Lava Rocks
menu at American Kitchen, the firstfloor
restaurant at trendy bar Angel’s
Share.
Martha & Vincent - Ilkley
HERE’S a test: take a restaurant – a restaurant geared towards more formal, fine dining – and see how it fares when it comes to providing a quick bite to eat on a lunchtime.
Read the full reviewKobe
NEW ROAD SIDE, HORSFORTH THE first thing that strikes you about Kobe, apart from the fact that it looks very plush, is the fact that it’s something of a branding exercise. Placed around the bar/restaurant are numerous screens where their logo can be found emblazoned, just so as to keep diners and drinkers unnecessarily reminded of where they are.
Read the full reviewThe Beehive
| FACTFILE | |
| The Beehive, Main Street,
Thorner, LS14 3DE Phone: 0113 201 7171 Monday to Saturday 12pm to 3pm; Sunday lunch 12pm-3pm; evening meals every night from 5.30pmlate, last booking about 9.30pm. www.thebeehivethorner.com | |
| STAR RATING | |
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Be in no doubt, a trip to the Beehive, Thorner, will leave you longing to return. OIiver last ventured into the cosy interior of this countryside haven some time ago and was wonderfully surprised by its sumptuous setting, relaxed atmosphere and delightful food.
Read the full reviewSalvo's
| FACTFILE | |
| Tel: 0113 275 5017 Web: www.salvos.co.uk Opening Times: Mon – Sat 12 noon to 2pm; Mon – Thurs 6pm to 10.30pm; Fri – Sat 5.30pm to 11pm; Sun 12.30pm to 9pm. | |
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Asure sign of a really
good restaurant is
when it’s packed to the
rafters, even on a
Tuesday night.
And with Salvo’s recently receiving a
ringing endorsement from one of the
country’s top chefs, it’s no surprise the
Italian restaurant is experiencing a
boom in popularity.
The family-run venue was crowned
Britain’s Best Local Italian Restaurant
in the new series of Gordon Ramsay’s
F Word, with head chef
Gip Dammone and
colleague Chris Jackson
battling it out against an
eatery from Bristol to
win the coveted
accolade.
Cucina
THERE’S a school of thought that says a busy restaurant is a sign of a good restaurant.
I’ve never fully subscribed to this viewpoint. I mean, think of all those high street pizza chains and chicken eateries which are invariably heaving. Hardly a touchstone for a great dining experience are they?
| FACTFILE | |
| Cucina, Queen Street, Morley, LS27 9EB T: 0113 253 2113 | |
| STAR RATING | |
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MORENO’S
| FACTFILE | |
| Tel: 0113 260 4844 Website: www.morenos.co.uk 54-56 Templenewsam Road, Halton, Leeds, LS15 0DR | |
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Casa Mia Grande
| FACTFILE | |
| Casa Mia Grande, 33 - 37 Harrogate Road, Chapel Allerton, LS7 3PD | |
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Despite this obnoxious woman’s job title it was only after being put through to one of her colleagues in India that I finally received service worthy of the name. Later, as I stepped through the door of Casa Mia Grande, I was again reminded of this gulf between the treatment dished out by British establishments and how it’s done in the rest of the world.
Read the full review
Del Verde
| FACTFILE | |
| Tel: 0113 266 3307 Web: www.delverde.co.uk Opening Times: Tuesday - Saturday, 6pm to 10.30pm; Sunday, 12 to 3pm. | |
| STAR RATING | |
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OLIVER had never even heard of Del Verde before a sign popped up on a road driven along several times a week.
Intrigued by the idea of a hitherto unknown restaurant in a familiar area of the city, the decision was made to check it out. But after driving into the car park and surveying the eatery’s exterior, that plan was nearly cancelled. Thankfully, the temptation to drive off and find somewhere else was quelled, and the result was an excellent meal.
To get the negatives out of the way, the outside area needs some work. The front of the building looks a bit shabby, and more like it should be the rear. And the narrow corridor through which the customers walk looks more like a service route than a diners' first introduction to an upmarket establishment.
Dough
Dough worth spending your hard-earned dough on? We think so.
Dough Bistro was ushered onto the Leeds dining scene four years ago as one of those incredibly rare breeds - a bring-your-own that actually does quality food.
Kobe
| FACTFILE | |
| Tel: 0113 2590890 Kobe, 108 New Road Side, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4QB | |
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UNDER normal circumstances a bar wouldn’t attract the attentions of Oliver, but then Kobe isn’t your normal bar. For a start it’s rather large, rather plush and the food here plays a big part in proceedings – in fact it probably has greater emphasis than the drink.
That’s because this reinvention of what used to be Fat Franco’s restaurant, which was once very popular in this rather leafy north Leeds suburb, is targeting a specific market.
Read the full review
La Cantina 44
There are some things that really never should have worked. History is littered with them – ideas that ought to have fallen at the very first hurdle but then defied all the odds to bask in unlikely success. Added to that list could be Cross Gates’s tenacious little rebel against the conventions of the restaurant industry, La Cantina 44.
The Olive Tree
You can't really pick a better spot than this in north Leeds.
Smack bang on the leafiest section of Harrogate Road this branch of The Olive Tree is set some way from the main throng of restaurants and bars which have made this corner of the city come alive at night.
The beauty of this Greek restaurant is that it somehow absorbs all the atmosphere of Chapel Allerton while protecting you from the some of the more lairy elements.
Salvos
| FACTFILE | |
| Salvo’s is at 115 and 109 Otley Road, Headingley, Leeds, LS6 3PX Phone: 0113 275 5017 Monday to Saturday lunchtimes noon to 2pm, evenings Monday to Thursday 6pm to 10.45pm, Friday and Saturday 5.30pm to 11pm www.salvos.co.uk | |
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Having visited this enduringly popular Italian eaterie on a Saturday evening before, myself andmy dining partner were hoping to avoid the long wait we’d faced last time. Salvo’s has a non-booking policy – a positive or negative thing depending on your viewpoint. If you decide on the spur of the moment to go out, it’s great because it eliminates the nightmare of ‘where could we possibly get a table tonight?’ But if you are going for a special occasion – as we had been last time – it can be stressful to wait. The other downside is if you’re starving hungry when you arrive, as I usually am. In that case the only options are to go elsewhere or wait in the bar, eyeing up other diners’ plates of food from afar and fixing them with the kind of stare last used as a child to get your turn on the swings.
Read the full review
