There was a time when British food was derided as among the worst in the world. Bland, stodgy and unhealthy were some of the kinder ways it was described. But that time is no more. A new generation of chefs has put British food back at the centre of the Yorkshire dining scene. Now restaurants are serving british food in many ways it can be either traditional or modern in concept, but one factor remains constant - diners now expect fresh, high quality food using locally sourced ingredients, and they receive it.
The White Hart
May 2010
WHEN Oliver last visited the
White Hart in July 2008, it
was still basking in a blaze
of glory after a huge
refurbishment – and chilli-flavoured ice
cream was the highlight of the day.
Two years on, the popular venue has
well and truly
settled into the
Leeds gastropub
scene and seems
to be doing a
roaring trade,
having built up a
reputation for fine
food and good service.So Oliver decided it was time to return – and although chilli ice cream is no longer on the menu, the pub still has a certain kick which keeps satisfied diners coming from miles around.
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THE FARSYDE, ILKLEY
April 2010
EVERY once in a while an
evening out ticks all the
boxes. Nice setting, good
company, enjoyable food
and, most importantly, the feeling
that everything was
straightforward, with nothing to
ruin that relaxed mood.Those kind of evenings seem to be the speciality of the Farsyde. This bistro is something of an Ilkley institution, packed to the rafters most evenings.
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The Old Mill
A GOOD restaurant is like a
good bottle of wine: it
should be inviting, improve
with age and once opened
satisfy your every whim, leaving
you yearning for more.The last time Oliver set foot inside The Old Mill off Wakefield Road, Brighouse, was January 2008 and back then we gave the converted corn mill (and onetime nightclub) a good review. Happily, we can do so again, because while many establishments seem to open with a bang – but quickly lose their fizz – The Old Mill has improved. Perhaps the best way to describe it, for those who have never had the pleasure, is that it’s like enjoying a good malt whisky at leisure while seated by a glowing fire in the softest of leather chairs.
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Zachary's at Fulneck
The restaurant’s
website boasts that
it
is Pudsey’s best
kept secret.
And certainly just to find
Zachary’s we enjoyed
something of a magical mystery
tourOn the day we dined – a Sunday – there was a set menu option of three courses for £14.95 which is remarkably good value in anyone’s book. On the downside there are just three options to choose from for each course, none of which sounded massively inspiring.
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The Swan Hotel
Aberford, Leeds
BURIED away in a sleepy
village on the edge of
Leeds, lies a bustling bar
with a menu so huge the
whole family can have their
favourite dish.The ‘Big Bar’ spreads out into several rooms throughout The Swan Hotel where there’s also the Cygnet Restaurant for fine dining. But forget fine dining, the bit we’d heard most about was the mammoth bar menu wh
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The Mustard Pot
CHAPEL ALLERTON
OK, IT’S pretty much
accepted that this pub,
once somewhere you tried
to avoid, is now
somewhere which simply must be
tried.What’s the difference? Well, prior to new, hipper management coming in to shake things up The Mustard Pot attracted a slightly less sophisticated crowd thanks to inexpensive beer and bar grub.
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Littlechef
A64 Eastbound, Steeton, Bilbrough, near York
WHEN Little Chef asked
super cook Heston
Blumenthal to revamp
its menu chief
executive Ian Pegler said he
wanted “Blue sky thinking”.
What he got was blue sky, and some
clouds, on the ceilings of three of his
restaurants.
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Browns
I’D ALWAYS turned my nose up at Browns, assuming any restaurant within a shopping centre couldn’t possibly have anything decent on offer. And, based on previous reports of the food and service, it seemed a fair assumption.
The Foundry
'I DON'T know where that sun's come from, " our friendly waitress remarked as she showed us to our table at The Foundry Wine Bar.
We were in Holbeck Urban Village, once the heart of the city's industrial revolution but latterly rather down-at-heel.
The Gray Ox
HARTSHEAD LANE, HARTSHEAD
THERE’S a scene at the end of
cult 1980s film Dirty Dancing
where Patrick Swayze
sweeps up to Jennifer Grey
and declares: “Nobody puts Baby in
the corner.”Unfortunately, there was no such Hollywood rescue for Oliver at the Gray Ox in Hartshead.
Arriving at an admittedly bustling Sunday lunchtime, this food critic and his dining partner were shown to what I now believe to be officially The Worst Restaurant Table Ever.
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Livebait
ISN’T it strange how you can enjoy good food, excellent wine, a nice atmosphere and good company – then have the whole experience tarnished by one flaw?
This happened when Oliver visited Live bait recently. Although I acknowledge it was the result of my own mistake but the restaurant staff weren’t in a rush to correct me.
Livebait
YOU know the feeling: you’re off to somewhere you very much like and your pace quickens with the anticipation. I felt this way as we approached Livebait for a return visit.
Somewhat hidden away in a courtyard off The Calls, the restaurant is one of four Livebaits in the UK. In case you’re worried about fish stocks and that sort of thing, this restaurant only serves seafood that is ethically sourced, in line with Marine Conservation Society rules.
Loch Fyne
ONE of the biggest compliments you can pay the new Loch Fyne restaurant in Leeds is that you would be hard pushed to guess it was part of a chain.
Yes, there may be more than two dozen of them up and down the country – including Harrogate – but everything about this new addition to the rejuvenated City Square smacks of individuality.
Lounge
LOUNGE BAR AND GRILL
MERRION STREET, LEEDS
The Lounge has always been a bit of a mystery on the Leeds social scene. For some time it’s been sandwiched between the towny Woodhouse Lane and the increasingly fashionable section of Lower Merrion Street. So what punters have they expected to attract?
Restaurant Bar and Grill
THIS place could be just about the most important restaurant in Leeds.
Why? Because it embodies virtually every characteristic of what we’d like to consider to be our modern, cosmopolitan city.
Leeds 17
I THOUGHT I was being smart in using the local landmark that is The Allerton pub as a reference point for finding Leeds 17; smart, that is, until I discovered that The Allerton pub in question IS now Leeds 17.
Having visited the hostelry in question I new that turning this into any kind of credible restaurant required much more than a lick of paint. In its former life this place, though far from shabby, was a pretty common or garden sort of place with decor to match.
