Fine dining was once something associated with wealthy diners in expensive London restaurants and an experience far out of reach of ordinary people - but how times change. Now Yorkshire can hold its head high as the home of some excellent restaurants with a national reputation. We have the benefit of imaginative cooking by chefs with culinary vision and flair who have trained with the best and then brought their skills home.
The result is to be celebrated: imaginative, delicious food cooked to amazingly high standards and within reach of most of us.
Browns
June 2010
The final bill – including a ten per cent tip – was a whopping £100 – and we hadn’t even had desserts or coffees. If we had then we might have been looking at a tab closer to the £120.
It must be pointed out that Browns do offer some pretty impressive meal deals. There’s the ‘early bird’ prix fixe menu which offers two courses for £10.95 or £12.95 depending on which dishes you go for. Or the weekday noon to 5pm menu which offers mains at £6.95, with a starter or pudding for an extra £3.
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Blackhouse
APPARENTLY there has
been a recession on. I say
apparently because even
in the current climate, it
seems to be even harder to get a
table at Blackhouse than it is to get
a buy-to-let mortgage.
We had initially wanted to dine there on a Friday night and rang to book almost a week in advance. Now, in fairness, the man on the other end of the phone did manage to contain most of his amusement as he told us that wasn’t going to be possible.
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Anthony's
Mention Anthony's, as I did in my barbers, and you instantly start a passionate debate with El Buli, Snail Porridge and Heston Blumenthal all being mentioned - along with the need to book months in advance for a table.
The Box Tree
Dough worth spending your hard-earned dough on? We think so.
THIS was a special treat. The opportunity to eat out at a Michelin-starred restaurant doesn't come around too often, particularly in West Yorkshire where they are decidedly thin on the ground.
The Box Tree's recent elevation to one-star status is a credit to chef Simon Gueller, though older readers will recall that some years ago it boasted two stars - a major accolade, given that the whole of England boasts just one restaurant with the Michelin man's top three-star score.
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.
Malmaison
OLIVER is a regular visitor to this delightful brasserie. Nestling in the vaulted basement of arguably Leeds’s most chic hotel, Malmaison remains a real jewel in the city’s culinary crown. Why? Well, apart from anything else it just looks and feels so darn good.
Harvey Nichols Fourth Floor Restaurant
HARVEY Nichols – surely the jewel in Leeds’ crown as the best shopping mecca outside the capital.
This glass-fronted temple on Briggate boasts the city’s best designer clothes, food hall and still – despite stiff competition from Anthony’s at Flannels – the best in-store dining experience.
No. 3 York Place
ONLY a little maroon sign dangling in the wind lets you know that No 3 York Place exists. It sits tucked out the way in the heart of Leeds's business district, where it can only really be discovered through word of mouth.
But despite its location, discreetly buried away on a terrace block, the clientele aren't all suited executives.
