Italian food has always been an integral part of the Leeds dining scene, so it's no wonder it's among the best in Britain and a keystone in local cuisine. From old masters to new kids on the block this city boasts a spectrum of venues offering modern and traditional dishes in classic and contemporary surroundings.
So while we recognise European food as a whole we also felt the need to celebrate this unique genre in it's own right - and with a plethora of Italian restaurants to choose from it's easy to see why it deserves to be in a culinary league all of its own.
Viva
May 2010
What’s great about Viva is
that it is what it is – and it’s
proud of it.
When you walk through the door
a big Italian gentleman
immediately walks over and says
hello, shaking your hand.
(Little Oliver feels compelled to
point out that the gentleman in
question has the biggest, most
padded hands in the world – his
palm was like a well upholstered
chair, and just as heartwarming.)
And it would be easy to roll your
eyes at the roses in the vase on
the table, but what speaks
volumes is that the roses are real,
not plastic.
Nino
May 2010
THE Tories are in power,
everyone’s wearing double
denim and even perms are
back in fashion.
Have we time travelled back to the
1980s?
You could certainly be forgiven for
thinking so if you’ve recently dined in
one particular corner of Pudsey.
Arriving at Nino Restaurante in
Galloway Lane is like experiencing a
time-shift of which even Doctor Who
would be proud.
Piccolino
April 2010
This particular
Piccolino makes a decent
fist of giving itself an air of
individuality.
Nothing much has changed since the
La Locanda days perhaps, but the pale
wood of the tables and chairs gives it a
pleasantly relaxed feel and there is
plenty of light streaming in from the
conservatory-style area overlooking
the fields on the other side of the A58.
Buon Apps, Otley
WHEN a friend
suggested a place
called Buon Apps for
dinner I must admit I
wasn’t overly keen.
I’d never heard of it but to me the
name conjured up preconceptions of a
casual lunchtime coffee house, rather
than the sophisticated bistro I was
hoping for.
However, I’m eternally grateful I
managed to put my aversion to the
name to one side as Buon Apps proved
a sensational discovery.
La Bella Vita, Garforth
Located on Garforth’s Main Street, the
place was easy enough
to find and was fairly
understated from the
outside.
Nothing spectacular, but
with that unpretentious,
welcoming, look about it
that all good out-of-town
places should have.
Making our way inside,
we were welcomed by
very friendly staff,
ushered through the waiting area and
straight to our table.
Piazza By Anthony
OK, let’s deal with the
elephant in the
room. There is something
unsettlingly weird about
dining in the open basement of a
huge building with a breathtaking
expanse of domed ceiling – and
virtually nothing else in sight.
But that’s what you get with Piazza by
Anthony.
Once you’re down there, it’s OK. There
is a sense of being in your own little
atmosphere and even a cosy vibe to
the place when it’s busy.
The brasserie occupies the entire
13,200 sq ft bottom level with 125
seats and a series of cafes, private
dining rooms and small shops selling
specialist food products, all
homemade too.
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
Read the full review
Salvo's
A sure 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.
Read the full review
Casa Mia Grande
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
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?
Da Salvano's
GREAT GEORGE STREET, LEEDS RESTAURANT can win countless awards and even Michelin stars –but without bums on seats, good food means absolutely nothing. And nowhere does this message seem more relevant than at Da Silvano’s, a criminally underlooked Italian venue in Leeds city centre, which seems to be struggling to fill the tables despite our almostperfect dining experience.
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 | |
Food 
| Service |
| Atmosphere
| Value 
|
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.
Bibis
With an entrance lobby that wouldn't be out of place in a plush Las Vegas hotel and themed 1920s decor, I half expected to see the place populated by characters from the Goodfellas movie, strutting around in pin-striped suits and plotting to burn the joint down 'for tax reasons', which would be a shame, in my view.
Instead, there are slick-suited waiters in droves, genial and welcoming, perfecting a casual yet appealing air of familiarity.
While we were still gawping at the decor, one of these individuals, uncorking a bottle of wine, said in an understated tone: "Good evening, sir, madam", as we passed.
Primo
IT’S no secret that the building of controversial Lumiere on Wellington Street has hit surrounding businesses and resulted in the closure of one.
The current work may have been postponed for the time being but the surrounding hoardings and pavement closures remain in place.
Zucchini
ZUCCHINI lies slapbang in the middle of Batley's 'glorious' Golden Mile. And it is just as well it enjoys such a prime location - stuck to the side of the faded but arguably still fabulous Frontier Club - because this restaurant has one of the least effective marketing strategies Oliver has ever seen.
Not only is there no menu to peruse online, there is also little prospect of you even glancing at one before you turn up. No, I'm afraid they couldn't fax me a copy. Email me?
You must be kidding. At a pinch, they could post me one. Which would have been fine if I had wanted a table sometime in 2009, but not exactly ideal when I was hoping to pitch up that weekend
Zachary's
PUDSEY INITIAL signs were promising when we arrived - the friendly waiting staff took our coats. A positive start.
But then we were led into a side room filled with comfy chairs and sofas and handed menus to look at, quite a nice idea in theory. In practice we sat staring at a flush plywood door with a "PRIVATE" sticker on the front giving the feel of a GP's waiting room, minus the goldfish tank and three-year-old magazines. And it would have been nice to have something else to read, say, for example, something like the wine list which wasn't presented to us until we were eventually led to our table after ordering our food.
