Toast Bar and Bistro, Leeds

I recently spent a cold Sunday afternoon wandering around the Reetsweet Craft Fair and the vintage pop up fair in the Corn Exchange. The craft fair was pretty busy and it was nice to see independent crafty people getting the chance to flog their wares. The vintage pop up on the top level of the building was also full of people- all stuff was reasonably priced and there was a massive variety of vintage goodies, from clothes to shoes to accessories to old books etc. I didn't live in Leeds when the Corn Exchange was a mecca for all things independent and quirky; I've only known it as Anthony's Piazza and it was great to see it looking full and with quite a few people wandering around. Others have told me that it is nowhere near as good as it used to be, but compared to a couple of years ago, the place is positively heaving!

After all the browsing and a rather nice espresso from the little coffee stand there,we were pretty hungry and decided to wander over to the West End of town for food. We rarely venture up that way, apart from when we visit the great little bar that is Baby Jupiter and we discovered that Toast was open and serving food. The bar itself is modern looking inside with leather seats and massive TV screens showing the football- it was fairly quiet but I'd imagine it gets busier on weekday evenings when the office workers nearby drop in for post-work drinks.

The menu is fairly standard- a selection of sandwiches, breakfasts, a Sunday roast, burgers and various meat and fish dishes. They also offer a "build your own platter" deal where you choose 4, 6 or 8 items from a deli-inspired selection (cured meats, cheese, olives etc) which I was tempted by, but unfortunately they don't do this deal on a Sunday.

So D and I both chose sandwiches. I went for the chicken, houmous, cheese and sweet chilli sandwich on granary bread (mainly because I was intrigued by the combination of cheese and houmous) The menu has changed slightly on their website from when I went, but I seem to remember the sandwich having a name including either Leeds or Yorkshire- considering Yorkshire folk have a tendency to put cheese on strange things (christmas cake??) I'd imagine that was the reason behind the combination!

Anyway my sandwich was really really good. Massive big thick slices of granary bread, with tender chunks of chicken and tons of melted cheese. I couldn't really pick up on the flavour of the houmous though- I think it could have done with being a bit more thickly spread. The sweet chilli, chicken and cheese worked really well together though, and would have been a delicious sandwich on its own; considering the houmous was fairly unnoticeable and I kind of wondered what the point of it was!



D chose the man's option- steak, caramelised onion, mustard and rocket. He asked for the steak medium, and it came that way, and like mine, the portion was beautifully generous- thick slices of steak, a good pile of caramelised onions and huge doorstep slices of bread. The flavours of the chargrilled steak, sweet onion and tangy mustard complemented each other really well, and D wolfed it all down before I was even half way through mine- a sure sign that he was loving it!



Our sandwiches at Toast were a perfect break from the cold weather- filling (no side order of chips needed, and no space for a pudding!) satisfying and very tasty. The atmosphere in the bar was perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon- relaxed and fairly quiet, and the service was excellent- friendly and attentive. Our food was washed down with a gin and tonic for me and a bottle of beer for me- Toast have a wide range of continental beers, and a cocktail menu as well. Although my G&T came in one of those silly short glasses- my biggest hate in bars is being given a small glass; I like to make my drinks last (plus when wandering around with a small glass I inevitably end up spilling a bit) Note to bartenders- tall glasses for this blogger please! (and yes I'm one of those annoying customers who always waits until the drink is poured and then asks for a taller glass)

I love discovering new places to eat and drink in Leeds- although I have my tried and tested favourites, it's always nice to have a bit of a change. So if anyone reading this knows of any new and interesting places for a Sunday afternoon pit stop, do comment below, and you never know, I might review it :)

Thai Erawan, Oakwood, Leeds

You've probably guessed by now that I am a bit of a wimp and don't like any form of cold, wet or windy weather. (No I don't know why I moved to Leeds either.) So it will be of no great surprise to anyone that on Bonfire Night, I elected not to go and stand in a wet, muddy and freezing Roundhay Park, but instead persuaded D to take me out for a nice meal. Oh did I mention it was cold? So I didn't really want to go very far, plus the buses would have been all crowded and slow because of the bonfire at Roundhay, so we walked the three minutes round the corner to Thai Erawan, a small Thai restaurant and takeaway nestled in a small parade of shops in Oakwood.

Despite living in Oakwood for six months now, we hadn't actually eaten in any of the restaurants here- had a fantastic takeaway curry from Nawaab Khan's one Saturday night, but we usually go either to town or to Chapel Allerton for meals out. However, Thai Erawan has recently been enjoying some very positive reviews, like this one in the Leeds Guide, so we decided to go and check it out.

The restaurant is fairly small, decorated with traditional Thai furniture, statues and pictures and was pretty much empty when we arrived- I guess most of LS8 were up at the park, as most of LS8 don't hide indoors when there is a threat of rain! We were shown to our table by a very friendly waitress, who brought us some peanuts to nibble on while we perused the menu- nice touch, except both me and D despise peanuts. (Well I do, D is one of those fairweather nut haters- more on that later!)

The menu was massive and slightly overwhelming if I'm honest, but after reading through the entire thing I decided to stay away from my usual stir fried dishes and go for something a bit different. For starter I picked the crispy seaweed rolls- I was interested to see how they made the seaweed crispy- and for main I chose a "Sizzling" dish- chicken with black pepper, lemongrass, lime leaves and chilli on a sizzling platter.

The starters came fairly quickly; not surprising as the restaurant was so quiet (at this point, there were three couples including us in there). The waiter brought us a hot plate for the middle of the table and placed the starters on there so we could share- great idea but D had soup- not the easiest of sharing dishes! My crispy rolls stayed nice and warm though! I was slightly disappointed to see that "crispy seaweed" didn't actually mean that the seaweed itself was crispy, but rather the seaweed rolls had been deep fried in breadcrumbs. But my disappointment only lasted until my first bite- the rolls were absolutely delicious. The breadcrumbs were crispy and not at all greasy, the filling of minced chicken and prawn was wonderfully moist and well seasoned and wrapped delicately in seaweed which provided an extra element of flavour and the chilli sauce they were served with was the perfect accompaniment.




D looked a bit wistful as I bit in to my rolls and insisted that he taste some, and I could see he was regretting his choice of Tom Yum soup with prawns (clear spicy soup with prawn, mushrooms, coriander, chilli and lemongrass)- until he tried it! We often make hot and spicy broth style soups at home, and they're always pretty tasty and flavoursome, but they just do not compare to Thai Erawan's soup, which has an extra depth of flavour, probably down to some secret ingredient that we don't put in at home! The prawns were succulent and cooked perfectly (without the intestinal tract that TV chefs are always telling us to remove!), the broth was just the right level of spicy and bursting with flavour, and the mushrooms added a delicious earthiness to it. Both starters were perfectly portioned to whet our appetites for the main course, and I must say, after the excellent standard of the starters, I was excited!



By the time our main course arrived, the fireworks were finished, and hundreds of people were streaming down Roundhay Road, looking for somewhere to eat. The restaurant soon filled up and there was a lively buzz of conversation which improved the atmosphere no end.

As I said before, I'd opted for something a little different, and my sizzling platter did indeed arrive sizzling! Tender chunks of chicken were stir fried in the most delicious sauce I think I've ever had in a Thai restaurant- it was thick, salty, spicy, sweet...and every mouthful was like a little explosion of deliciousness in my mouth. I asked the waitress what was in the sauce to make it so tasty and she laughed and said it was the chef's secret- won't be creating that one at home then! I ordered a portion of jasmine rice to go with it- perfectly cooked and just the right stickiness- the portion was fairly large so probably best to share.



However D had gone for the Pad Thai with Pork so a lot of the rice went untouched. Now, I'd mentioned before how he claims to hate nuts...I did point out that the Pad Thai came with peanuts but he shrugged and said it would probably be nice. Ha. Fake nut hater. And yes, when the dish came, he sprinkled the peanuts liberally over the noodles and said they were delicious. Anyway, I tried a bit without peanuts and without egg (egg is another one of my Food Hates) and he was right- it was really tasty- thick rice noodles with succulent chunks of pork, crunchy bean sprouts and spring onion- well flavoured, moreish and incredibly tasty. The egg had been kind of "spun" over the top of it like a little nest (much like spun sugar) which I thought was a pretty cool touch.

By this time we were fairly stuffed so decided against pudding (partly because of this, and partly because none of the desserts looked particularly appealing; there were the usual Thai desserts like Thai custard, fried banana, and even fried ice cream, but there was also a bizarre collection of ready made frozen desserts) The service all night was impeccable- friendly waiting staff with just the right level of attentiveness (not hanging around, but not taking ages to bring you something) and the restaurant had a really nice family feel to it. In fact, someone called up to order a takeaway and the woman taking the call knew him by name and asked how his family and job were which I thought was a nice touch. I'm glad we have such a great little restaurant in Oakwood and it's convinced me to try some of the other eateries here; Oakwood doesn't have a great reputation for fabulous independent restaurants but I'm hoping that will all change once I've sampled them all. Come on LS8! (the best postcode in Leeds!)

Just thought I'd mention that Thai Erawan also do takeaway, and there is an Early Bird menu which offers great value at two courses for £7.95 or three for £9.95, served from 5pm to 7pm. They also do a loyalty card- visit/order a takeaway 5 times and receive £10 off your sixth meal. No excuse not to go now!

LS6, Hyde Park, Leeds

A couple of weekends ago, D and I braved the FREEZING weather (no, I'm not a Northerner, I'm a wimp!) and took a little trip to Hyde Park- I'd heard about a clothes swap going on there and wanted to get rid of some summery clothes and swap them for winter woollies! The clothes exchange was held at Remade, a small community fashion studio in Hyde Park, who use unwanted clothes and community skills to create new fashion items- website here. They hold a monthly fashion exchange, where people can bring clothes to swap, which are exchanged for tokens, which you can then redeem against clothing and accessories that other people have brought along. I went with 11 items of unwanted summery bits (mostly shorts- I think I'm getting too old for sparkly denim hotpants!) and left with 7 new items- 2 dresses, a skirt, a jumper, a pair of boots, a pair of woolly tights and a hat, plus 4 tokens that I can redeem at the next exchange, which is this Saturday (November 13th), details here. Hope to see some of you there, and it truly is a great project- encouraging recycling, promoting community involvement and providing a great little social space (there's a cafe selling homemade cake and hot drinks) and something different to do on a Saturday.

Anyway, after swapping my unwanted stuff for a whole new wardrobe of warm clothes, it was lunchtime and D and I were both starving! There's a decent little collection of cafes, bars and takeaway places on Hyde Park Corner, so we wandered up there and decided to go to LS6 (formally known as the Clock Cafe) as I had never been and wanted to check out somewhere new.

The cafe was rammed; full of families and students- rather than putting me off, I quite like busy places as it suggests to me that it's a place worth going to. We found an empty table and, due to it being really busy, had to wait a while for a waitress to acknowledge our presence- something that would normally have annoyed me, but to be honest, it was nice and warm inside so I wasn't too bothered! Eventually, we were handed menus- D had been craving a fry up, so went for the Full English, whereas I chose a hot sandwich- the menus aren't available online, so I cant remember exactly what it was called, but it was the one with falafel and houmous in it! . We also ordered two black coffees. The decor of the cafe is seriously cool- retro furniture, mirrors all over one wall, bright colours, cosy little alcoves, and all the menus came in old record sleeves. (Mine was Paul McCartney's Pipes of Peace, which was actually number 1 on the day I was born, there's a bit of trivia for you!)

As I mentioned before, the service was quite slow and the waiting staff didn't seem to be overly concerned by this- it did take a while for our order to be taken, and then for the food and drink to come, and a few other tables nearby were getting a little annoyed and resorting to shouting at any member of staff who walked past in order to get their attention, but to be honest, the whole vibe of the cafe was casual and relaxed, and this slow service seemed to fit in with the whole "lazy Saturday lunch" atmosphere. Maybe avoid if you're in a hurry! I love relaxed places though, the coffee even came in huge mugs which just made the place feel homely and chilled out.

Anyway, the food finally came! D's fry up was huge and contained all the essential elements you'd expect from a full English- it's definitely easy to see why this cafe is popular with the hungover Saturday afternoon crowd! His only complaint was that both the bacon and the toast were rather soggy and underdone- it did say on the menu that the sausages and bacon are cooked in an oven rather than fried to make it more healthy, so that might be an explanation for the bacon! I would not have been impressed if my bacon had come like that as I like mine crispy and cremated. D did wolf down the entire breakfast in record time though, which shows that it hit the spot perfectly- decent, hearty, no frills food to fill you up and banish any Saturday afternoon blues.



My sandwich was equally as filling- a generous portion of tasty falafel sandwiched between two massive slices of ciabatta. The sandwich itself was lovely; the middle Eastern flavours of falafel and houmous and roasted veg worked really well together, and my only complaint would be that the bread could have been a little more toasted as advertised on the menu; it was a bit reminiscent of eating one of those "oven bake at home" ciabattas from a supermarket straight out of the packet. The sandwich came with a side salad and some coleslaw; neither were particularly impressive; the coleslaw had too much mayonnaise and the side salad was just a bit of tomato, cucumber and lettuce with no dressing, a bit like the salads you used to get in late 80s/early 90s pubs (and definitely like the one you still get at my grandma's, although last time I went there for tea, she'd obviously been watching a bit of TV cookery- probably not Nigella though, as in my gran's words, she's "very frightfully frightfully" (er think that means posh!)- and served up separate leaves of cos lettuce, each containing a cherry tomato, a walnut and an olive) I'm just being picky though, because like D's fry up, I ate the lot and it definitely filled me up, warmed me up, and kept me going until teatime.



Like other eateries in the area, LS6's menu has a predominantly Mediterranean/Middle Eastern feel to it and has a pretty decent selection of breakfasts, hot and cold sandwiches, salads and cakes. It also does an evening menu and I think sells alcohol as well, so I might check it out one evening- the ambience and decor of the place is great, and with a few tiny improvements, the food could move up a couple of levels as well, taking it from decent Saturday afternoon student fare to food that could compete with some of Leeds's best cafes. Definitely a place worth checking out for a relaxed weekend lunch.

Many Meals Out - part 2 (Salvos, Azucar, Casa Mia)

So the reviews of all my meals out during a particularly gluttonous week continue here.

Meal 4- Salvo's, Headingley, Leeds

Salvo's Italian Restaurant really needs no introduction. Famous for winning Gordon Ramsay's F Word's Best Italian Restaurant last year, and incredibly popular throughout Leeds, it is one of my favourite places to eat in the city and going there for either a quick lunch in the Salumeria or an indulgent three course meal in the evening is always a treat (website).

Me and D had spent the afternoon pretending we were young student types again (gatecrashing Leeds Met's freshers fair- free leaflets, woop!, and drinking our way up the Otley Road- kind of like a reverse Otley run but without the fancy dress) and by 7pm we were STARVING. So decided on a trip to Salvos (I was craving pizza...result of the copious amounts of vodka drunk maybe?) and their pizzas are the best I've tasted in Leeds, possibly the best I've tasted EVER actually.

Being a Friday night, there was a waiting list for tables and the bar was pretty crowded, so the very friendly front of house man gave us a ticket and told us to come back in an hour. When we got back we were seated immediately, and given a little sampler of delicious focaccia which really got the tastebuds going and made me want to order everything from the menu.

However, I finally decided on the Penne Piccante N'duje, which is penne pasta in a tomato and fennel sauce with spicy Calabrian sausage, served with pecorino. It was fantastic- the pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was to die for- deliciously spicy and really full of flavour.



D went for mussels cooked with white wine, thyme and chilli and he loved them. I don't like mussels (the texture is just too slimy) but I tried a bit of the broth and it was light and fragrant- really tasty. We also shared some giant Sicilian olives with garlic bruschetta because as I said before, we were really really hungry! We'd wanted them to nibble on before our starters came, but they actually came at the same time which was a bit annoying- however as we weren't waiting very long for our starters, it wasn't a huge problem.





I obviously chose pizza for my main as I'd been craving it all afternoon- I went for the Pizza Norma- sun dried tomatoes, aubergine, rocket and parmesan. As always, Salvo's pizza did not disappoint at all- light crisp base, generous, well flavoured filling and not soggy in the middle! (like so many other pizzas are) An interesting thing to note is that on the bill, the pizza was listed as Pizza Norma Major- can anyone shed any light on this bizarre pizza name?!



D had a pasta dish, again from the specials menu- I can't remember exactly what it was called as the specials have changed now, but it was veal ravioli I think- and he was very impressed with it- it was really rich and full flavoured; and he couldn't finish it all despite our attack of drunken munchies! The puddings were tempting, but we were really stuffed by this point, so decided to roll home.



Had an absolutely lovely evening at Salvo's; as always the staff were efficient, friendly and knowledgeable, the atmosphere was buzzing and warm, and the food was top class. Salvo's have just been awarded an AA rosette- congratulations! It's definitely well deserved.

Meal 5- Azucar, Brewery Wharf, Leeds

Tapas is one of my absolute favourite types of food- I think because I'm so indecisive and want to try everything when I eat out. Tapas allows me to do that! Anyway, following the closures of both La Vina on Greek Street and that little Latino place up near the university (can't remember its name, but the tapas were lovely!) I need to find a new tapas place in the city centre (that isn't La Tasca- it's rubbish)

Azucar up at Brewery Wharf is a cool bar and tapas restaurant part owned by the legendary Howard Marks (website). The decor is funky and modern and there is an extensive cocktail menu, not to mention a wide selection of tapas.

It was fairly empty when we went (5.30ish on a cold Sunday evening) but started to fill up by the time we left and there was a 3 for 2 on tapas offer on- it runs until 7 on weekdays and all day Sunday. We ordered a wide range of dishes- pickled anchovy fillets, smoked fish cakes, lamb kebabs, their speciality "drunken chicken in apple sauce," patatas bravas (fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce), halloumi and vegetable kebabs and tomato bread.



All the dishes were delicious- none of the pre-prepared, reheated, flavourless stuff that you get at certain other tapas chains. Highlights were the pickled anchovies, mainly for the presentation, and the drunken chicken- tender, melt in the mouth chunks of chicken in a really tasty apple and cider sauce. Everything was full of flavour and not too heavy or greasy, and you could tell the ingredients were of pretty decent quality.





We got a bit screwed over on the three for two deal though as we were stupid and ordered a scoop of banoffee ice cream to share for dessert- so the only things that came off the bill were a £1.50 ice cream and the bread! Not quite the value for money deal we'd expected. Nonetheless, the food was worth every penny and I'd really like to go back and try some of the other dishes- I'll just be careful what I choose next time! Oh and it's 2 for 1 on Tuesday evenings- so even more of an excuse to check it out.

Meal 3- Casa Mia Coffee Shop, Chapel Allerton, Leeds

Casa Mia is a small Leeds based chain of Italian restaurants, and the Coffee Shop in Chapel Allerton is my favourite out of the three (four if you count the takeaway in Bridgewater Place) because of its friendly, relaxed, family-orientated atmosphere (website).

D and I decided to pop there for a quick lunch one weekday and as we have a loyalty card it was 2 for 1 on pizza (you can get one from the website for free, and there are some really good money saving offers) There is a huge selection of pizzas to choose from, as well as a range of pasta dishes, panini, antipasti/salady things, and main courses, like salmon, chicken milanese, chicken cacciatore (stew) etc.

I wasn't overly hungry, so decided to go for a light pizza- the "Raffaele's Special;" ham, ricotta, parmesan and basil. I don't know who Raffaele is but he's a genius; the base was lovely and crisp, the topping was flavoursome and light and despite thinking I wasn't that hungry, I demolished the lot.



D went for the Porcini pizza- which was a little different, as instead of using tomato sauce for the base, it uses wild mushroom puree and is topped with more mushrooms, tomato, mozzarella, parmesa, basil and olive oil. It was much richer than my pizza, but so full of deep mushroom flavour and wonderfully creamy with cheese. Only one small criticism- because the base was loaded so generously with oozing cheesy mushroomy topping, the middle of the pizza had gone slightly soggy. If you're a big fan of mushrooms, then this is definitely the pizza for you!




The best thing about Casa Mia is without a doubt the desserts. They are displayed in a glass cabinet, tempting you throughout your meal, and I defy anyone to be able to leave without sampling one! (Or maybe you have better willpower than me....) The staff go with you to the counter and describe what all the desserts are- I ordered a chocolate and pear tart, and D went for the tiramisu. Weirdly, I opted for a scoop of banana ice cream to accompany my tart- I know the flavours don't really go together, but I really love banana ice cream.

The tart was amazing. The rich, dry chocolate filling- yes I know rich and dry aren't really two adjectives that go together, but somehow it worked- was luscious, and the pastry was perfectly crumbly. I could have eaten it twice. Or three times. And no, the banana ice cream didn't really go, but I ate it separately- two desserts! The pear in the tart was dried, which I wasnt expecting, I think it would have been nicer with fresh pear. But that's a minor grumble considering I wolfed down the entire slice in about 2 seconds and considered getting another one.



D's tiramisu was also wonderful- what would you expect from an authentic Italian restaurant though?! The mascarpone was rich and creamy and the sponge was neither too soggy, nor too dry. Apologies for the picture- it wasn't served like that, D dug in before I'd had the chance to get my camera out.



OK so a quick lunch turned into a long, lazy feast...and we left feeling very satisfied with swollen bellies and a need to sleep it off. I love the Casa Mia Coffee Shop- the service can be a little slow, but it just adds to the ambience of creating a real Italian feel, encouraging people to take their time over the food, not just cram down a quick sandwich or Greggs sausage roll like so many British workers do in their lunchbreak,and truly enjoy both the food and experience.

Many Meals Out- part 1 (Siam House, Alley Cafe, The Wardrobe)

Hi readers

Have been mad busy over the last week or so with a new community project I'm working on with Oblong Leeds - watch this space for more news about it. So I have unfortunately fallen behind with the blog and got a ton of things I need to write about...going to whack them all into a couple of extra long posts if that's ok. (Wlll give you all a nice long distraction from whatever work you should be doing right now- I should be cleaning the kitchen, heh.)

So here we go- Davaikoshka's Mini Reviews of Many Meals Out:

Meal 1- Siam House, York

Siam House is a small Thai restaurant hidden up a staircase on York's Goodramgate.(website) We've eaten here before and were very impressed with the service and food, so decided to have dinner there after a day at York's food festival.

For starter, we shared Golden Bags (minced chicken wrapped in pastry and fried) and Sweetcorn Fried Toast (like Prawn Toasts, but with sweetcorn). Both starters were wonderfully spiced and not at all greasy, and came with wonderful dips and a very pretty salad!




Main courses were a red curry with beef for D, and a stir fried pork dish with holy basil for me- both pretty unadventurous dishes, but nonetheless delicious. The mains were served with steamed rice.




Siam House do a very good value early bird special, which runs all night on Mondays and before 7pm Tues-Sat. We took advantage of this offer which meant a two course meal with steamed rice only cost £10.95 each, bargain for such good quality, authentic Thai food.

Obviously such a cheap meal meant I had to take advantage of the cocktails- this one with lychee liqueur and vodka was particularly delicious (and potent!)



Meal 2- Alley Cafe, Nottingham

Another day, another food festival, another meal out, and another 1lb gained :)

Me and D both went to uni in Nottingham, so when we found out there was a food festival on there (featuring the lovely (and fit!) Gino D'Acampo) we decided to go relive the old days and check out the best of Nottinghamshire produce. (A future blog post about food festivals is on its way, and includes a pic of me with Gino- excitement!!)

Anyway, Nottingham has a pretty decent independent restaurant scene, and after a day of sampling various unhealthy treats, I decided I wanted to go to Alley Cafe, which is a small vegetarian/vegan cafe down an alley (hence the name!) just off Nottingham's Market Square (website) I used to have a massive crush on a vegan boy, and in an attempt to woo him, I took him to this cafe several times, and was pleasantly surprised with how delicious vegan food could be. The cafe also has an almost European feel, with lots of art exhibitions and live music/DJs; we were there for acoustic night.

All the items on the menu are vegetarian and many are vegan- most veggie dishes can also be changed to make them vegan. The menu ranges from full english breakfast (including veggie sausages, and something called "Baconesque"!),to burgers, soups, sandwiches, snacks, puddings and pizzas.

D and I shared an antipasti platter to start- olives, tomatoes, artichokes, peppers and crostini. It was delicious, really full of flavour, and I didnt miss the parma ham!



For main course D had Black Bean and Mole Burritos, which were really tasty- tortilla wraps stuffed with flavoursome beans, topped with cheese, cocoa and nuts and served with salsa, sour cream and salad. Generous portion size as well!



I chose the "Tempting Tempeh Burger", despite not knowing exactly what tempeh was! The spicy tomato marinade and potato wedges on the side were what convinced me to brave the tempeh (which is apparently some kind of soy bean patty) and I'm really glad I did- despite being a burger and chips, it felt really wholesome and healthy; the tempeh was full of flavour and the potato wedges seemed to be baked instead of fried and were perfect- crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle.



I'd definitely recommend this cafe to vegetarians/vegans, and would even persuade the most hardcore of meat eaters to check it out- the food may be both healthy (to some, that equals boring!) and lacking in meat, but it definitely isn't lacking in flavour- and the general ambience of the place is fantastic. Can we have a branch in Leeds please?!

Meal 3- The Wardrobe, Leeds

Despite living in Leeds for over two years, and hearing many wonderful things about the Wardrobe (website) I'd never actually checked it out. I decided to pop in for lunch a couple of weeks ago, as for once, me and D were on the east side of the city and very hungry (having just walked all the way from our house up in Oakwood to town- I was on an exercise kick haha)

I was surprised to see that half of the Wardrobe was an actual restaurant- I'd always assumed it was more cafe bar like. However, this wasnt a problem- I like waitress service, and our waitress was really friendly, explaining the menu, recommending particular dishes, and not minding when I asked for a "massive glass of tap water please, I've just walked here from MILES away!" (I like to exaggerate. Makes things sound more impressive!)

Anyway, the lunch menu is kind of modern British/French and has a lot of choice, from sandwiches to pasties, to salads and omelettes, and full on "proper meals"- for example, fish and chips and chicken casserole. I chose the celeriac, butternut squash and potato pasty. It came served on a wooden board (I love things like this, it makes things feel more rustic!) and was accompanied by a root vegetable slaw and a roast tomato and garlic salad. The pasty was wonderful- flaky, light, buttery pastry baked around a really tasty filling of perfectly cooked vegetables- the whole thing tasted of autumn and warmed me up inside. The tomato salad was amazing- roasted red and yellow tomatoes in garlicky oil. The slaw needed a bit more dressing I think, as the overall flavour was of cabbage, but nonetheless, the three components worked very well together and it was a really delicious, and interesting, meal.



D ordered the smoked haddock omelette, but unfortunately the kitchen was out of smoked haddock. The waitress offered normal haddock as an alternative, but D decided to go with the duck salad instead. This was a confit duck leg, on grapefruit, mandarin and pea shoots, with a ginger oil dressing. The duck was beautifully moist, although a little too salty on its own- however the saltiness worked perfectly with the mandarin and grapefruit- D thought it was a really good twist on the traditional duck a l'orange. The ginger oil was lovely- I'm a sucker for flavoured oils, and it really complimented the flavours of the salad.



All in all, the meal at the Wardrobe was very impressive, and I would definitely return. The highlight of the trip was a possible sighting of Evening Standard critic and Masterchef regular Charles Campion at the table near to ours- it looked just like him, but we were too aware of being caught out staring as the restaurant was fairly empty at the time! Maybe any Wardrobe staff/friends of Mr Campion could comment here to confirm if it was indeed him- if it was, then how exciting! (I love anything to do with Masterchef haha)

Part 2 of Davaikoshka's Many Restaurant Reviews coming up soon :) Salvos! Azucar! Casa Mia Coffee Shop! Plus a post on various food festivals and an update on the various escapades of my little beast of a kitten. And a review of the shiny new Waitrose. Phew. Bet you can't wait!

Akbar's, Eastgate, Leeds

First of all, apologies for starting possibly the best blog in the history of blogs and then leaving you, my loyal readers, hanging on for the next post. I'd like to say it's because I've been manically busy doing all kinds of things, but in reality, I'm just horribly lazy. Although I did spend a full week out and about, eating out, going to various cultural and foodie events as the boyfriend (who has informed me he would like to be known as "D" on this blog) had a week off work. So I have a lot of things to write about.

I'll start with a good old fashioned restaurant review. A couple of weeks ago, feeling full of the Friday feeling, we decided to go out for a curry. Despite living in Leeds for two years now, good curry restaurants are not something we know a lot about (feel free to recommend any!) so we decided to try Akbar's- a chain of curry restaurants with two right here in Leeds. Website here A friend (who knows his curry) had said that the Akbar's restaurant based on the Leeds Road in Bradford had the best curry he'd ever eaten, so we decided to go to the one on Eastgate in Leeds (no reason for choosing this one over the Greek St one, apart from that it's closer to our bus stop!)

Anyway, as it was Friday night, I phoned up to book a table and was told that there was no need if it was just a table for two. Entering the restaurant, D (ever the optimist) was like "er, are you sure we didn't have to book, it's rammed!" It was incredibly busy but we were shown to the bar area and told it would only be a 10-15 minute wait. The bar is up a level from the main restaurant and you can look down on everyone eating, which, if you are nosy and love people watching like me, makes the wait not seem as bad. Anyway, it was only about 5 minutes wait in the end, so I had to stop my er...spying on other tables and go and sit down.

The restaurant was comfortingly busy (I always feel a bit uneasy eating in empty restaurants!) and there was a great, fun atmosphere in there- lots of big groups of men out for the traditional Friday night curry and pints, and a reassuringly large number of Indian people- if Indians choose to eat there, the food must be authentic.

The menu was nothing groundbreaking- all the traditional dishes that you'd expect to see were on there- chicken tikka masala, rogan josh, baltis etc, and D and I opted for mains off the "Chef's Specialities" section, just to try something different. For starters we ordered the keema samosas- lamb, onion and sweetcorn in pastry, and the vegetarian poori- mushroom and potato on crispy fried bread. I'd been desperate to try a poori since watching the finals of Masterchef where one of the finalists had to cook 50 of them for an Indian breakfast, so was excited to see them on the menu here.



The samosas were delicious; crisp on the outside,not at all greasy, like some samosas can be, and filled with a delicately spiced lamb mince. The sweetcorn looked suspiciously green and pea like- I think they might have put the wrong vegetable on the menu, but I thought lamb and sweetcorn was a slightly odd combination anyway, so the unexpected switch to peas was welcomed by both of us!



The vegetable poori was incredible. The spicy mushroom and potato mixture on top was so tasty, I could have eaten a whole bowl of it for my main as well and probably asked for another lot to take home. D was equally as impressed, and as we were sharing starters, looked quite cross when I grabbed the last mouthful. Both starters came with a generous side salad, although the inclusion of olives was a bit odd- olives and curry spices are not a fantastic match!

For main course, I ordered the Karahi fish and potato- chunks of white fish cooked with potato and peppers in a spicy tomato sauce. It was really nice and light, and didn't have that offputting layer of grease on top that you often get with takeaway curries. The fish was soft and beautifully cooked, as were all the vegetables- my only complaint were the massive chunks of raw chili pepper in there- if you're going to add chilli, either cut in into smaller bits or cook it in the sauce for a bit- they were a little intense!



D had the same chilli issue with his curry, a Lamb Handi- chunks of lamb cooked in a dry sauce of chillies, spices, lemon and coriander. The lamb was meltingly tender, served in a rich, thick sauce- D described it as having a "dull" flavour- this does not mean boring by the way, if you've ever had a curry similar, you'll know what he means! Despite it being quite rich, he polished the lot off, which is a testament to its deliciousness- unlike me, D doesn't feel the need to finish every mouthful of a meal unless he really really likes it. (Not sure how he has such good self control... I'm the opposite, never take me to an all you can eat buffet!!)



To accompany our curries, we ordered a portion of pilau rice, and a naan bread to share. There was tons of rice- we were convinced we'd actually been given two portions, but we were only charged for one, so if you're going to Akbar's, it's probably best to share! The naan breads were equally as huge, and they came on one of those naan bread "spears"- you know, the ones that Gordon Ramsay absolutely hated on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. I quite liked the "spear" though, it stopped the naan getting soggy on a plate, and it was easy to tear bits off. (Sorry Gordon!) The naan was amazing- light and crispy and not at all stodgy.




The bill for two only came to £36- two starters, two mains, two sides, a glass of wine and a beer. Excellent value for such a tasty meal- I'm not sure how authentically Indian Akbar's is, but all the food was a lot nicer than your average takeaway, and now I really want to travel to the one in Bradford to see if it is, in fact, the best curry in Yorkshire.

(Only one complaint- the dodgy lighting in the restaurant has made my photos come out all blurry and of quite poor quality, apologies for that!)