restaurant reviews

The Engine House Cafe, Holbeck, Leeds – decent breakfast 10 minutes from the station

May 23, 2011
The Engine House Cafe, Holbeck, Leeds - decent breakfast 10 minutes from the station, off Water Lane

Last week, I made one of those freak miscalculations that left me stranded in Leeds Station fairly early in the morning with nothing to do. My train left at 10am, so I had an hour to wander around and explore the parts of the city south of the River Aire around Holbeck. Breakfast seemed like [...]

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La Rue, Saltaire

May 7, 2011
La Rue restaurant Saltaire

French? Well, no, not really…more like one of those ‘modern British’ places.  There’s a lot of belly pork, lamb, black pudding and the like, with the odd Mediterranean dish and some Asian flavours here and there, too.  Mainly though, think classic British ingredients and you’ll be close to the mark. It’s been there for years, [...]

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Sela Restaurant, Leeds

December 31, 2010
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I’m not very good at planning things properly, which is how we ended up at Sela the other night. It was quite accidental. We’d planned to eat at The Reliance, but found it stuffed to the rafters with Christmas party type people, with a table waiting list that may have stretched into January.  So, we [...]

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Bar Celta, Barcelona

June 30, 2010
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Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter is a rabbit warren of narrow streets and alleys, lined with small shops and houses, washing strung over balconies to dry in the Mediterranean sun.  Every so often, the claustrophobic streets open up into large, open squares, with tables, chairs and a generally continental buzz. Back in the alleys, there are some [...]

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Is it OK for food bloggers to review restaurants?

June 16, 2010
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One thing about this blog makes me a little uncomfortable. It’s not the writing, the cooking or the photography.  It’s not keeping on top of it, and – believe me – I’m not laid awake at night worrying about visitor growth or statistics. It’s reviewing restaurants. This has always troubled me because I’m not sure [...]

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Primo’s Gourmet Hotdogs, Leeds

April 24, 2010
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The Corn Exchange in Leeds underwent a huge refurbishment a couple of years ago.  The plan was to renovate the building, a Victorian trading hall and one of the most striking spaces in the North, and turn it into a massive food hall, with independent food retailers filling the units and a big ‘anchor’ restaurant [...]

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Dan Birk at The Devonshire Fell, Burnsall, North Yorkshire

March 24, 2010
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Dan Birk, cooking at The Devonshire Fell restaurant in Burnsall in the Yorkshire Dales, is an up and coming young chef with a great future ahead of him. His food is elegant and unfussy, stylish and well executed. Dan Birk is definitely one to watch.

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Canteen: Great British Food

March 13, 2010
Canteen: Great British Food

There’s no point at all in beating about the bush here.  I’ll show my cards right from the start. Canteen: Great British Food book struck me immediately as one of those cookbooks that’s going to see some heavy use in my kitchen.  It will soon be battered and splattered, spilled over and greasy, such is [...]

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