Casa Mia Millenium, Leeds

Out for lunch a few Saturdays ago with Psycho Psu and Miss Babs, we decided to eat at Casa Mia Millenium, given that we had met for a few drinks round the corner at All Bar One.


The interior is slightly alarming – lots of pink and purple, from the walls through to the exceptionally hard chairs. Thankfully, your eyes are drawn to the big glass displays of cakes and pastries, which help distract you from the “disco” decor.

We ordered a bottle of pinot grigio which at £23, was a bit more than I would usually pay. Sadly when it came, it wasn’t chilled very well and we asked for a glass of ice to cool it down.

Antipasti

We decided to share starters. We ordered the Italian antipasto, along with pate della casa, which was a duck pate with ciabatta and chutney. The antipasti was not very well presented and a bit “heaped” on the plate. A bit tricky when you are sharing to dig out the food! The pate was good.

Pate

A great thing about Casa Mia, is that that they do my favourite pasta dish – Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, Peperoncino & Pinoli - This is a very simple spaghetti with garlic, chilli, pine kernels and olive oil. You don’t see it everywhere, as I imagine it doesn’t appeal to the British way of drowning pasta in sauce, so I am always impressed to see it on an Italian restaurant menu. Casa Mia do it very well.

Miss Babs had Pizza Italiano – a pesto base with tomato, shaved parmesan, mozzarella and rocket leaves. She reported it good.

Casa Mia is authentic Italian, and is in a great position on Millenium Square. The food is good, although a little expensive. Pasta dishes are between £9 and £11 which is about the same price as Bibi’s.

The White Swan, Leeds city centre

We decided to meet up with friends at the White Swan last Saturday. We had to do some shopping in Leeds, and so did our friends, N and S. So after watching a protest march go by on Briggate, A and I wandered up the cobbled back alley and entered the latest Leeds Brewery pub.


The White Swan is attached to the City Varieties, and you can imagine stopping off there for a drink on the way to see a show. I love the Varieties, especially to see comedians (in fact, we are off to see Rich Hall there at the end of May!).

The bar had all the usual Leeds Brewery beers on hand-pull. As well as his favourite, Leeds Best, Al is enjoying Yorkshire Gold at the moment. It was the usual pinot grigio for me, and the White Swan does a nice one. The place was busy, as it always seems to be when I have dropped in recently. This time, however, we were determined to try some food from the clipboard menu at the bar.

The menu has the usual sandwiches, burgers and a range of traditional dishes, very similar to the Midnight Bell. I ordered Moules Frites, which appears on the menu but also on the specials board, as they have a different sauce every day. On Saturday, it was cider, bacon and onion and it was great. The chips were homemade and just right for dipping.

A had the burger with cheese and bacon. We had seen these being delivered to other diners, and I am not exaggerating when I say they are massive! As well as the chosen toppings, two huge onion rings bulked the burger out to be bigger than a Big Mac (A still managed to get it in his mouth, though!)

I don’t know what the White Swan was like before but under the Leeds Brewery umbrella it is light and airy with a great menu and a good selection of drinks. We will be visiting again soon.

A Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds City Centre

This place used to be The Courtyard, which I remember vaguely as a place that played loud dance music and wasn’t really for us “student types” in the 1990s. Now it seems to be a far more relaxed bar that does good food. It also probably has the best outdoor area in Leeds.


It was a “work do” out on Friday, and a chance to sip a few pinots and relax after a hard week. We ended up outside in the courtyard, as they have bench tables – great for large groups – and those big patio heaters.

We ordered some of the sharing plates. The Meat Platter contained mini-burgers (or “sliders” as they are known in America), chicken, lamb kebabs and fries.

The Vegetarian Platter was a mix of falafel burgers, fried courgettes, halloumi cheese, pitta, houmous and tzatziki.

Some of the blokes in the group ordered the burger, and I have to say they looked pretty substantial! Good reports all round.

The Pinot Grigio on offer was nice and I had a few glasses. It was lovely having a drink, eating food and chatting. It kind of reminded me of being in the famous beer gardens of Munich a few years ago (although it was a bit colder!)

Viva, Leeds City Centre

On Leeds Bridge sits Viva, a traditional Italian restaurant with a nice old-fashioned feel. We decided to give it a try on a recommendation, so a last minute reservation was made for a Saturday night.


The owner (at least we think he was the owner!) meets you at the door and a firm handshake is followed by the offer of a drink. The wine list was mainly “by the bottle” and only house wine served by the glass. I decided to risk it and it was ok but not brilliant, so my second glass later on was a rose (harder to be awful, I find, than white).

For starter, I had the mussels. Very tasty in a garlic and wine broth – I do like the version where they add cream to the sauce, but it can sometimes be a bit heavy for a starter.
A had the calamari, which he was very positive about, especially that they included the tentacles and not just the usual “squid rings”.

Main courses were spaghetti al pesto for me, served with pine kernals, parmesan, caprino cheese and olive oil. Also, small sliced potatoes are added to the mix, a rather strange contribution to a carb-overload but it worked well.

A had a pizza – the Dolcelatte – with pepperoni, mushrooms and gorgonzola cheese. Very good pizza.

So the food was pretty good Italian fayre. The service, however, was rather rushed. When I was eating my starter, I saw a waiter’s head peer round the corner several times, to see if I was done with my mussels, and when I had finished, it became clear why. The main course was served straight away, with literally no break whatsoever. Now this might be down to the fact we had booked late, and they were “squeezing us in”. But it was the most rapid service I had ever seen! This is a good thing if you are having lunch and need to rush back to work, but is not so good if you are out for the evening and are in and out in less than an hour.

The Living Room, Leeds City Centre

There’s a lot more to bar work than when I was a barmaid in 1990. In my day, when people asked what wine you had, it was either red or white, and it was served out of an optic over the bar (eeugh!) A cocktail was a vodka and orange. Things have moved on since then, thankfully, and at the Living Room, the bar staff have a detailed knowledge of the different cocktails on offer and the ingredients of a traditional Martini. Despite this wealth of information, we ordered glasses of prosecco. How predictable.

The place has had a bit of a facelift since I last visited. Starter was a pea soup, served with pea shoots, crusty bread and butter. This had a lot of flavour and was the perfect starter.

For main, I ordered the fishcake served with wilted spinach, poached egg and hollandaise. This was ok, but I don’t think prawns go well in a fishcake – they tend to come out a bit overdone and rubbery.

For pudding, I ordered the cheese – a generous plate with oat crackers.

I generally recommend the Living Room. It is a chain, but this doesn’t prevent it from serving good food from a menu that gets updated now and then. Service is always polite and friendly.

Create, Leeds

Go and try Create

Have a meal at Create

Support this fantastic new venture in Leeds

Book a table at Create....

The End.

Not really, I just really enjoyed my first visit to Create a few Saturdays ago. I can’t remember how I stumbled across it – most likely on twitter. I had a good read of their website and perused their menu and decided a visit was definitely on the cards.

 

Create is a venture that is overseen by the Executive Chef at Harvey Nichols, Richard Walton Allen. It seems to be a similar project to Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, offering training and work to people who have fallen on hard times, become homeless or vulnerable - a fine reason for visiting and supporting the restaurant.

But not the only reason. Because it is really excellent. From the food to the service, I was impressed with the entire operation.

My dining companion was Psycho Psu, who regular readers will know as someone who will eat her way through as many courses as possible, so a great person to take to a new place.

For starter, we both ordered Poached egg and Yorkshire ham salad, with mustard dressing. This was a simple dish, but worked very well. The egg was poached to perfection, with just the right amount of runny yolk, so the bread served when we were seated was great for dipping (no ordering and paying for bread, here).

For main, I ordered the free range chicken with wild mushroom dressing. Sides were new potatoes and mushrooms with feta. The chicken was excellent and the sides in particular were wonderful, particularly the mushrooms, which complemented the chicken dressing perfectly.

Chicken

Mushrooms, feta, bacon

Plaice

Psycho Psu ordered the plaice with green beans and black bean salsa. This was served on the bone, which she admits put her off a little, but she couldn’t fault the flavour.

For pudding we ordered the Yorkshire and Lancashire cheeses, which were served with biscuits and raisin bread. Create got this just right with a larger range of six cheeses, small portions but great variety. Much more preferable to a larger slab of two or three cheeses. I admit I couldn’t identify them all, but that was part of the fun!

We also ordered the plate of brownies and biscuits which were perfect with coffee. The plate included biscotti and flapjacks.

Starters are around £5-6, mains range from £9-13. They also do a set menu. Very good value for top quality food.

Carluccio's, Leeds City Centre

When you have a vegetarian in your midst, an Italian restaurant is a good choice. One of the school friends has not eaten meat or fish since the age of 13, and unlike lots of other vegetarians and even vegans I have known, she has never buckled. This is admirable, but it means that when we plan the school friends’ lunches, we have to avoid any restaurants with “Grill” or “Steak” in the name, or as the Veggie calls them, “Evil parlours of cow-death”.


Anyway, we have generally found that Italian restaurants are very vegetarian friendly – pizza and pasta can be done equally well without meat. So we decided to try Carluccio’s, the new place on Greek Street.

On entering, there is a shop/deli area, where you can pick up coffee, a drink or even buy some Italian ingredients (the olive oils looked great!). To the left is the restaurant. I had booked online so we were quickly shown to one of the booths.

I ordered Pasta Crisps to start, just to see what they were! I shared them with the veggie. A little dry, and probably more suited to a side dish, not a starter.

For main, I had Milanese di Pollo - breaded chicken, served with a green salad. I also ordered rosemary new potatoes on the side. Although it was a fairly plain dish, it was very pleasant. I have a bit of a weakness for anything in breadcrumbs, probably a throwback to my love of fishfingers and chicken burgers as a kid (although this was much better quality, of course). The veggie enjoyed the spinach and ricotta ravioli.

A bottle of Pinot Grigio was ordered for the table. We managed to sink a fair few glasses before moving on.

I have since revisited Carluccio’s twice: once for after dinner cheese with some wine (sat outside and watched the world go by); and once for morning coffee (sat at the bar in the deli). It is a really pleasant restaurant with lots of outdoor seating for the summer months. Service is excellent and the prices are pretty standard for Italian food.

Browns, Leeds city centre

Sunday brunch or breakfast is something I always like the idea of, but by the time I have got myself in gear on a Sunday morning, it is usually time for a roast lunch rather than a fry-up. But today we got organised and got ourselves into town before the shops had even opened! So we decided to give the breakfast a try in Browns.


I have been to Browns for dinner in the past and always had a nice time there. When we arrived about half ten, we were the first customers and were promptly seated. A ordered a latte and I had a white coffee. Both of us ordered the full English breakfast.

The breakfast is definitely “full” – bacon, Cumberland sausage, black pudding, tomato, mushroom, beans and eggs. Eggs can be fried, scrambled or poached – we both chose poached. The yolks were on the slightly over done side, with not much runny yolk to mop up with bread. The bread is sliced ciabatta, possibly to give it that "posh" feel, but I think I prefer traditional white sliced toast. The bacon and sausage, however, were lovely and the presentation was excellent. (A Leeds Food Leads pet peeve is food being crammed onto a too-small plate so that it all gets mushed together - not a problem here, the square plate was a good size for all the different elements of the breakfast!)

Browns has an art deco feel, with a bit of Parisian bistro thrown in. It is a large restaurant which has always been busy when I have gone in the evening. Although it was quiet when we were there, it was early and I imagine it gets busier as the shoppers start piling in for lunch. Cost for two breakfasts and coffees was around £20. Reasonable value for a decent breakfast.

All Bar One, Millennium Square, Leeds city centre

All Bar One on Millennium Square has replaced the old Ha Ha Bar and Canteen, the scene of many a school friends’ lunch in the past. So for Sarah T’s birthday, we decided to meet up for some drinks and food on a Friday night. A slightly earlier start was had by the birthday girl and SH as they could get to Leeds after an early finish at work. No such luck for me and H. We were “spending the afternoon with tongue stuck to roof of mouth for want of prosecco” as H eloquently put it, but we both made it in a little later.


The layout of the new All Bar One is pretty similar to the old Ha Ha. The place has had a bit of a redecorate though, and looks better for it. We were shown to our booth and decided to order a bottle of prosecco, to toast the birthday girl. Sadly, they had run out of our favourite Italian fizz so we were offered a bottle of champagne at the same price, which was a pretty good exchange.

We decided to stick with the small plates menu – perfect for picking but not too much to finish you off and send you home with a too-full belly. We chose the duck which came on mini-tortillas with cucumber and hoi-sin sauce. This is the All Bar One take on Chinese crispy duck with pancakes and they do it very well. It is served on a plank of wood which all adds to a very good presentation.

The tempura chicken looks quite heavy and yet the batter is very light and it is served with a good dipping sauce – always a winner for me.

For the vegetarian in our midst, hummus with pitta bread hit the spot.

We ordered some other small plates as the evening progressed – that’s the beauty of this type of eating. It generally suits my tendency to graze and also makes sure you don’t get too full! I can never understand how some people can go out and have a full curry and then go out drinking till the early hours. Bizarre.

All Bar One does about three different types of Pinot Grigio, and they had sold out of them all when we were there. We had a Pinot Grigio/Riesling instead and it was okay. Bit of a shame, really, as I always think of All Bar One as having a wide selection of wine. The waiter said there had been a do the night before and they had sold out of a lot of stock. (The service, by the way, was excellent).

It wasn’t a very pleasant evening weather-wise but I imagine the outdoor area on Millennium Square will be more used when the sun comes out (of should I say if....?)

The Engine House Cafe, Holbeck Urban Village, Leeds

We seem to be becoming regulars in this part of Leeds! A loves the Midnight Bell, as he is a fan of Leeds Best beer, and we have enjoyed the Sunday lunch at the Cross Keys. So last night we decided to try one of the restaurants round the back of these two pubs. Looking at the menus online, it was a choice between The Foundry and The Engine House Cafe. After much deliberation, the Engine House won. This was partly owing to it being a bit cheaper (and we are getting to the end of the month) and partly because I wanted to try their burger!


So we booked a table for 7.30 but set off a bit earlier so we could have a drink on the patio round the back of the Midnight Bell (and A could have a couple of pints of his favourite beer). We turned up at the Engine House promptly at 7.30 and we were shown to our table.

I was a bit concerned about the lack of Pinot Grigio by the glass on the online menu, but the wine list at the restaurant was slightly different so my wine choice was available (although served in a bowl-like glass which I would argue was more for red wine than for white!)

We decided to share a starter of deep fried king prawns with garlic mayonnaise. Four large king prawns were served with some lettuce leaves. We both noticed what good quality prawns they were – very meaty and covered in a crispy batter.

For main, A ordered the rib eye steak which came with chips and a peppercorn sauce. This got the thumbs up from A, particularly the sauce which contained whole peppercorns and was great for dipping the chips in, as well as eating with the steak.

I got to sample the burger. This was made of 80% steak mince and 20% pork belly. There was a choice of toppings and I went for bacon, mushroom and cheese. I asked for the bacon to be trimmed of fat as my heart always sinks when I order bacon and it has loads of rubbery rind on it – a Leeds Food Leeds pet peeve! My friend, the GemBear, refers to it as “twangy bacon” – a very good description, I think.

Anyway, there was no twangy bacon on this burger. It was a large burger patty with just the right amount of topping. My only criticism was the bun – it was a bit “Morrisons – six bread rolls for the price of four”. Which is great for sausage sandwiches at home, but I expect a better quality for a burger bun in a restaurant! It was a shame because the burger itself was outstanding.

The burger was served with home-cooked chips, salad and a salsa for dipping – all excellent.

A considered a pudding. There isn’t a pudding menu and instead the waitress just reeled off the options (she must have an excellent memory). The pudding options change regularly and sadly there was no crème brulee on last night, which is A’s favourite, so we decided to give it a miss, although the options did sound lovely, and I would have ordered one if I had had room!

The service in general is great – the people who work there are really friendly and the customer service is top-notch.

I would definitely recommend the Engine House Cafe. I would like to try their breakfasts which were listed on a chalkboard on the wall. The restaurant itself is fairly small with exposed brick and a slightly industrial feel, which fits in well with the theme of the area. They have a small outdoor area where it would be lovely to sit out on a sunny day.

Kendells Bistro, Leeds city centre

Kendells has been “on the list” for some time and after our recent trip to Paris, we felt it was about time we sampled the French-inspired flavours of its menu. I left it a bit late to book and was only able to get a table for 5.30pm, but being rather lightweight, we don’t mind an early dinner. It means I can go to sleep early!


So we turned up at the Playhouse district of Leeds at around 5.15 and nipped into the Wardrobe for a quick drink. This was the venue of many a work night out in the past, but I haven’t been for some time. It hasn’t changed much and I must make a point of trying out their menu again sometime.

Anyway, after a very speedy glass of prosecco, we went next door to Kendells and were quickly seated. Although it only opens at 5.30, the place started to fill up pretty quickly, probably with the pre-theatre crowd.

The menu is on a large blackboard on the wall of the restaurant and they have a special deal before 7pm which is 2 courses for £15.95, 3 for £17.95, with a choice of about five different starters and mains. The a la carte is more extensive with some really interesting dishes, including frogs’ legs!

We decided to go with the special deal and for starter I had oeuf en meurette. This was a poached egg with lardons, onions and toast served with a red wine sauce. It was well presented and a very pleasant, light starter.

For main I had a salmon fishcake which was served with smoked salmon on the side. The presentation was excellent, with a serving of mash, and a small tower of broccoli and cauliflower which was so well designed on the plate it was difficult to identify at first! Although my inability to see may have been partly owing to the dim lighting in the restaurant.

No pinot grigio on the menu, sadly, so Gembear and I sampled the Grenache, a pleasant rose. I gave pudding a miss as I was pretty full – the portions, although beautifully presented, were not small.

We will definitely visit again. There were a few things on the menu I would like to try. Service is pleasant and efficient and although a fairly big room, the decor is cosy and rustic.

Anthony's Patisserie

Two pairs of shoes into a quick shopping trip in Leeds is about the right time to stop for lunch. Anthony’s Patisserie in the Victoria Quarter has a surprisingly varied menu for a small place including sandwiches, pasta, jacket potatoes and salads.

I ordered tea and an egg mayonnaise and bacon sandwich. This came on a sub roll and was generous with the filling. It was served with kettle chips on the side.

Mum had chorizo and tomato pasta, which was a generous portion for the reasonable price of £6.50.

Service was efficient and the setting is lovely – a quick review for a quick lunch!

Brio, The Light, Leeds city centre

Brio is great if you are starving. I was starving as I had been up at the crack of dawn and not considered breakfast. So when I arrived at 12pm, I was determined to order a big bowl of pasta. I wasn’t disappointed – the Rigatoni Bolognese was a huge portion and generous on the meat Bolognese sauce. We also shared a side dish of garlic tomato bread which is excellent at Brio – a very thin base which is just how it should be.

Another plus is that they serve tea. I have decided that I don’t like soft drinks – fizzy pop and the like. If I am not on the wine, I would rather drink what I would drink at home – tea or coffee. So far this new plan is going well – the Roundhay Fox made tea for me, as did Brio.

This was a half term lunch with mum, sis and the nieces. Brio is a very family friendly place and lots of families were taking advantage of the children’s menu. It is not somewhere I would go to for a nice evening meal out, but for a hearty lunch during a shopping trip or before a visit to the Light’s cinema, it fits the bill.

My only criticism is that there was a bit of a “held-hostage” moment at the end. This is a Leeds Food Leads pet peeve. Despite mum practically waving the bill and her card in the air, and me pointedly standing up and putting my coat on, it took a while for someone to arrive and let us pay. Who knew it was so hard to part with your cash in Leeds?

Fazenda Rodizio Bar and Grill, Leeds city centre

After a few drinks in The Hop, we had a table booked at Fazenda for an early dinner on Saturday. On the website it says “a unique dining experience - we are proud to bring you all the tradition behind the unique and original Brazilian way of serving meat”. Walking through the doors, we were invited to have a drink at the bar before being shown to our table. Fazenda serves a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio.

We were seated in a booth, where we were told about the “Fazenda experience”. Basically, you get a card rather like a beer mat that is red on one side, green on the other. When you want meat, you turn the card to green and a server arrives with a large skewer of meat and proceeds to cut some off. Each diner is given a pair of tongs for taking the meat from the server. All sorts of choices appear - rump steak, ribs, lamb, pork, chicken and some salmon served from a trolley. When you want the meat to stop coming, you turn the card to red.

In addition to all this meat, there is a buffet with a huge choice of salads, including cous cous, coleslaw and potato. There are quite a few appetizer items as well, including sushi rolls (which I was not expecting but was very pleased to see!) The servers also brought other sides to the table including chips, cheese bread and empanadas.


The buffet!


For pudding, R had the Toffee pancakes, which looked great.

The place became busy pretty quickly, even though it was still early. I believe this would be a great place to go in a large group, as you would avoid the problem of waiting for everyone to be served, while your food goes cold, which seems to happen in some restaurants.

The Fazenda eating experience is not really me, though. I think I am a bit underwhelmed with buffets, as I have had my fill of those on our many trips to Vegas. I am also not a massive meat-eater. I eat meat often, but my eyes are never automatically drawn to steaks on a normal menu, and I don’t believe that lots of meat makes a meal that memorable.

In addition, I found it quite interesting that certain meats were coming thick and fast to the table, but there was no filet mignon to be seen, despite it being on the menu. After a few visits to our table with other meats, one of the servers quite abruptly asked us what we were waiting for. We said the filet, and finally it arrived.

Despite this, I am glad we went and tried it – I had seen it reviewed in a few places and it sounded like an interesting experience. It is definitely suitable for a more committed carnivore than for me.

Bird by Vineet, Alea Casino, Leeds

Another trip to the casino meant trying their other restaurant, Bird. A Lemon drop Martini in the bar before dinner needed to be sipped, not glugged, and I think I pulled it off. I am not used to delicate small drinks so I had to put the glass down between sips to ensure I didn’t neck it in seconds. It was a perfect drink to begin the evening.

A few rounds of Blackjack saw me twenty quid down, but A was about fifty up so thankfully saved my bacon and bought my dinner. Seated in Bird by nine, we were provided with menus along with poppadoms and dips.

Bird has quite an unusual Indian menu although some of the dishes were familiar.  Sarah T and I decided to share the Street Food selection for starter. This came served in cones, a brilliant presentation. It was made up of onion bhaji, paneer salad, mini samosas, Goan chicken wings and fish amritsari. This is a great sharing plate which I would really recommend – not too much to fill you up and gives you the opportunity to try different flavours.

The main courses were great and you can order them in half portions which are perfect for Indian food as too often, there is way too much and I end up needing to lie flat and nap. We ordered the Lamb Bhuna and Saffron Chicken Korma.

Steamed rice and keema nan on the side complemented the dishes perfectly and were great for mopping up the sauces.

Bird is a lovely restaurant and really good value. There are a few set menus you can have which looked like a great deal, but we wanted to try the a la carte. There were not many diners but perhaps it gets busy later when the gamblers have lost their shirts at the tables. We prefer to break up the gambling with a nice meal, and Bird fits the bill perfectly.

I read today that James Martin is opening up a restaurant in Alea soon. I can’t wait to try it when it does but really hope it is not replacing Bird.

Edit:  Turns out the James Martin restaurant will replace Fig, not Bird, and will be opening in March.  Can't wait!

Arts Cafe, Leeds city centre

I have blogged the Arts Cafe before here when we went for Sunday lunch. On a Saturday, they serve a lunch menu and you can also choose from the a la carte. Having had a look at the menu online, I was keen to give it a try. The chef has been in place since last March and comes from Hazelwood Castle. The menu still contains some of old favourites such as the Fish Plate, the Yorkshire Plate and the Arts Burger. But there were quite a few new options on there too, and it took some time to make up my mind!

Some of the new starters looked promising and I was particularly taken with the description of the smoked salmon and crayfish sushi nori. When it arrived, it was a generous portion of three sushi rolls, with some thinly sliced cucumber and wasabi crème fraiche. A bit of a change to the pickled ginger and wasabi that you usually get with sushi but it worked well and the plate was nicely put together.

My dining companion, Psycho Psu, ordered the Smoked Haddock Chowder with leeks, potato and spinach. It probably had a thicker consistency than she expected but had good flavour.

For main, I ordered the Arts club sandwich. Made with thick granary bread and a good mix of chicken, mayo, pancetta and lettuce, it was served with fries on the side. It is nice to be able to mix and match from the a la carte and lunch menu.

We went a bit mad on the puddings. Fig and lime bakewell tart with blackberry crème fraiche was a nice traditional pudding with a bit of a twist.

Orange cream posset with mulled winter fruits came with a cinnamon and walnut cookie. A little too much fruit and not enough posset, was our opinion. The cookie was great.

A cheese plate rounded off the meal. A good selection including Wensleydale with cranberry and brie, the cheese was accompanied by a nice choice of crackers and tasty chutney.

There are a fair few other things on the menu I would like to try so another visit should be on the cards soon. Once again, the Arts Cafe remains one of my favourite places to eat in Leeds.