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.

Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel, Bowness, Lake District

I decided to book Lindeth Howe for Easter weekend, as they had a great offer - £200 per night for room, breakfast and dinner. Trip advisor showed very positive reviews, particularly of the food, so I was sold.


We arrived on Friday afternoon and were quickly shown to our room – we had a great view of Windermere lake from the top of the house. Lindeth Howe used to be owned by Beatrix Potter so there were loads of references to her throughout the hotel, including pictures of the hotel as a grand family home at a time when the wealthy would visit the Lakes for their holidays.

We had dinner in the restaurant on both nights, but this is just a review of the second night. Both evenings we thought the food was excellent. You start in the lounge, where a waiter takes your drinks order, brings you the menus and some delightful canapés to start the evening off. The menu contains a Table d’Hote menu for residents having dinner, along with some chef recommendations. There were also a range of other dishes that you could pay a supplement for, but this was really unnecessary as the Table d’Hote menu had sufficient options. On this night, however, we decided to “push the boat out” and go for the extra main courses (partly because A fancied a steak).

On being seated, we were brought an amuse-bouche, which on the Saturday was a mini Yorkshire pudding with roast beef.

After this, our starters were served. Both A and I had the crab fish cake starter, which was just right.  A passionfruit sorbet was then presented to "cleanse the palate". 

For my main, I had sea bass with a bouillabaisse broth. The fish was cooked perfectly with crispy skin and a light broth containing other seafood. 

 A had the fillet steak, which came with a mini steak suet pudding and mash. We ordered some vegetables as a side dish to try to compensate for all that meat!

For pudding, I ordered the old favourite of Sticky Toffee Pudding, which came with Earl Grey ice cream (not my favourite flavour of tea – a hint of washing up liquid, I always feel).

A had the same pudding on both nights – a chocolate mousse with chocolate flakes on top, which was served in what I can only describe as a mini flower-pot. But the real attraction was the peanut butter ice-cream it came with. In fact the second evening, A said he would have been happy if they had just brought him an enormous bowl of that with a big spoon!

We were offered coffee or tea but declined. Although a lot of courses, the food isn’t overwhelming because they don’t outface you with massive portions. But we were certainly full by the end of it and coffee always seems like a bad idea just before bed!

I would go as far as to say that the food on offer was of equal standard to the few Michelin star restaurants I have visited. The waiters were pleasant and service was of a high standard. In fact, the hotel in general is well worth a visit. It is set in lovely gardens, has a small indoor pool and it is great to hear the geese and ducks quacking away on the lake from an open bedroom window as you drift off to sleep. A very relaxing but also “foodie” weekend.

The White Swan, Wighill, Nr Tadcaster

I grew up in Garforth, which is on the edge of some lovely countryside with plenty of village pubs a short drive away. After I passed my driving test at 17 (after only three months of lessons – go me!) I used to drive from Ledston to Ledsham, then on to Towton and Aberford, each village having a real old-fashioned pub. Zipping down country lanes with my sixth-form mates in the back of my mum’s old fiesta, we had a great time. You don’t mind sticking to orange when you are a brand new driver!


The novelty of having a car and drinking soft drinks all night has worn off a bit after 23 years, but thankfully on Saturday night I wasn’t the designated driver. And Wighill is a bit further than we used to go, but those country lanes really brought back some memories. We were going to the White Swan for my Dad’s birthday, and it is one of those traditional village pubs I remember from my youth.



Thai fishcakes

We ordered drinks at the bar and were taken straight through to a table. The menu isn’t extensive, but this is always a good sign in my experience – too many options and you just get lots of dishes done quite badly. There was also a specials board, but none of them grabbed me so I ordered off the main menu.

For starter, I shared some Thai fishcakes with my sister. These were done very well.

Black pudding

A had a black pudding starter which was fried in batter.

For main, I had Cottage Pie which came with chips and vegetables - a bit of a carb-overload in that I never think that you should have chips with a pie that already has mash on it! The pie was excellent, though, with lots of beef mince and creamy mash. The vegetables on the side were slightly the wrong side of al dente, however, and almost raw.

Cottage pie

Other meals around the table looked good – A had the fish and chips which was a really big portion.

Fish and chips

It was a good meal overall. Service was just right and the pub was busy with other diners. Obviously a popular place.

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!)

El Bareto, Chapel Allerton

A first for LEEDSFOODLEADS - A guest post by a mystery guest!

On arrival, the warm and intimate bar served as a welcome contrast to the howling gale outside, and my dining companion, (“T”) and I ordered a lager (Mahou) and a glass of house red before being fortunate enough to secure a spot by the window. When we were eventually taken downstairs after another round of drinks and some complimentary peanuts, initial thoughts were that the dining area was surprisingly large. However, when seated, the illusion of space was exposed somewhat when it became apparent that the dining furniture was not particularly suited to the taller guest.

Nevertheless, the warmth of the welcome and enthusiasm of the staff encouraged me to regard the surroundings as atmospheric rather than cramped and, indeed, after some more of the meaty house red, it became part of the conversation (try saying Lilliputian after a few drinks!).

We were served by an attentive waiter who asked whether we had dined with them before. We had not, so he went on to explain that they recommended around 5 tapas dishes between 2, as the portions were generous. We therefore ordered 6 from a nifty tick-the-number menu, lest the average diner was of a size befitting the tables.

What we got was mixed fare – the marinated olives (£1.50) were presented nicely, but tasted like they had come from a jar. Likewise, we found the patatas bravas (£3.50) to be uninspiring. However, the rest of the meal was much better and more in accordance with the bonhomie of this family-run restaurant.

If the waiter hadn’t asked us whether we had been there before, he might have guessed when I tried to cut apart the home-made bread topped with tomato, garlic and olive oil (£3.50). A slight mis-judgement as to the force required to separate the bread at the table way down below resulted in me using the bread to thrust its accompanying salad over the side of the plate which was itself sloped upwards at an angle sufficient to launch said salad through the air and on to T’s leg. Indeed, it was impressive to note that even the salad moved in a sort of slow-motion tribute to the laid-back Iberian lifestyle which El Bareto invokes.

To her credit, and possibly also because she was enjoying the evening up to that point at least, T helpfully laughed and tucked into the chorizo in cider (£5.90) – the dish we both agreed was the best of the bunch.

Other dishes we enjoyed were the chicken livers (£6.50 and originally chosen as something of a dare, but which were nevertheless nice) and the grilled prawns, (£7.50) principally due to their dressing, as opposed to being either fresh or grilled.

After paying the reasonably-priced bill, we were hailed a cab as we finished our drinks to the sound of some live music before venturing out into nearby Chapel Allerton for a few more.

Overall, the impression was one of a nice, family-style restaurant with enthusiastic staff and a pleasant atmosphere. Even though there were a couple of dishes which didn’t quite hit the mark, our satiety meant that the waiter could return triumphantly to collect both those and the remains of the rest. An enjoyable experience – occasional mishap aside!

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.