Posts Tagged ‘Lunch’

Lunch @ Cross Keys

{ August 17, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Pubs }
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We had a fab spot of lunch at the Cross Keys Pub in Leeds on Saturday after seeing their tweets in the morning about their summer lunch menu. It has recently won ‘best family pub’ in Yorkshire in the Great British Pub awards and it’s easy to see why.

We sat outside in the beautiful sunny courtyard, seeking shade under one of the immense Duvel parasols. Tom ordered the salt beef sandwich and I had the sausage sandwich, which was on the specials board. Both arrived as proper doorsteps (and rightly so for around £6 each), on homemade bread served with salad. The salt beef was thickly sliced and balanced with English mustard (too firey for my taste, but Tom loved it!) The sausages really were something to rave about – I’m quite fussy about sausages but these were very tasty indeed. They were apparently West Moor pork, which I believe comes from Easingwold…. we will have to try and find somewhere to buy these from as they were the perfect meaty sausage with no fussy added flavours! To wash it down, Tom tried some of the recommended real ale of the day and I tried an apple beer, which was really light and refreshing.

Millie was very welcome and sat in her bumbo at the table with us sampling bits of our food as well as her own that we had brought along. She enjoys watching the general comings & goings, but as a special treat for kids they have a duck trail around the courtyard. Basically it’s little yellow ducks (like you would have in the bath) glued onto plant pots etc, that the kids can look out for. Millie was quite taken with this and couldn’t understand why if you pulled on them they didn’t come off…!

Anyway, the food was great, the service was friendly and fast, and the setting was glorious. The only sad thing was the lack of customers. Granted it was only about 1pm on a Saturday and gets busier as the Saturday drinking gets going, but really it’s a great spot for a bit of lunch just outside of the hustle & bustle of the city centre.

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Salvos Salumeria

{ July 27, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Cafes & Coffee shops, Specialty Food Emporia }
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For those who don’t already know, Salvo’s Salumeria is an awesome Italian cafe and delicatessen in Headingley. It’s next door to, and little sister of Salvo’s restaurant, named ‘Best Neighbourhood Italian’ by Gordon Ramsay’s F Word. It’s such a versatile place – you can get a great coffee or lunch, attend an Italian regional evening or stock up on tasty deli and store cupboard items. They will even make you up a gift hamper, which we gave as a Christmas gift to my in-laws last year to a warm reception. My only complaint about this little gem is that it is quite little! On a busy Saturday you can struggle to get a seat, but at the moment (weather permitting) there are lots of lovely tables al fresco.

We went there for lunch on saturday and it was delightful to sit in the balmy summer air sipping on a San Pellegrino. I had a spicy penne arrabiata, which was perfectly al dente and made with proper Italian sausage (not processed pepperoni type meat). Tom had a salami & swiss cheese ‘piadine’, which is a rolled flatbread. It was fresh and filled with peppery rocket to compliment the spicy salami. We also shared some mixed olives – which are such a treat! I think there were 4 different types in the dish, including one that was bright green and quite buttery – it tasted rich like expensive olive oil.

While we were there, we were of course tempted by the deli. There are so many types of salami for starters, let alone the cheese, olives, tomatoes, bread. We had no plans for tea, so we stocked up on Italian tapas. I asked for some advice about what would go well together, and they really knew their stuff. I brought away things I wouldn’t have necessarily chosen, and we really enjoyed it! I can especially recommend the salami infused with fennel and the sun dried black olives, yummy! If you are extremely lucky you can also get your hands on some smoked buffalo mozzarella. They fly it in to Leeds Bradford once a week (can’t remember which day) and it is available in the deli the following day. You can try it in Salvo’s on the affumicata pizza, and you will be hooked!

To top it all off the service is great – friendly, chatty and good advice. They’re also building a new kitchen at the back to improve on the tiny stove they currently use (I don’t know how they do it!) and based on their day time food I’m dying to go and try one of the regional evening dinners sometime soon.

Tiled Hall Cafe

{ July 19, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Cafes & Coffee shops, Culture, Specialty Food Emporia }
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One of my favourite spots for lunch in Leeds city centre is the Tiled Hall Cafe. It co-exists with the art gallery in the former 19th century municipal library building. You can sit amidst fabulous high ceilings and carefully restored original tiles and enjoy some good Yorkshire grub. Savoury offerings include sandwiches, sausage rolls, pasties, quiche and jacket potatoes. Naughty things include great wedges of cake (victoria sponge, coffee cake, carrot cake and the like), cream scones and flapjacks. They also serve up a mean brew and premium soft drinks like Fentimans lemonade. They pride themselves on using local suppliers and local ingredients to showcase good Yorkshire produce.

Today I had a gorgeous focaccia with chicken, avocado & lime mayo served with coleslaw and Tom enjoyed a Wensleydale cheese and chutney sandwich. I also tried a fresh ‘super berry smoothie’ which I haven’t seen on the menu before – it was a deep red, thick, fruity glass of goodness that I’m sure goes a little way to combat the naughty cream scone….. I did share the scone with Tom, and very tasty it was too! So for 2 sandwiches, 2 drinks and one jam & cream scone it was £14 – not a bad price for lunch for two these days. Plus you get to enjoy it in elegant surroundings and feel good about flying the flag for Yorkshire produce.

Engine House Cafe

{ June 13, 2010 @ 9:29 pm } · { Bars & Restaurants }
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Just a quick post about this lovely place we went for lunch on Friday. It was the Engine House Cafe, which is in Holbeck Urban Village. They have some nice outdoor tables overlooking the courtyard at the back of the Midnight Bell. I had noticed it last week when we were down at the Cross Keys Market, but I had also read the Leeds Grub review & thought we’d try it out.

During the day they do a petite menu of upmarket sandwiches and salads, which seem to be made with restaurant quality flair. I had a lovely ciabatta, which was chicken marinated with lemon, garlic & thyme, and served with crisp bacon, lettuce & tomato. Tom had a very nice ribeye steak & red onion marmalade ciabatta – which was a very tender piece of steak cooked perfectly as he requested. The service was great, the waitress seemed bubbly and happy to be at work(!) and the food arrived promptly. The drinks (fresh OJ & lemonade) were presented in amazing tall glasses, which looked very decadent!

It was on the pricy end for lunch – £18 for two sandwiches, a portion of chips and two fresh oj & lemonade. However, I felt it was good value, good service and lovely surroundings. It looked very nice inside too, for a rainy day or a romantic evening meal. Once you are full you can also just roll across the lawn to relax in the comfy deck chairs amidst the bunting and butterflies.

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