I visited this newly opened Cafe for breakfast a couple of Sunday’s ago after a long, cold walk with my dog!  On the back of this visit we decided to book for Valentines!

The menu was £40 per couple and included a glass of Champagne upon arrival.  This seemed exceptional value and more than happy to support our local businesses.

Upon arrival we were greeted by our waiter and a glass of Champagne!  The Bistro was dressed very romantically with red roses on each table (which we got to take home!), and candles.  The Bistro was fully booked for the evening and was a lovely mix of locals, old and young!

The Valentine’s menu started with a Meze, a plate of Mediterranean starters for sharing.  This consisted of olives, stuffed peppers, and tomato and feta cheese.  Piped cream cheese in a love heart shape with an asparagus to represent the arrow was a nice, creative, valentine’s touch – and this was recreated in each course throughout the meal.

We then moved on to Salmon en Croute – a miniature version, thank goodness, as the pastry was a little heavy and very buttery but nevertheless was delicious!

The main was either Steak Diane or a Vegetarian option.   We opted for steak which was served with peas and mashed potato (again piped in a love heart shape) – the steak was cooked to perfection.

Two choices of dessert which for me was an easy choice – baked chocolate mousse with candied fennel and ice cream – again the candied fennel was love heart shaped!

The whole evening had a ‘Come dine with me’ experience about it!  The food was very much home cooked and reminiscent of the 1970’s. It somehow didn’t feel like restaurant food either.  It was more like you were dining in someone’s house!  It was however a lovely evening and we wish Frewin’s all the very best with their new venture!

The lunch menu is both appealing and represents value for money.

We skipped starters and went straight to mains.  We ordered Linguine Prawn which was excellent and cooked to perfection.  The presentation of the Chicken Tikka Balti was delightful and again the dish was very flavoursome.  The grill menu features a number of chargrilled dishes cooked on an open grill for authentic flavour.

Service is smooth, with friendly staff persuasively suggesting aperitifs and pointing out the menu’s signature dishes and specials.

A meal here, from beginning to end is hard to fault.

The upbeat atmosphere is invariably as cheerful as the menu – Restaurant Bar & Grill brings a touch of sunshine to Leeds!

Total bill £43.89 for 2 people

Rating: Food 4/5

Ambience: 5/5

Service: 5/5

The restaurant will open in the town’s £100 million Brewery Square development – It will occupy 3,264 sq ft in the Bonded Stores building, including a dining terrace beside the new Odeon cinema, reports the Dorset Echo.
A number of restaurants have been confirmed for the town regeneration plan, including Wagamama, Zizzi, Cafe Rouge and Pizza Express.
Andrew Wadsworth, director of project development company Waterhouse, said it has given the project a boost to offer a place to an iconic brand like Carluccio’s.
“We are delighted to have secured such a fantastic building in Brewery Square and look forward to opening Carluccio’s delicatessen and restaurant this year,” added Steve Hill, chief executive of the Italian-style chain.

Manchester Airport Group currently serves over 24 million people annually through four different sites in England.

The resort is based in Knutsford and close to the historic city of Chester. It features a stunning contemporary brasserie, luxurious rooms and a a par 71 golf golf course covering 150 acres in the idyllic Cheshire woodlands.

Up to 100 new vacancies will be created with the re-opening including bar staff, chef and general hotel positions.

Graeme Nesbitt, General Manager of The Mere, commented: “This is a very exciting time for us as a company and it’s fantastic to be able to boost the local job market with our new development, especially in the current economic climate.”

Many of the teens had already taken part in cooking lessons through the Calderdale Specialist Inclusion Service and welcomed the opportunity to enhance their knowledge at the Dean Clough facility.

Executive chef Matthew Benson Smith said he was impressed with the enthusiasm and passion for food shared by the young group and felt they would have no difficulties with cooking for themselves in the future.

Inclusion officer Sue Mort said the activity can develop confidence as well as important skills among the children.
“Today was a fantastic opportunity to raise their aspirations as they were able to cook in a fabulous kitchen while being supported by professional chefs,” she added.

I had not been back to this restaurant in a long time and it had sadly dropped off my radar as a good place to dine locally for one reason or another.   I had also forgotten just how much I love this place! The interior especially – big splashes of colour against a neutral background giving the place a relaxed and easy feel but still oozing quality!

And then there’s the food!  I had also forgotten just how good this was too, a perfectly judged menu with refreshing simplicity, beautifully cooked, locally sourced food and hugely satisfying!

For main course I opted for the plaice and it was a great choice!  It was cooked so the skin became a kind of marine crackling, crunchy and divine, sat on sliced new potatoes.  The sauce was rich with mussel stock and buttery, with prawns and plump mussels arranged around the plate.  Sensational.

Another New Year’s Resolution broken already but I just couldn’t resist the desserts!  Again I chose well with freshly made (and I believe it was freshly made and not bought in) strawberry cheesecake – and can I say, it was the best cheesecake I have EVER, EVER tasted!!

Total bill £63.84 for 2 persons (including service charge)

Rating: Food 4/5

Ambience: 4/5

Service 4/5 friendly staff

When we arrived, the restaurant was heaving with Christmas parties, a crush of people at the bar – a restaurant full of Christmas laughter and conversation!  All making for a great, buzzy atmosphere with everyone having a great time!

We ordered cocktails and Champagne at the bar which was a perfect start to a lovely evening.

The food as always was great too. Honest, rustic Italian food cooked to perfection and presented well!

Amidst all this busyness, the staff were attentive as ever, the food arrived promptly and efficiently making the service sleek and impeccable.

I was even serenaded ‘Happy Birthday’ and presented with chocolate truffles by our waiters led by Claudio the GM.

Great every time – well done Claudio and his team!

Total bill £213.60 for 4 people

Rating: Food 4/5

Ambience: 5/5

Service: 5/5

This weekend I went out with my two best friends for our girls’ Christmas get together and we decided to visit The Hummingbird Kitchen & Bar in Chapel Allerton.

I have visited The Hummingbird previously for drinks but I have been meaning to go there for dinner since placing the Head Chef there – Greg lewis. So this seemed like the perfect time to go.

The decor was lovely – a massive improvement on what is was previously under the name of Angel’s Share.

The service was very attentive – our order was taken swiftly and there was just enough time left in between courses.

The food was most definitely the highlight – it was delicious. The quality of the produce stands out – The Hummingbird sources many of its ingredients very locally. The bread is from Crust Crumb Bakery on Harrogate Road, the fruit and vegetables from Leeds City Market, the chicken from Swillington Organic Farm and other meat from Ginger Pig in the Yorkshire Moors.

I opted for the Calamari for a starter and then steak for the main – which was cooked beautifully. And the twice fried chips – very, very good indeed!!

I couldnt believe the value for money The Hummingbird offers. We arrived at the restaurant at 7pm and so we were just in time to catch the early bird menu which offers 2 courses for £12.95 and 3 courses for £15.95. I often find that other restaurants offer such a limited and basic menu on such early bird menus – but not at The Hummingbird. There was plenty of choice and many dishes which I would have opted for ordinarily anyway.

The next day my friend posted on Facebook about having dinner there – and The Hummingbird commented on her post asking what we had to eat and hoping we enjoyed it – such a lovely personal touch!

So great job to all those at The Hummingbird…. you had already won my love and loyalty with Neon Cactus and Oporto – but I can now definitely add The Hummingbird to that list.

The 36 chefs created their own batch of 50 mince pies for a charity auction last week and raised bids of up to £1,000 each.

As the online auction progressed, competition among the chefs also grew. Michel Roux Jr, whose own pies sold for £470, commented: “It started as a bit of fun, but things quickly got competitive. Everyone wanted their mince pies to go for the most money, and did everything in their power to get noticed.”

The project was started six weeks ago by fundraiser Pete Butler, who described the auction as a unique opportunity to get your mince pies cooked by a Michelin-starred chef, and donate money to two great causes.