Cocina, Bradford

Cocina is a little independent Mexican restaurants on outskirts of Bradford city centre. From the outside it looks a little scruffy, but in a charming kind of way. The interior has lots of Mexican themed decorations and the side wall of the kitchen is built to look like a little Mexican house!

As it was early we decided to go for the 'beat the rush' deal which consisted of a starter (which had to be shared) a main course and 1/2 pitcher of beer or bottle of wine each for £14.95

We had the Nachos Panuchos starter, nachos covered with spicy ground pork, onions, chillies, cheese and sour cream. It was pretty tasty and pretty hot- just about bearable for me.Both the enchiladas and the beef tortilla wrap we had for main courses were nice but unfortunately they were overwhelmingly spicy. It made eating a challenge more than a relaxing experience. The huge pile of fresh salad provided a welcome, cooling balance to the meal.Our waitress was really friendly and helpful and the food came out quickly. Overall I thought the 'beat the rush' menu was fairly good value but I don't think the meals would have been worth the money if we had paid full price- although nice, the food was fairly 'bog standard' compared to some Mexican restaurants I have been to. I found that the reliance on the chilli was to the detriment of the other seasoning and ingredients in the dishes.

It was fairly quiet when we arrived but large parties were beginning to arrive as we left- I can imagine the place has a great atmosphere when it is full.

Cocina
*Good earlybird deal
*Very hot food
*Nice decor and atmosphere

64-70 Manningham Lane
Bradford
BD1 3EP
01274 727625

Website

An army marches on it stomach

If you like history, or like me just like food, head down to the Royal Armouries Museum this weekend.

The Earl of Manchester's Regiment of Foote, a civil war re-enactment group are staging an authentic 17th century encampment.

Along with traditional crafts you will be able to learn about and see food cooked to recipes from the time of the Civil War. You will also be able to see re-enactors in period clothing and regular displays of arms including the firing of cannon and muskets.

Events will be running 10am - 5pm, 25th and 26th September

Website

Maxis Rotisserie

Maxis Rotisserie is a small take away kiosk planted at the end of Butchers Row in the city markets.

Inside its nothing fancy, just a counter and a few stools to sit on if you choose to eat in.

The menu is written primarily in Chinese with tiny English translations underneath and consists of dishes of various roasted meats served with rice.

I chose the roast pork which was £4.50. The meat had a Chinese spiced marinade which was delicious, and the dish also came with a little bit of pak choi and a huge pile of rice. The portion was enormous- easily enough for 2 lunches.The rotisserie also make and sell Chinese style celebration cakes to order and for £128 you can even order a whole roasted suckling pig!

Its not your usual Chinese take away, but its certainly very quick and convenient, the food I had was seriously tasty and excellent value. I also assume it is fairly authentic, as apart from me all of the customers appeared to be Chinese, and the only English spoken whilst I was in there was to me.

Its in a bit of a random location being next to all the butchers but certainly worth checking out.

Maxis Rotisserie
*Delicious Chinese style roast meats
*Big portions
*Good value lunch

16 Butchers row
Kirkgate Market
LS2 7RQ
0113 2443094

Swillington Organic Farm

On Monday I had the opportunity to visit Swillington Farm on the outskirts of Leeds thanks to the good people at Harvey Nichols. The trip was laid on to promote Harvey Nicks' 'hand picked' series and to highlight how the store and its restaurant is committed to using and stocking locally sourced products.

As I said the event was organised by Harvey Nichols, however I was so impressed by the farm I felt I wanted to write more about that.

Swillington farm is a family owned business. We were shown round by one of the farmers, Jo and we got to meet some of the residents- a very happy looking bunch of Saddleback pigs.

The pigs are reared organically and to high welfare standards. The animals have plenty of room to run around and root about in the grass. There was a family group in each area of the field with all ages of pigs mixed in together- some being as young as one week old!The farm also has cattle, sheep and poultry that are free range and organic. We were also shown the garden where they grow organic, seasonal veg. The farm has an excellent community scheme, where if you commit to investing in the garden, on a weekly basis, you are rewarded with a share of whatever is grown.

After the tour we were treated to a meal cooked almost entirely with the produce from the farm. The vegetables were so amazingly tasty they were served raw as canapés. We also got to try a dish of the pork cooked 3 ways which needless to say was excellent.Some of the things we ate came from the farm but had not been deliberately cultivated, such as the rabbit in the canapés and hedgerow berries in the pudding.

The farm is maintained in a way which is very environmentally friendly. This was apparent in the way that the farm had quite a wild feel to it. I noticed loads of wildlife around in addition to the reared animals.The farm regularly has open days and hosts farm walks so you can go and see for yourself the animals and how they live. If you want to try some of the excellent produce for yourself, there is a shop at the farm, and they have stalls at a number of the local farmers markets.Take a look at the website as it has much more information than I have written here and loads of lovely photos too.

If you want to try some of the produce like I did- Harvey Nichols style, pop into the 4th Floor Restaurant for dinner.

Swillington Organic Farm
A642 Wakefield Road, between Swillington and Woodlesford.
07974 826 876
info@swillingtonorganicfarm.co.uk
Website

Harvey Nichols
107-111 Briggate
Leeds LS1 6AZ
Website

A little round up of revisited places.

I have revisited a few places that have already been reviewed on Leeds Grub so don't feel I need to do a full post. Here are my thoughts anyway if you are interested...

Bottega Milanese remains to be amazing, great sandwiches and cakes from the national champion cupcake baker Sunshine Bakery. Coffee starts at as little as £1 at happy hour (10-11 and 2-3). Worth a visit if you have not already been.

My housemate and I went for breakfast at Primos. The things on offer looked great, we had a bacon bagel and pancakes with syrup. The coffee was not bad, but we were let down by the little things- no real plates and plastic cutlery, and not even butter on the bagel, it just came dry with the bacon. Slightly disappointing, but it was nice sat outside on their little chair area.

I had dinner at Safran on Sunday after competing in this months Iron Cupcakes. Safran doesn't have a licence, but that doesn't matter as the tea is great. We shared a mixed starter and a lamb and lentil stew. This was more than enough for 2 and the bill came to a mere £16.50!

I had a quick lunch at Little Tokyo, we picked at a mixture of sushi, goyoza and tempaura veg. I still think this place does the best tempura veg going. Not the cheapest place but the atmosphere and decor is ace.

I also managed to have fish and chips at the Leeds Brewery bar Pin. Portions are enormous and food is all freshly prepared. Its a cool little bar and the beer was good too.

Thai Edge

Thai Edge has always had a good reputation, but I have so far never managed to go for a full meal. This week I got the chance to go for dinner.

The decor is fresh and modern with Thai adornments such as fountains and carved stone items on the walls. It makes the place feel quite smart. The tables are also nicely spaced apart so you don't feel too packed in with the other diners.

There was already prawn crackers and chili dipping sauce on the table when we arrived which is a nice touch, its always good to have nibbles whilst you are browsing the menu.

We chose the mixed starter which came with a variety of dips. It included spring rolls, chicken wrapped in leaves, chicken satay skewers, Thai fish cakes and prawn rolls. All of the items were delicious and it came really nicely presented.For the main course I had a chicken sweet and sour dish (£7.90). Rice had to be ordered separately (£2.20). The dish had a good amount of chicken in it and tasted nice. It was nothing outstanding but tasty all the same. It was also left to stand on a hot plate on the table meaning it stayed warm through the meal. The service was very good, efficient and attentive.

The bill worked out at just over £40 including drinks thanks to an excellent voucher from Gopher Deals which meant we got our starters for free, saving us about £14!

Thai edge is a little more pricey than other Thai restaurants but the food is good (I tried quite a few things when I visited for H4T- all were great) and the ambiance and service make it feel really quite special. Using the voucher meant that overall the meal was really good value for money.

Thai Edge
*High end Thai restaurant
*Excellent service & atmosphere
*Nice quality of food

7 Calverley Street
Leeds
LS1 3DY
0113 243 6333
Website

Happyness Cafe

Happyness Cafe has recently opened on Albion Place after months of a sign being up in the window.

When we entered the cafe we found that there were no menus, we were told that all of the food available was in the display fridges.

There was a selection of sandwiches and boxed salads. Unfortunately the salad leaves looked a little limp and yellow so I avoided them. There was also home made lasagne, pasta salads and meatballs.

I chose a ricotta and salami sandwich, with a bottle of home made spiced tomato juice. Emma picked some meatballs, but the portion only contained the 3 meatballs in the sauce- no pasta or bread to supplement the dish, so she had to have a packet of crisps instead!

We went upstairs to find a seat, we were the only people sat up there and there was no music playing.

Our food was served with plastic cutlery and cups which really really bugs me, firstly as it is wasteful and secondly, it makes the meal feel cheap.

On closer examination of my sandwich I found it contained a slice of processed cheese! What the person making it though it added to the sandwich I do not know, but it hardly is the mark of a 'quality establishment' and doesn't really fit with the 'only the best ingredients' label on the sandwich box.My drink of home made seasoned tomato juice was really refreshing with a spicy punch. It came in a sweet little glass bottle and looked lovely. Shame I had to drink it from a plastic cup.

We were also given samples of the hot chocolate drink which they actually make with real melted chocolate. It was amazing.

Reading back over this review, it reads like a rambling collection of haphazard notes. This is the only way I can describe Happyness Cafe- haphazard.

There are things that are full of promise such as home made meatballs and the wonderfully luxurious hot chocolate, and others that just totally let it down such as the lack of real cutlery and glasses, incomplete dishes and 'plastic' cheese in the sandwiches.

I know Happyness is still fairly new, I don't like being harsh to new places as they still have to find their feet and tweak the menu etc, but this place has a long way to go yet. I'd go back for the hot chocolate and maybe even a piece of cake, but nothing else!

Happyness Cafe
*Amazing hot chocolate
*Random sandwich fillings and dishes
*Plastic cutlery & cups

2 Albion Place,
LS1 6JL

Grub Excursion #19 Liverpool- The Monro & Pesto

I have been away more than I have been home in the past few weeks, hence the serious lack of Leeds posts.

On Wednesday I visited Liverpool with my mum.

We stopped for a drink before dinner in a pub called the Monro on Duke street. Its a really smart little gastro pub, with a beautiful, comfortable, modern interior. We didn't have anything to eat but we did enjoy some of the hand pulled ales they had on tap.

Finding a decent pub in an unfamiliar city can be a bit of a mine field, but this is defiantly somewhere to consider if you like places like the Cross Keys and Midnight Bell in Leeds.

For dinner thanks to a recommendation on twitter from @paulruk we visited Pesto in the shiny new Liverpool One complex. Liverpool One is an awesome construction, the shops are in arcades at street level and then you take an escalator up to the cinema and restaurants above. The restaurants are all lined up along a terrace that looks over a large landscaped garden.

Pesto is a small chain with 3 branches- 2 in Manchester and one in Liverpool. The food is Italian style tapas.

Inside the restaurant pretty much reminded me of La Tasca in the way it had been decorated. It really felt like a big chain restaurant.

The menu was mixture of seafood items, pizzas, pasta, salads etc all priced around £3 - £4. We decided on 3 dishes each plus some bread and olives.

The service was really efficient and friendly and the food came out reasonably quickly.

Unfortunately the food was really quite inconsistent. The bread and olives were of good quality. Caesar salad, garlic mushrooms and spicy sausage were fairly bog standard but ok.I always order calamari in places like this- I find it useful to gauge how kitchens perform. Pestos' lacked batter, was bordering on chewy and had a funny after-taste. A complete disaster basically.

In contrast the battered fish skewers were sublime and the arancini (cheese stuffed fried rice balls) were fantastic.

The pudding of chocolate ganache with crushed amaretti biscuits was a triumph and a perfect end to the meal.The bill with a bottle of wine was just over £45 so potentially very good value if you pick the right dishes (but potentially a disaster if you pick the wrong ones!).

Even if you decide not to eat at Liverpool One, it is still worth a look around. The garden is actually built on top of the multi story car park- in the middle of the park we found a toughened glass disc that you can walk over and look right down the centre of the stair well!

The Monro
*Smart gastro pub
*Modern cosy interior

92 Duke Street,
Liverpool,
L1 5AG
0151 707 9933
Website


Pesto
*Modern chain restaurant feel
*Good value prices
*Disappointingly hit or miss food

14 Paradise Street
Liverpool One
Liverpool
L1 8JF
0151 708 6353
Website