Buon Apps

I was invited for a free lunch at Buon Apps for the purpose of writing a review.

We found the restaurant a 5 minute walk from the centre of Otley tucked away in a small stone built business park by the river. The inside of the restaurant looks just as quaint and lovely as the outside with the exposed stonework and beams. The huge arch windows let in plenty of light.

The menu was classic Italian from start to finish with salads, pastas and big meaty main courses.

For the starter I had the soup which was butternut squash, parsnip, honey and micro herbs (a concept I had not encountered before, they looked like cress but tasted of beetroot, very nice). It was sweet and warming and presented with some thought.

Gilly had the Melanzane, a traditional dish of aubergine layered with tomato and cheese. It was rustic and satisfying, although maybe a bit too much for a starter.

For my main course I had the meatballs in a tomato sauce. They were nicely seasoned and the meatballs were obviously homemade.

The other main course was locally sourced duck served rare with sauteed potatoes. Both the portions were huge and served garnished with edible flowers! They didn't really add to the dish in terms of flavour but they did look pretty!

All this was washed down with a bottle of the recommended wine Vernaccia Di San Gimignano 2009.

For pudding we both passed on the traditional tiramisu and ice creams and went for the peanut and chocolate stack. We were presented with huge cubes of peanut butter goo topped with chunks of chocolate brownie and choc chips, served with a scoop of ice cream for good measure. This was as you can imagine completely sublime but like the rest of the meal, too big to finish, which was a shame as for me this was the highlight of the meal!

The atmosphere was relaxed and family friendly, whilst retaining an upmarket feel which made having a meal here feel like a treat.

The food was all fairly traditional in its execution. I want to use the word 'safe' but please don't think that means dull, because it is not, just that you get exactly what you pay for:  a very very nice but unsurprising meal, for a high end but not over the top price.

Buon Apps
*Traditional dishes
*Reasonable prices
*Welcoming, smart but family friendly environment

Wharfebank Business Centre
Ilkley Road
Otley
LS21 3JP

01943 468 458

Website

London Excursion Roundup

I made a little trip to London last week, here is a round up of the foodie highlights...

On the Earls Court Road 5 mins from our accommodation I found Dragon Palace, a great little Chinese restaurant. It was tiny and bustling with people at the tables but also people popping in to collect take away orders.

The food was standard Chinese restaurant stuff, well presented and super reasonable, especially by London standards. Main courses are mostly between £6 and £8. Everything we had was delicious and the bill for 2 was only about £45 including drinks, well worth it if you are in the area. Website

My obsession with Paul A Young chocolate continues. Its premium stuff at £15 for just 9 choccies but they are all hand made and absolutely beautiful. You cant buy them mail order either so you have to visit one of the 2 London shops. Website

Shopping in Camden we found lots of take away stalls selling all sorts of different cuisines. This one, El Mexicano on the Chalk Farm Road stood out. For £5 you get a large meal  and a can of pop, with cool little moped stools to sit on!

We finished our trip by watching the student protests/riots from the London Eye, smoke and flames coming from Parliament Square against the sunset... Delightful!

Veritas

I went with my flatmate Paul on his suggestion to Veritas this week for lunch. I noticed on the menu that the bar was part of the local Market Town Taverns chain, so I knew straight away that I was in for a good time.

Inside the bar has quite a rustic feel, the floors and tables are bare wood,  but it was still warm and cosy inside.

There was a good selection of cask ales on tap, I chose a pint of Woolly Jumper porter from Black Sheep.

The menu has a selection of sandwiches and salad items available from the deli counter and there is also quite a good selection of traditional main meals. I had the fish and chips and Paul had the meat pie of the day with chips, both £8.95.

The portions were enormous and the food well presented and most importantly tasted really good. Theres not much more to say really, except Veritas is another example of MTT doing what they have always done- good beer and good food in comfortable unpretentious surroundings at a fair price.

Veritas
*Traditional lunches and main meals
*Fair prices
*Good real ale selection

43 Great George Street,
Leeds
LS1 3BB
0113 2428094

Website

Christmas Day Dinners

(Photo 'borrowed' from www.essentially-enlgand.com)

I like to spend my Christmas at home with my family but I know there is a lot of you out there who like to leave all the hassle to someone else and eat out on Christmas day. Here is a round up of some of the restaurants in the Leeds area doing Christmas day menus.

Casa Mia Grande's menu is £59.95 for 5 courses and canapes Website

Mint Hotel (previously City Inn) at Granary Wharf are doing three courses for £45 Website

Van Zeller in Harrogate are doing 6 courses and a glass of fizz for £65 Website

Kendells the excellent French bistro is doing a menu for £48.50 Website

Diva Italiana in Pudsey have a four course menu available, ring for details Website

If you know of any more, email me or add them to the comments section below.

Fazenda

The newest eaterie to open at Granary Wharf is Brazilian grill Fazenda.  I got the chance to try it this week when I went along with fellow foodie Gilly for lunch.

As we sat down our drinks orders were taken and then we were given 2 great little cheese filled pastries eachas a bit of a starter before we got let loose on the main selection of food.

At lunchtime a selection of 8 cuts of meat are available and in the evening this increases to 15. There is a salad bar with a good selection of side dishes such as rice and cous cous and various vegetable and salad items.

When you are ready for the meat, you turn the little carboard disk on the table from red to green and then the 'Gaucho' chefs come to the table with huge skewers of cooked meat and slice of a piece for you to eat. As well as steak there was chicken, sausages and even teeny tiny little chicken hearts! Hot chunky chips were bought to the table which were delicious.

It was very novel and quite fun, however I eventually found it a bit irritating being constantly approached by the staff as it really interrupted the conversation. All of the meat was nice but most of it approached the well done end of things which saddened me a little as I like my steak rare. Also the lack of sauces and marinades made some of the the meats a little bland.

At the moment the prices are at an introductory level so at lunch it is around £13 and dinner £20 for all you can eat. I  dont know what they intend the full price to be, but judging by the prices on the wine list and the high end feel to the decor they are likely to be quite a bit more.

Fazenda
*Smart modern restaurant
*Novel concept
*Slightly underwhelming food

Waterman’s Place
3 Wharf Approach
Granary Wharf
Leeds
LS1 4GL

Website

Out of the Woods Christmas Shop

This week saw the opening of a lovely new branch of Out of the Woods in Granary Wharf. To compliment this, next door you will also find a pop up Christmas shop selling an array of local luxury food produce such as chocolate, cheese, crisps and preserves. You can buy items individually or as part of a ready made hamper. Worth checking out for foodie Christmas presents.