Restaurants and stuff

Mai oui.

 

Mais......!
Fcking southerners

 

Visited Gusto’s last night, Cookridge. Italian but not sure how big of a chain it is, I know there’s one in Leeds city centre. Anyway, food was exceptional and genuinely some of the best I’ve ever had. Service all good although a little on the quick side, three courses finished within an hour of sitting down.
Sharing starter which was expensive but meant I could try a few different bits, all nice but wouldn’t get again. Tuna for main, almost £20 but worth every penny, flavours were amazing. Wife got Nutella and mascarpone calzone for desert which was as good as it sounds (unsurprisingly better than my middle of the road sorbet).
Nearly £100 for two including £20 worth of drinks but as I say, didn’t mind paying for something so good. For future reference throughout January the food’s all half price but would 100% recommend.

 

We used to go there often in the 90s/early 00s, when my in-laws lived in Cookridge. The food was always very good, and they were very helpful and accommodating to my mum in law's needs when she was in a wheelchair and not too compos mentis.

 

Didn't it used to be Est Est Est ?

 

I think it did. And before that it was Le Celle, because the building used to be a lockup.

 

I remember it as a cop shop in the 70's

 

Apparently a new curry shop ,
Kashmiri Aroma or something , is opening where The Park Pub on Keighley Road/Manningham Lane was

 

There are a handful of these, including one in Halifax that gets reasonable reviews.

 

Not really what we need though is it? Yet another Kashmiri/Punjabi curry place. The city and its environs is rammed with them.
I love the stuff, but it would be nice to have some different subcontinental scran available - Goan, Keralan, Gujerati, Shri Lankan etc.
I guess it comes down to the demography of the local population.

 

Absolutely. I wonder how sustainable an independent restaurant would be in the city. (I think I know the answer.)

 

Probably not.
But a decent Goan/Keralan/Gujerati place in Saltaire/Shipley would thrive, I reckon.

 

Do a restaurant well and I think it would do well. Look at Mama Mias. Most of the recent food based ventures in town and either half arsed or just poor quality.

 

I have eaten in the one on the way into Ilkley a couple of times and thought it was good. They did a nice lamb shank dish, a while back mind.

 

going to the Mumbai Village in Morley tonight - I hear good things.

 

Report back...

 

Weekend in the smoke.

Banana Tree near Leicester Square on Friday. Pretty standard Thai stuff at reasonable prices. I had a beef rendang, which hit the spot. Two for one cocktails was a nice bonus.

Sunday evening was at a place called Provender on Wanstead High Road. Mostly French stuff. Not stunning but decent. I had fish soup, stuffed rabbit leg with fancy potatoes and creamed spinach, and creme brulee. The rabbit was very tasty.
My wife had tuna steak and both of my kids had duck, which looked lovely. Daughter's chap had a very succulent looking fillet steak. Bottle of Cote du Rhone and a couple of beers.
Bill was just over £200 for six of us. Worth considering if you're in that neck of the woods. Do you ever get out that way @Interested Bystander ?

 

Disappointed, to be honest.
the food was fine, but the service was nothing short of diabolical. we were a party of 8, although 2 of those were 10 year olds - there was maybe two other couple in the whole restaurant yet the service was painfully slow.
when we got there, it was a good 20 minutes til anyone took even a drink order, then another long wait to make a food order, and an even longer wait after that for food to start appearing.
we were there for over 2 hours, for a starter and main course. I had to ask three times for a jug of water.

and oddly, it was far too warm, hot air blasting out from a heater on the ceiling right behind the table.

the food was nice, but it wasn't worth the drive from Shipley, and certainly not the poor service.

I rather suspect the young male waiter was too busy rushing out the food, and providing attentive service to the 2 young attractive females sat behind us!

 

Doesn't sound great, @Ricc

Continuing the curry theme I see Nawaab has reopened on the Ital site (might be old news) & is BYOB too. Always liked the one on Manor Row.

Just been to Keefley (one of the roads out of town) & saw a little tapas joint called the Lemon Tree. No idea what it's like, never knew it existed. Anyone?