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Leeds


Winot

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I did a search on Leeds but couldn't find any recent advice on quiet reasonably high-end dining in the City centre. Went to Guellers on a similar trip two years ago -- has anyone tried the replacement 3 York Place? What about 42 The Calls?

Many thanks.

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I know 3 york place very well. It differs very little from when simon gueller was cooking.

Martel Smith is a gueller/mpw/star at harome protege so has taken a lot of that style, well certainly the mpw-ness.

i have written up my dinners there before i'll try and find them, coincidentally a certain andy lynes was there last week so when he gets his finger out and writes up his report you'll get a good feel for what they're up to at the moment :biggrin:

i've been a couple of times recently for the set lunch which is good value at £14.95.

although i am biased as they are mates of mine i'd still say its the best for fine dining in leeds, they know their stuff and denis the maitre d'/sommelier is very knowledgable, he'll certainly find you something of interest on the wine list.

web site is usually updated promptly www.no3yorkplace.co.uk

Elsewhere for brasserie/more informal there's 'la grillade' a french bistro which is the main business hangout, or in a similar vein 'sous le nez', a bit fancier but very good wine list and more seafood. Both in the city centre near the station, in fact they're all within 5 mins of each other.

along with number 3 they're the main place for business dining. if you want any more specific info let me know....

cheers

gary

ps certainly one of my reviews is under 'guellers' oct 2002

Edited by Gary Marshall (log)

you don't win friends with salad

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I will try and write up my report today, but I would say shouldn't miss the opportunity to go to 3 York. Good value for both food and wine, lovely room and the best service I've experienced recently.

I ate at Pool Court maybe 5 years or so ago, had the best Tart Tatin of my life there, but can't remember much else about the meal. The room, which I didn't particularly like, has a nice view over the canal but the service was very formal at the time I went. They have a very good webiste here with a panorama of the dining room and menus, which read very well I have to say.

Heathcotes occupies the site that was Rascasse which is a really nice canal side location and a very nice room. I haven't eaten there, but have had very good food at his other brasseries.

Leodis, a brasserie style operation, was very good the last time I went, again a few years ago. Website here.

There used to be quite a good Chinese restaurant opposite the Crown Plaza Hotel which served excellent Singapore noodles, no idea if its still trading or not though.

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i'd avoid heathcotes, although still a good setting they've made the decor very monochrome and its losts its welcoming feel.

food was poor too last time i went, indeed it was so bad i've not been back.

stick with number 3 if you liked guellers, in any of its incarnations!

pool court is a bit odd in that its a shared kitchen that serves the brasserie '42 the calls' and the (was starred but not sure if they've lost it) more formal 'pool court'. Again went once but never really featured heavily on my must return list. my colleagues are quite fond of the brasserie but for large gatherings rather than gourmet nights out.

i should really try Leodis again but last time we went we really were a drunken shambles, (many years ago, expenses were a novelty) so much so we had to ring up the next day to apologise, i still cringe to think about it, might have to leave it another few years!

you don't win friends with salad

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well, i was on my way to prets but somehow ended up in no3 york place, such strange things happen to me on my lunchhour!

they offer a two course for 14.50 and 3 for 18.95 set lunch (which i'll print below).

maitre d'/sommelier denis can be relied upon to pick decent wines, and recently i've been starting with a house sauvignon which is sufficiently tart to wake up my palete but not too acidic.

an amuse of carrot & orange (i think) veloute was first up, not the best i've had there but technically fine.

i then ordered the goats cheese cromesquis and red onion marmalade. usually i'd run a mile at a marmalade not accompanied by toast but this came immaculatley presented a level disc of very dark purple onion with the cheese cromesquis on top and a very nicely dressed rocket salad. it all worked very well the acid in the marmalade counterbalancing the goats cheese nicely.

for main i had a roast rump of lamb with potoato fondant, confit garlic and sauce nicoise. The lamb was perfectly pink but with a lovely crispy, fatty layer and the sauce nicoise was lamb stock based with tomato brunoise & olives, very light and worked well.

i had a glass of house shiraz with that which was sufficiently heavy to match the lamb, and my taste .

a quick taster of some belgian fruit flavoured brandy's that denis had brough back from his homeland, an orange and much ncer pear one finished off the lunch nicely and the bill 26.95 inc service was good value for a very pleasant lunch.

the a la carte changes next friday so i will be returning for dinner to give it a full work out :biggrin:

here's the menu in full....

LUNCH & EARLY EVENING (until 7.30pm) MONDAY TO FRIDAY

Pan fried Black Pudding, Caramelised Apples, Calvados Jus

Cromesquis of Goats Cheese, Red Onion Marmalade

Button Mushroom Soup

***

Marinière of John Dory & Queen Scallops, New Potatoes & Tarragon

Pot Roast Chicken, Buttered Savoy Cabbage, Parsnip Purée, Jus Roti

Roast Rump of Lamb, Pomme Fondant, Confit Garlic, Jus Niçoise

***

Hot Apricot Soufflé

Crème Brûlée with Raspberries

Selection of fine French & English Cheeses

***

TWO COURSES £14.50 THREE COURSES £18.50

Inclusive of vat

10% Service charge will be added to your bill

gary

you don't win friends with salad

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  • 11 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
This overnight deal in Leeds looks on the face of it like a genuine bargain:  VIP Weekender.

Admittedly The Room (venue for the inclusive dinner) would not be my first choice, but you could always fit in a visit to Anthony's or 3 York Place at lunchtime.

quebecs is a very nice hotel, and is stumbling distance from no3 and not too far from anthony's as room is virtually next door to anthony's.

room is not bad if you like your food updated 70's classics and view an in-house DJ as a dining pre-requisite. i may 'only' be 34 but i can't remember a time i would ever have thought that a winning combination

i think the room only rate on a weekend is about £90.

might not still be the case but no 3 were able to get reduced rates at quebecs too, as they don't have any dining facilities there.

for the record no 3 is shut saturday lunch and both are closed on sundays if you are fancying a trip.

cheers

gary

you don't win friends with salad

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As an aside, apparently Simon Gueller is now running a catering firm, which is a shame for the restaurant going public, although good if you happen to attend an event he is catering I suppose.

My understanding is that SImon Gueller is just about to open at the Box Tree at Ilkley. I am not positive when he is opening but I know it to be fairly soon.

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  • 3 weeks later...

hey ho, another critic who really does his research.

a 2 second detour to a bookshop for a quick scan of any uk restaurant guide would show that No3 york place is indeed open on mondays, so there's no reason whatsoever to go to room.

giles coren loves this place, to me it epitomises all that is wrong with modern restaurants.

obviously i am too old now and don't realise that a f'ing DJ is the hallmark of a good resto these day.

cheers

gary

you don't win friends with salad

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friend and I took advantage of the early bird offer on Saturday night at Brasserie 44 - food was fine / okay so it seemed more appropriate to bung comments here than to give it a whole topic of its own.

Hadn't been for a few years, but had always had good food so was looking forward to it. For starters - I had gravadlax with beetroot relish as a starter - and it was delish. Pale pink salmon, wonderfully tender and a sweet beetroot relish to go with it. Could have eaten a lot more of this! Pumpkin soup (ickle cup of it!) on the other side was pronounced nice - but nothing more than that.

Mains were prosciutto (I think) wrapped loin of pork on a sage and onion risotto - and apparently the risotto was gorgeous. I had salt beef brisket with celeriac cream and some other sauce ... which was pretty good actually.

Sadly the side order of vegetables let them down, were far too overcooked and soggy, and quite expensive for what we got (I counted 6 carrot batons for £2.50). Shame really.

Puddings were back on form though ... I was too full to manage the warm crumble tart with creme fraiche (much to my disappointment) but the mango frozen yoghurt was very creamy but not very mango-ey (at least to my tastebuds).

Neither of us were drinking so with the early bird offer, was only £50 for the two of us - which isn't bad. It's just that even with the attentive service and nice surroundings, we won't be rushing back when we can go to Anthony's or No 3 York Place instead. Maybe we've been spoilt ... :hmmm:

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Neither of us were drinking so with the early bird offer, was only £50 for the two of us - which isn't bad.  It's just that even with the attentive service and nice surroundings, we won't be rushing back when we can go to Anthony's or No 3 York Place instead.  Maybe we've been spoilt ... :hmmm:

Excellent as Antony's is £50 won't go very far on a Saturday night!

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Excellent as Antony's is £50 won't go very far on a Saturday night!

Agreed and understood ... but isn't that what credit cards are for?! I also acknowledge that there is also likely to be an issue of getting a table at Anthony's as well - whereas when we left B44 at 8.15 on the dot .. the restaurant and bar area still didn't look that full.

We both felt that if we had the choice again, we would rather spend more and eat very well at Anthony's. Wasn't that B44 was bad or awful - (as I said - have eaten well there before) - it's just that I think I would get more than double the pleasure and enjoyment out of spending £40-£50 per head somewhere else.

Yin

X

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About a year ago, so not recent. I thought it was very disappointing - overly complicated food, imprecise cooking, fussy service and overpriced. Not *bad* as such; just emblematic of what is wrong with a lot of "aspirational" restaurants in the UK.

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