Food & Drink - Eating Out in Leeds

News Ilkley Brewery Stout Impresses at Calls Landing Beer Tasting

Local brew MJ Fortis performs in taste-off against the classic Guinness

Tensions were running high during the stout-off at Calls Landing Stew and Oyster bar in Leeds late last month. Alongside the picturesque views of the river, local beer lovers were taste testing Ilkley Brewery‘s new dark creation MJ Fortis alongside the classic black stuff, Guinness. The question to be answered: which brand was the stout with the biggest clout?

Calls Landing hosted the event to give the public the chance to taste MJ Fortis - which is a new addition to the range of ales on offer at the bar - with Luke Raven, an expert…

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Recipe Rob Higgins' Chestnut-crusted crown of pigeon and confit pigeon leg

Every fortnight, the region's top chefs share their culinary secrets with a recipe for you to try at home

Rob Higgins is the head chef at Sam’s Chop House. Here he presents a dish from the restaurants’ new Great Yorkshire Menu, a new seasonal menu featuring contemporary local produce inspired by Yorkshire’s rich culinary history. This menu will be built with the help of local opinion-leaders as champions for the new dishes, which will reflect their own personal tastes. The menu will be launched later in the year with Ian McMillan, the Poet Laureate of the Victorian Chop House Company and will feature poems, cartoons, music, local beers, British wines, and a display of local seasonal produce. A…

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Example Menu Aire Bar

Co-owner Louise Howard talks us through the menu at the stunning riverside venue

As one of Leeds’ bar and restaurant hot-spots, a trip to The Calls can be a confusing one. With so many bars and restaurants to choose from and all of them offering differentthings, decisions do not come easily. Louise Howard, co-owns Aire Bar, one of a number of bars on the street and says, "I think there’s something for everybody at Aire Bar, no matter what age you are, there’s something that will appeal to all ages."

Situated in a Grade ll-listed building, Aire Bar incorporates a relaxed lounge and dining area as well as an outside terrace over-looking…

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Bartender's Choice Claudio 'Nino' Antonino, The Maven

Where the stars behind the bars reveal their favourite drinks

Sometimes you have to work a little bit harder to get the finer things in life. And unless you know exactly where you’re going, you might find yourself walking up and down Call Lane for some time before you manage to find The Maven. For starters there isn’t even a sign outside, in true Prohibition speakeasy style. But if you’re a cocktail lover, you’ll be pleased you got here in the end. After making your way in through the inconspicuous exterior, you head up an old staircase and into this unexpected, classy little hideaway.

The man behind The Maven is…

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Food Review Harvester

Lucy Adlard visits a new branch of this chain pub in the Cardigan Fields development by Kirkstall's Vue cinema

While perusing the menu (as I often do these days before I eat out, not for any journalistic research purposes, more just because I like planning future meals), I noticed that Harvester gives the calorie content of all of its dishes. This seems to be a new theme in places such as KFC and McDonalds and I find it unnerving. Harvester say it is so that their customers can ‘choose a meal appropriate to their taste or occasion’, but personally, when I eat out I am generally throwing caution to the wind and am very much in the ignorance is…

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Food News New Marriott Restaurant and Ilkley Brewery Wins Award

Valentine’s day is fast approaching so why not celebrate with a bit of fizz? Latitude Wine & Liquor Merchant is hosting a Champagne tasting and buffet evening to celebrate. Held in Anthony’s Piazza on 9^th February tickets cost just £15. The award-winning venue is also holding bread-making courses. Prices include breakfast and lunch as well as learning to bake English, French, Italian and Rye breads, yummy!

If you’re learning a new skill, you might as well visit a new place. Stir It Up is a new night launching in Leeds next month at Templeworks. Where else can…

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