Food Review Brasserie at West Park
Rob Wright finds a foodie delight in the far reaches of Headingley
Food Review: Brasserie at West Park
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Out beyond studentville, on a dog’s leg bend, sandwiched between the coin operated launderette and the Spice 4 U, a little slice of continental cafe culture has touched down in West Headingley, though there is nothing alien about this little arrival. In fact you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s been there for quite some time.
This is probably due to how familiar and reassuring the place feels when you arrive. Brown leather benches with multicoloured cushions line the plain walls (save for one burgundy ‘feature wall’) and face onto simple patio-style tables and chairs. The staff are warm and courteous and see you to your table to what sounds like Kylie Minogue singing ‘Sympathy for the Devil’. Familiar, yes, but different too, as reflected in the minimal but subversive menu – sea bass is served with chorizo, salmon with wasabi mayo – so choosing courses is not boring, but neither is it over challenging.
Our orders are taken by a very enthusiastic if nervous waitress and it is lovely to see such eagerness and attentiveness – very conducive to enjoying your visit. With a short wait to chat and enjoy our drinks – I go for a large glass of Pinot Grigio Rosé (£6), which is tart yet intoxicating – the starters arrive at just the right time and are perfectly pitched, flavour wise. The crab salad (£6.50) is refreshing and flavoursome but with an additional sweetness and delicacy and the duck hash (£5.95) is crispy, well seasoned and suitably odd without being too odd – a fishcake with duck instead of fish.
The main courses are a step up again though. The cheeseburger (£10.95) is a blend of Angus and Hereford beef served rare – it tastes as beef should, well aged and rustic – and the chips are chunky, tasty and homemade. The only thing lacking is a touch of sauce. The chicken green curry ensemble however (£10.95) is nigh on perfect to look at and taste – deep red wild Thai rice is served alongside sweet, almost minty coriander and cashew salsa and coconut fried banana which is firm, fresh and wickedly indulgent. And then there’s the curry – rich, sweet and creamy but with wisps of chilli heat and crammed with generous chunks of free-range chicken and crisp vegetables. Very tasty, very filling, but there’s definitely room for dessert.
Which, in keeping with the rest of the meal, is no disappointment. The pear and almond frangipane (£4.95) is light, delicately flavoured with almond and topped with thin slices of grainy pear, and the accompanying chocolate ice cream is sublime – bitter, sweet, milky and bursting with genuine chocolate flavour. The chocolate tart (£4.95) is outrageously rich with wonderfully crisp pastry but is perfectly complemented by the banana and ginger ice cream – all three flavours together are deliciously synergistic. Then the postprandial coffee comes with a homemade truffle – it’s a seriously smooth and rich chocolatey finish.
Smooth and rich throughout in fact, but fortunately you don’t have to be too rich to enjoy it.
Posted on Wednesday 21st July 2010
Brasserie at West Park
269 Otley Road, West Park, Leeds, LS16 5LN
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