Food Review Diva Italiana Takeaway
We try the Pudsey restaurant's new collection-only take-out service
Food Review: Diva Italiana Takeaway
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Everyone loves a good takeaway. Not so much those gloopy, greasy, dodgy ones – although they have their place after a pint or two – we’re thinking more along the lines of really good home-cooked style food in the comfort of your own home.
Diva Italiana, an Italian restaurant in Pudsey, is aiming to take that concept one step further by offering not just home-cooked style grub, but restaurant quality food, to take away. Which seems like a very wise move in times of recession, when punters are keen to treat themselves but don’t have masses of disposable cash to do so.
Eager to put the take-out service to the test, we gather at Leeds Guide Towers and order a mini banquet. We opt for three starters: trenette pasta al pesto (£4), king prawns and avocado salad with capers and mascarpone cocktail sauce (£4), and a speck and sun-dried plums salad (£4). Our tasters award highest marks to the speck salad, thanks to its winning combination of flavoursome air-dried ham and sweet dried fruit. The dish is a notable success given that salads are not ideal takeaway fodder, generally being at their best when eaten as quickly as possible after serving. The other two starters are also enjoyable without prompting rave reviews: the pasta and pesto isn’t spectacular but it is tasty, while the prawn and avocado salad is good but would probably be even better eaten super-fresh in the restaurant.
Tastebuds triggered, we swiftly open up the neat little packages containing our main courses. First up, medaglione of fillet of beef braised in marsala with grilled tomatoes (£9) offers up some flavoursome pieces of meat in a sweet winey sauce, and goes down a treat with the carnivores in the group. Our second main course of fresh salmon al cartoccio cooked in a foil bag (£9) is perhaps even better: the resting time on the journey home from the restaurant has done no harm at all to the steamed piece of fish, which nestles happily in the foil with some vegetables and a drop of white wine liquor. Our banquet continues with a third main course of that takeaway classic, the margherita pizza (£7), which is a nicely rustic, home-cooked version that is quickly devoured by the hungry hordes. Our side dishes of rocket and parmesan salad (£2) and a portion of Italian fries (£2) also deserve a mention – the latter in particular are delicious. Desserts of tiramisu (£3) and cheesecake (£3) are also very good indeed, delivering not only lovely flavours but that contented feeling of fullness you get from a good takeaway.
All in all it’s been a very enjoyable meal and, while not quite matching the class of a meal out at the restaurant proper, the new service is a very welcome addition. The food is certainly not your average takeaway fare and, as the many empty containers testify, it has left Leeds Guide staff feeling very satisfied.
Diva Italiana Takeaway Service (collection only), 8-10 Booths Yard, Pudsey, LS28 7AD, 0113 255 5810, http://www.divatakeaway.co.uk
Posted on Wednesday 4th August 2010
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