Food Review La Cantina 44
Cross Gates in East Leeds holds many surprises. Here's one of them. Ben Johnson enjoys a taste of the Med in the former mining suburb
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How times change. In the bygone, industrial Leeds of old, the view from the shade of La Cantina 44’s spacious outside seating area would have looked directly onto the second of two large gas holders – quite unsightly, really, and we know this because the first one is still there – which is now the sight of a 1960s indoor shopping centre, the first of its kind in Europe, built to meet the demands of the slowly populating suburb of Cross Gates. Notable for its former colliery community and then as an important commuter village, the place is still largely dismissed as merely a good location to catch a train into Leeds, and seems to have very little to commend it on its own merits.
Of course, following hot on the heels of indoor shopping malls come Italian restaurants – a logical lifestyle development – and La Cantina 44 is undoubtedly a triumph for the local community, hence its popularity and its longevity on the cusp of the town’s main high street.
Distinctly family run, the restaurant may be small but at least it’s heaving most nights, which is reassuring, and the main reason for this may take a little time to become apparent. But I’ll save you the effort: you know that little taverna you went too in Greece, where the ashtrays had water in them, where some of the chairs were stacked up in the corner, and cold food was kept inside a glass frontage at the bar? Well, this is that place. This is your favourite Med bar that you went too every night during that holiday on the Algarve, and it’s in the post-industrial, high rise suburb of Cross Gates. Indeed, how times change.
This is a particularly comforting thought as you tuck into honest grub cooked by dedicated chefs who know how to offer something both simple and different. Take the filling starter of rotalo di melanzane (£5.50) – a stuffed aubergine dish oven baked with plenty of cheese, and a hidden concoction of courgette, shallots, mushrooms, and bacon. It’s basic, yes, but wholesome, like your mama had cooked it. And is there anything else that screams ‘beach holiday’ more than the calamari fritti (£5.95)? They even seem to have the same tartar sauce. Lovely.
It’s the pizza and pasta which seem to fly out of the doors, from giant stone baked calzones to big bowls of spaghetti, but it’s worth acknowledging the specialities list, which is where you’ll find the meats and fish – like the salmone all’ arancia (£12.55) with a light dressing of orange and tarragon sauce. The salmon fillet is delicate and not too dry, served with spinach and a side order of vegetables. The pollo pomodoro (£11.95) is just as succulent, consisting of a chicken breast with smoked bacon, and a sauce of sun blush tomatoes, shallots, chilli, basil and a splash of wine. Order an oil-soaked side order of green salad (£4.35) to go with it, which has exactly the same taste as a family holiday when you were a kid.
The food here is what some term ‘traditional’, but I can think of a better word: nostalgic. Effortlessly palette pleasing, you may be tempted by the desserts: these come straight from a fridge, but it would be unfair to quibble at this late stage, as you enjoy tiramisu and cheesecake. La Cantina 44 may be a nice little secret for the people of Cross Gates for now, but if enough people start to shout about it, perhaps this drowsy suburb will have something new to bring people to its shores, other than just as an excuse to get the hell out of there.
1a Austhorpe Road, LS15 8QR, 0113 368 0066
Posted on Wednesday 28th April 2010
La Cantina 44
1a Austhorpe Road, Leeds, LS15 8QR
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