Conference Leeds

Places to eat outside of the city centre

Written by Danny Pugsley

Places to eat outside of the city centre
Inside award winning restaurant Seventeen

Given the number of excellent restaurants in the city centre, it is easy to miss the fact that there are some superb places to eat further out and around Leeds that too often fall under the radar. With a real buzz around some of the suburbs of Leeds at the moment, we’ve profiled five of the best for you to try.

Diva Italiana, Pudsey

Italian born owners Mattia Baldetti and Massimo Bresciani run this renowned and award winning trattoria based on a philosophy of providing quality, genuine Italian food. Diva Italiana is housed in a listed building in Pudsey, it has a truly authentic Italian feel and also boasting a luscious cocktail bar and courtyard, provides a wonderful dining atmosphere.

The restaurant has an original and wide ranging menu, with more than a nod to Tuscany with hearty soups, sea bass, ragu and porchetta all on offer. In addition to the a la carte menu, there are also daily specials an early bird menu and a special Monday night offering of six small courses.

Sukhothai, Headingley/Chapel Allerton

Long renowned as the best Thai restaurant not only in Leeds, but throughout the whole of Yorkshire, Sukhothai continues to go from strength to strength as it approaches just short of a decade in existence and continues to rack up awards. Not only serving up fantastic and authentic Thai food at excellent value for money, the service and hospitality on offer are second to none.

There are over 175 dishes on offer, with an emphasis on using fresh and healthy ingredients. As well as the usual favourite Thai dishes, there are plenty to entice the more adventurous diner with dishes such as Sai Oua – Thai pork sausage with red curry and lime leaves, and Gachow Tale – a selection of grilled seafood served with different chilli sauces.

Leeds Seventeen, Alwoodley

A family run restaurant that prides itself on serving quality, traditional British food with a modern twist. Its stylish décor offers a welcoming and relaxing dining atmosphere and having being named winner of the best modern English cuisine and best suburban restaurant in recent Leeds restaurant awards, Seventeen certainly boasts a strong pedigree.

Offering three menus – a la carte, early bird and the newly introduced terrace menu, there are plenty of strong flavours to tempt diners with such as pigeon breast, seared oranges, roasted beetroot & pine nut salad as a starter and fillet of trout, courgette & lime pickle potatoes, coriander beurre blanc from the main course menu.

Salsa Mexicana, Chapel Allerton

Mexican food can sometimes unfairly be labelled as unadventurous and formulaic, with much of what is on offer more akin to ‘Tex-Mex’ than true Mexican food. However, Salsa Mexicana strives to dispel this notion, offering both an eat in and take-out menu packed with authentic dishes and flavours, drawing on the street food of Mexico for inspiration.

Original dishes such as a fresh-baked sandwich with a topping of pumpkin and sesame seeds filled with slow cooked lamb and red chile marmalade, topped with avocado, tomato, mayo and chipotle chile paste, or a bigger bite such as the Mole Poblano – a poached chicken breast, covered with their own mole sauce, and served with rice and fried plantain slices. With a minimalist décor that really does give the feel of a cantina, Salsa Mexicana more than hits the spot if you are looking for a true taste of Mexico.

Dos Amigos, Kirkstall

Offering a mix of both Italian and Spanish cuisine, Dos Amigos provides a real Mediterranean flavour with its intimate setting is a million miles away from some of the more well-known tapas restaurants -and is all the better for it. There is a huge selection of tapas on offer.

Ranging from light bites such as Queso Frito – Manchego cheese fingers in a crispy crumb served with red pepper marmalade through to Pancetta Asada – slow cooked belly of pork in tomato frito with fresh basil and garlic, not to mention a variety of sea food dishes including three different paellas.

For those with a preference for Italian there are also pizza and pasta options, and all can be accompanied by an impressive range of wines and beers. And being located in the shadow of Kirkstall Abbey, it is the perfect setting to embark on a post-meal stroll.

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