Five of us arrived(all the adults) from Will's family for a wonderful and exciting meal that took us back to Spain via the UK with Chef Greg Lewis' novel take on Basque cuisine using local ingredients as well.
We decided to order in sections starting with the "Picotear" and "Charcuterie y Queso" as well as the amazing evening special's tapas of Bacalao Tempura with Lemon Alioli with pickled peppers (service on a aslice of bread as traditional tapas are). It was a great beginning as we adored a bottle of creamy rich and exciting, but slightly floral Tandem Immacula Viognier/Viura blend 2015 from Navarra, Spain.
The Pork Scratchings was about the least exciting dish all night as they were hard and boring(how could George Bush call these his favorite snack), but at 3pounds hardly a loss (under $5). The "Biscay Mix" cost even less and included tasty roasted giant corn, toasted Valencia Almonds and crunch fried broad beans.
The setting is simple with a long bar on one side of the restaurant and a small several burner kitchen right next to it at the rear adjoining the bar space. I could not believe all the food for the two floors came from this one small space with staff of what seemed to be two! The walls were wood, tile and brick in an historic building in the Trinity shopping area in downtown Leeds where millennials hang out all day and night! There were neat modern Spanish posters as well as old tile and wooden floors. It's been warm here, so plenty of folk were dining outside as well.
We ordered up a second white: Aquitania Albarino from Rias Baixas, crisper and still delicious with our Pato Ahumado, a signature dish of Smoked Duck served with Celeriac Remoulade that was so good we ordered extras. We also ordered the Tabla De Casa which was a huge board with tons of meats and cheeses that was one of the best around for sure: Iberia chorizo, Lomo, Bayonne ham(air dried from Southern France spiced with Espelette Pepper), Manchego, Rosemary infused Manchego and an amazing creamy and rich Valdeon Spanish blue cheese. Quince Membrillo, Olives, crackers and Marcona Almonds graced the huge platter.
Our Pescado included Sardinas, whole fish grilled with Heritage (that's UK for heirloom) tomatoes and Espelette peppers. Even better was the Arroz Con Mariscos a plate of Saffron Rice loaded with head-on Tiger Prawns, the tiniest of sliced squid, chorizo and peas that had a "paella" feel to it on a smaller scale.
Verduras are a treat here and we chose the Ensalada Zanahoria a gorgeous bowl of roasted Heritage Carrots with smoked Piquillo peppers, summer herb pesto and machego that was out of this world; definitely one of the best veggie dishes around.
Carne featured more of that Pato Asado, but here the duck breast is pan-roasted, not smoked, and served with the same celeriac puree but added are the amazing PX raisins, resonant raisin reasons because they are soaked in PX Sherry!
Our Huevos Selection was the Huevo de Pato with a perfectly fired duck egg on top of sprouting broccoli (akin to broccolini) with Nut-Brown Butter & almonds.
At this point I felt someone spitting on me, but it was the huge a/c unit in the ceiling that dripped a bit too much! We had also moved on to one of the best Spanish reds ever a 2006 Caller Sangenis, Vaque "Van Por" Merlot, Grenache, Samso & Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Priorat!
Dessert was shared and the Mousse de Chocolate of Valrhona Chocolate was a winner with its odd pretzel stick! The Tarta de Santiago of Citrus & Almond with Olive Oil Ice Cream and Orange Syrup was also very refreshing and went superbly with the Williams & Hubert Pedro Jimenez 20 year old Sherry which was gutsy, sweet and divine. The perfect ending to a perfect meal.
Kudos to our server Emily who was helpful, suggestive and always there to help!
Sad to leave Leeds, but headed to a family wedding further north in Yorkshire.
