Guinea Pig Night at Anthony's Piazza

We have just returned from the second " Guinea Pig Night" at the Piazza. For adventurous diners only, for £19.95 you get a three course meal and coffee. They are experimenting with new dishes so you don't know what they are going to bring you. I think it would spoil the experience for any future participants if I revealed the dishes we were given, in case they are trying out the same ones next week,  but suffice it to say that it was very good value, and we gave written feedback at the end of the meal.  Guinea Pig wine is also available at £10 a bottle, but we didn't try it. The whole concept puts a smile on your face. The moment when the waiter walked away from the table with the wine list saying "... and you're not having Guinea Pig wine?" was priceless.

It seemed quite popular - I understand they will be doing it again every Monday for the foreseeable future.

Highly recommended.

Here's the poster

2011 Michelin Stars Now Out

Very disappointed to see that the Star Inn at Harome has lost its star. When we went last summer it was fault free; all aspects of the food and service were really good. All the other Yorkshire stars were retained. The Black Horse at Oldstead, which we rated very highly, is still on the rising star list; perhaps it will get there next year.

We were also surprised to see that another of our favourites, J Baker's Bistro Moderne in York, has been deleted from the Bib Gourmand list. No idea why, though I hope it might have more to do with pricing than quality.

Still no star for anywhere in Leeds. I suppose only Anthony's might have been in the running. His Piazza at the Corn Exchange still has its Bib Gourmand though. We've been there many times, and though the service can be variable, as many other blogs have noted, it's such a unique space, and the food usually lives up to it. I took this photograph there on a Nokia N95 camera phone. I think it's one of the two best photographs I have ever taken.

Harvey Nichols - Wine And Dine

As much wine as you can drink during the meal is an unusual offer for a fine dining establishment. I can't imagine any other local restaurant with pretensions to serious food trying it, but several of my colleagues went last year and were impressed, so I joined them for another go.

We started at Whitelocks, where several pints of Ossett Silver King and Leeds Pale, and a bottle of wine, were sunk before we sauntered along to Harvey Nichols Fourth Floor cafe in time for our 6pm reservation.

An amuse bouche of Pea and Spinach veloute came first. It was half an espresso cupful; a tiny quantity but almost exactly the same amount as was served on my one and only visit to Anthony's on Boar Lane as the full first course of the three course lunch menu.

Between the seven of us we tried most of the dishes on the menu, so here are a few pictures:

I had the Salmon with Parsley Cream, which was a nice light fresh starter, then the Pork which was a complete mess of a presentation. The steak had been sliced but allowed to slide all over the plate. The rhubarb and apple accompaniment was just the right balance of sweetness and acidity, but it was small dice and did not help to make the pork look tidy. The lemon cheesecake was lovely. The coffee was too thin and weak. As advertised, the wine was plentiful. House red or white was proffered whenever a glass looked in need of a refill.


Total price £33 each. Would I go back? Yes. It's a light and comfortable restaurant with good views across the Leeds skyline, the service was excellent and the food very good, though not remarkable. One big difference from eating similar meals elsewhere - the amount of wine flowing on all tables made it a very noisy dining experience, but you really got the feeling everyone was having a good time.