On Saturday Zanna, Sophie and I headed into Leeds faced with what I thought quite a daunting task - trying to find bridesmaids' dresses. I was fairly apprehensive as Sophie, Zanna and I all have quite different looks and tastes in clothes so finding something we would all like was going to be a challenge. However, two shops down and we had great success. We're keeping the dresses on the down-low, but suffice to say I think I'm a rather nice bride! They are both going to look beautiful in cerise satin.
To celebrate, we went for dinner and cocktails at the
Hummingbird Kitchen in Chapel Allerton. This is the venture which replaced Angel Share, and is again a bar downstairs with restaurant on the upstairs floors. I was pleased to see that both the restaurant and the bar were busy all evening, a strong sign that the food and drinks scene in north Leeds is alive and well.
The Hummingbird Kitchen try to source their produce from British suppliers including the Ginger Pig, Crust & Crumb and the Kirkgate Market. The food is British and European, most dishes with a bit of a twist. I love any eatery where I would happily eat virtually everything on the menu, and I was spoiled for choice here.
Zanna and I shared some scampi from the small plates (Scottish scampi with bloody mary dipping sauce) which was very good: crispy breadcrumbs, sweet tails and a refreshing dipping sauce. For mains, Sophie went for the smoky root vegetable and cheddar wellington which was beautifully presented parcels of filo pastry with creamed savoy and thyme-glazed carrots. It looked utterly delicious and Sophie was very pleased. Zanna (a touch hungover from our white wine indulgence on Friday) homed in on the ribeye steak with beef dripping chips and red wine jus, served blue. It came cooked to perfection, properly seasoned, with some very chunky chips. The only slight dip was the grilled mushrooms which were a bit flabby, but overall it left a very good impression. I had the roasted coley with Devonshire crab gnocchi, olives, tomatoes and a brandy emulsion. It was a beautifully light dish, but would have benefitted from a couple of tweaks. The coley either needed a crisp skin, or to have had the skin removed before serving, and in my view the olives were far too overpowering for the delicate crab and tomatoes.
Overall though, we had a great night. We kept our dinner table for the whole night, ordering cocktails without having to go to the busy bar downstairs. The cocktails were excellent (a fabulous espresso martini) and it was a great venue for a lovely girls' night.
 |
| Me and Zanna |
 |
| Zanna and Sophie |
 |
| Crispy scampi |
 |
| Roasted root vegetable and cheddar wellington |
 |
| Roasted coley with crab gnocchi, olives and tomatoes |
 |
| Rib eye with beef dripping chips |
No comments:
Post a Comment