Dining companions

RESTAURANT review: Is it a battle of Italian restaurants? Jack Blanchard visits Carluccio’s in Leeds. Pictures by Mark Bickerdike.

Some people can be snobby about chain restaurants. I’ve probably been guilty of this on occasions – dragging long-suffering friends around towns, turning my nose up at identikit eateries as I hunt for that perfect little family-run spot which exists only in some irritatingly worthy corner of my imagination.

The arrival of Carluccio’s in Yorkshire almost feels like something of an event, particularly in a city where the restaurant scene has been practically flat-lining for too long.

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Antonio Carluccio relinquished control of this company in 2005 when he floated it on the stock exchange and he now acts – after a brief hiatus – as an adviser. Further inquiries reveals he’s no longer working in the restaurants. His role is to plan the menu each season and work on “overall strategy”. Much has changed since the first “caffe” opened in Soho more than a decade ago. Though you wouldn’t know it from driving round the north of England, this is the chain’s 60th branch, making the whole operation a sizeable corporate affair for all its claims of home-cooked authenticity.

The basic concept seems a good one. Having a deli out front where you can buy all manner of breads and cakes and upmarket Italian wares is a nice idea and it certainly makes for an inviting welcome as you push past jars of Italian pickles and porcini mushrooms, tins of boar pate and tubs of expensive-looking olives. The bulging picnic hampers have made quite a reputation for themselves down south.

The restaurant itself is dark and inviting and bustling with a young urban crowd on a balmy Friday evening. We are greeted with a beaming smile and shown across the large open-plan room to a table in a sort of corner booth.

The décor is plain and modern, the diners packed in tight but offered a degree of privacy by the dim lighting and the raucous atmosphere.

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Indeed, the noise is quite something here, especially with the huge front windows open wide and the motorcycles revving up in the street outside. This is not the place to come for a quiet, intimate meal for two. Formality isn’t much either.There are reminders that this is a café by day – the little bowl of sugar sachets on the table, the laminated menu offering cake and coffee propped up alongside.

But anyone who’s been out to eat in Rome or Florence will know that these sorts of random table furnishings are in some ways as authentically Italian as fizzing glasses of Prosecco. We were brought these within seconds of ordering.

Indeed, the service was immaculate throughout, an amazing feat considering how full the place was. I would have preferred more time between courses, but I suppose what really matters is that glasses of tap water come instantly on request, a bottle of Sicilian red is the perfect temperature and everything is delivered with charm and finesse.

The food itself is mostly decent without being exceptional. Our mixed starter of antipasto di verdure was notable mainly for the wonderful freshly-cooked caponata, an oily aubergine mush which I could happily have kept on eating for the entire weekend with just a spoon and a contented grin. The accompanying focaccia was fresh enough and the crisp green bean salad balanced the rich oily flavours of the olives and artichokes. It was all served on a vast gleaming platter that filled the table and had neighbouring diners peering over enviously.

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The mains arrived within seconds. Tortelloni filled with wine-braised venison proved nearly as good as it sounds, the light cheese sauce a little salty but gentle enough not to overpower the rich gamey flavours of the meat.

Bistecca di bue, a 10oz “bone in rib” steak, was deceptively tender and pleasingly charred, though the accompanying ramekin of salsa lacked oomph and was crying out for something to kick it into life. Far more serious, however, was a dreadful side dish of sautéed spinach, overcooked and saltier than a bathtub of samphire. Our shared dessert, too, was disappointing, the “tart” lime syrup which should have given some bite to the creamy but bland ricottina al limone, failed to do so.

We leave happy enough if a little underwhelmed and strolling home past the other places along Greek Street and Park Row – Prada, La Tasca, Piccolino, Wagamama – it’s fair to say that Carluccio’s fits right in.

It felt a little rushed on a Friday night, but it’s somewhere to go and enjoy decent-enough Italian food without pretension or vast expense – as long as you don’t expect anything more.

Carluccio’s, 5 Greek Street, Leeds, LS1 5SX. Tel: 0113 242 2038.

Website and online reservations: www.carluccios.com/caffes/leeds.

Price: Dinner for two including wine and service, approx. £80.

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