No 14 Restaurant & Bar in Headingley, Leeds: The Yorkshire restaurant which is 'a little oasis of serenity'

The Foundry in Leeds was one of my ‘go to’ spots for a slap-up meal – the cote de boeuf (and the game-changing peppercorn and bearnaise sauces) was a particular favourite. And I wasn’t alone.

This stylish bistro had a loyal following and restaurateur Shaun Davies and business partner Phil Richardson ran the place for more than decade before moving on.

Davies took over running Bretts, the popular fish and chip shop in the heart of Headingley, in 2018, and has since turned this local institution into No 14 Restaurant & Bar.

If you were to hang a label on it you would probably call it ‘modern British’, which is shorthand for classic British food with a bit of a twist – anyone who was a fan of the Foundry will recognise the menus here.

Housed in an attractive stone terrace set back from the busy main road, the restaurant is a little oasis of serenity.

At the front, a south facing outside seating space offers a tantalising prospect for those balmy evenings which sadly proved as rare as hen’s teeth this summer. Ah well, there’s always next year.

Instead, on a chilly autumnal evening I was in the mood for something comforting, and as it turns out I’d come to the right place.

There is a lot to like about No 14.

In fact, I’d go as far to say that it’s my kind of place – good food and wine, friendly service, all wrapped up in a cosy, intimate setting.

They make a point of highlighting the provenance of the ingredients, with fish from Huddersfield-based Yorkshire Seafoods, meat supplied by R P Setchfield, a family butcher based in Roundhay, and the wines and spirits from Field & Fawcett, a wine merchants based near York.

The emphasis is on knowing where your food comes from, and the dishes reflect this simple, common-sense approach.

This tells me a couple of things – that they use good ingredients and don’t mess around with them.

It’s the kind of menu that revolves around the customer eating well, rather than one designed by a chef that wants to show off. I don’t want to be someone’s guinea pig no matter how clever they are and how many Michelin starred restaurants they have worked in.

There is an art and confidence in simplicity.

Take the braised pig’s cheek with pork bon bon, parsnip, apple and mustard starter. I’ve had approximations of this before and there’s a reason for that – it’s a tried and tested flavour combination that works. Which is exactly what it does here.

The same can be said for the seared king scallops and black pudding with pea puree, Parma ham and pea shoots. The symphony of flavours hit all the right notes, and the cooking of the scallops was as good as I’ve had in a long time.

Is either dish going to have culinary icons like Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay rushing back to the drawing board? No. Were they delicious? Absolutely.

The mains followed in a similar vein. Risottos can be tricky even for a skilled chef, but the smoked haddock with leek risotto, parmesan, poached egg and chive oil was bursting with flavour and the gently smoked haddock flaked away perfectly. The only slight disappointment was the overcooked poached egg, a schoolboy error but thankfully one that didn’t detract from what was an otherwise sumptuous dish.

There was no such error with the grilled lemon sole, which came with samphire, brown shrimp, and a lemon, caper and parsley butter sauce. This was a sublime bit of cookery and shows you don’t have to constantly try and reinvent the wheel.

I usually roll my eyes whenever people start banging on about portion sizes, as if that’s somehow a measure of value or excellence (you know who you are, I’ve seen the Tripadvisor reviews). But here they are on the hearty side without ever detracting from the quality of what’s on the plate, and as a card-carrying glutton that pleases me greatly.

We finished by sharing that great British classic sticky toffee pudding which came with a butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream. I’ve probably had the equivalent of my own bodyweight in sticky toffee puddings over the years and not all have passed muster.

This, however, was the kind of pud that has you oohing and aahing in decadent delight. The warm sponge was seductively soft, the butterscotch sauce rich without being cloyingly sweet, and the beautifully made ice cream brought the whole shebang together (for the record, it should always be ice cream and not custard).

The bill for two (which included a delicious bottle of viognier) came in at £115.80, excluding service, which is good value in my book.

They have recently started doing Sunday lunches once a month to test the water (£28 for two courses or £34 for three) and judging by the standards set here are likely to prove popular.

Running a successful restaurant – consistently producing food to a high standard, balancing the books, and keeping your customers happy – has arguably never been more challenging. All the more reason then, to cherish places like No 14 that embrace good food and good company and make us feel that all’s well in the world.

Welcome 5/5

Food 4/5

Atmosphere 4/5

Prices 4/5

No 14 Restaurant & Bar, 12-14 North Lane, Headingley. LS6 3HE. Tel: 07783 648391. Website: https://no14northlane.co.uk/