Bavette, Horsforth: I ate at a French bistro in Leeds named best local restaurant in the UK that has seen a 33 per cent increase of bookings since winning title - here's what I thought
As I sat at the table at the French bistro Bavette in Horsforth - named the best local restaurant in the UK - I eagerly waited for the menu and my expectations were high.
The Yorkshire Post was invited to Bavette, a neighbourhood bistro in Horsforth inspired by French cuisine and owned by husband and husband duo, Sandy Jarvis and Clement Cousin.
The couple have been involved in the culinary industry since they first met and mostly worked at high end restaurants in London before moving to Yorkshire.
Bavette has already attracted national attention after winning Best Local Restaurant in July after impressing The Good Food Guide’s anonymous inspectors just five months after opening the bistro.
Since then, the restaurant has seen a 33 per cent boost in their bookings with an average of 406 bookings per week. This figure has increased to 485 in the last three weeks.
“When we first heard about it I couldn’t quite believe it,” Mr Cousins said.
“What’s great about this award is that it’s for us but it’s also about our local and regular customers as well. We all feel very proud.”
The owners pride themselves on fostering a warm and friendly atmosphere as well as serving up quality food.
I spoke to Sandy and Clement a day before I visited the restaurant earlier this week. They spoke to me about how their business has been affected since winning the award.
“We were already fairly busy, certainly busier than we had thought we would be after just a few months, so we were really pleased with how well we were doing,” Mr Jarvis said.
“We also had lots of returning customers and we are pretty much full every day now.
“We have lots of new customers too which provide its own challenges. There's certainly more of an expectation when people come but hopefully we’re able to [live up to it].”
When discussing the concept behind the restaurant, Mr Jarvis said that they want it to feel like a love letter to all of the places they have visited and worked in over the years in London and France.
“It’s very much the food that we both like to cook and eat and I think in the different places that we have both worked in,” he said.
“We’ve taken all of these snippets and I know it’s cheesy but we see [our restaurant] as a love letter to all of those places.
“First and foremost, hospitality is at the forefront and we want to make sure people feel very welcome and very relaxed, alongside that we serve high quality service and hopefully some really delicious food.”
All I can say is that they succeeded with making the place feel warm and inviting, I felt it instantly when I walked in.
I was greeted by Clement who took our order and described the menu to me and my guest. He was just as friendly and accommodating as I expected after speaking to him on the phone.
Clement also greeted other customers at the restaurant. This added a personal touch to the service which I liked.
I looked around the room and noticed the dark forest green coloured walls and soft candles on each of the tables and I felt cosy and autumnal.
I ate at the best local restaurant in the UK in Horsforth - here’s what I thought
I’m on an alcohol detox. So when the drinks menu was presented to me, my eyes immediately scanned the non-alcoholic drinks on the menu.
Clement recommended I try the Bavette’s Mocktail which was lemonade, apple juice and Orgeat Syrup. I’m glad I went with this, it was delicious and refreshing. There was an underlying taste of almond which I really liked.
Snacks - Comté Cheese Croquettes
If heaven was food, this would be it.
The cheese melted in my mouth and I couldn’t stop thinking about it the rest of the meal.
Starters - Isle of Wight Tomatoes, Whipped Feta, Pomegranate, Pickled Cucumber and Dukkah
I thoroughly enjoyed this dish; the feta cheese was the right amount of creamy. The textures and flavours of the cheese and pomegranate complemented each other perfectly.
Even though it looked like a sizable dish, it was the right amount for me.
Mains - Bavette, Ratatouille, Confit Garlic and Fennel Frites
The Bavette steak was perfectly cooked. I can be slightly picky when it comes to this meat. I’m a medium girl; I don’t like it when it’s too rare or when it’s overcooked. The texture made it easy to cut and chew.
The flavours when mixing it with the Ratatouille were delicious. I did find the Ratatouille a little bit more sour than I expected but I enjoyed it.
I really liked the Fennel Frites, they went very well with the steak. I did feel like this portion was very generous and I was glad I was wearing stretchy jeans.
But I still felt there was room for dessert.
Dessert - Crème Brûlée, Port Poached Fig
This certainly qualified as heavenly.
The sensation when I tap, tap, tapped the surface before I smashed it and saw the vanilla cream oozing underneath was very satisfying.
The natural sweetness of the fig helped to even out the taste so it wasn’t too sweet. It was the perfect course to round off the meal.
Overall, my expectations were fulfilled as I felt Sandy and Clement have cultivated the friendly and welcoming atmosphere they wanted and their food was as delicious as I hoped it would be.