Authentic Italian Eating in Leeds

I was idly watching twitter one night when @caramboo asked where three 18 year olds could go in the city centre for a cheap and cheerful Italian…cue talk of Fiori, Bella Pasta, Strada et al. The chitter chatter got me to thinking about where I used to go as an 18 year old way back in the day…My favourite haunt as a student, was to my mind, a very authentic Italian on Eastgate called Al Bacio’s run by Sardinian Vittorio his wife & chef son Christopher…Despite the blare of the TV (situated in the middle of the dining room) dirty fish tanks and cheap carafes of dubious vino, I loved it, regularly dragging all my friends along. Who wouldn’t love original sputnik lights, kitsch posters and Christopher dropping outside in his dirty whites to smoke a fag on the pavement? What’s more the thrill of being greeted like royalty by Vittorio (aged 60+, and still slipping the tongue in with his welcome kisses) and ordering off menu made me feel I had been transported to a real slice of Italy! I may have deluded myself somewhat, but new modern sleek joints started to pop up, Leeds transformed from a town of few eateries to enjoying an overwhelmingly mediocre abundance of them…None of these eateries inspire my love or loyalty (after all none of the people running them would pile you into their car after a few too many sambucas and drop you off home).

So I asked the question…What are your favourite authentic Italian Restaurants in Leeds and Burbs...and these are a few of the answers…Feel free to use the comments to add to our guide!

Alex Galantino of Bottega Milanese

“Looking for an Italian restaurant in Leeds? Depend what your definition of “Italian restaurant” is…..
If a vaguely resembling mediterranean menu with a few stereotypes is what you are after, then you are spoilt for choice. And admittedly some of them are good at what they do, and offer a semi decent grub. If you keep it into context that is, but you won’t see any Italians eating there..

This is for a variety of reasons ranging from owners or staff not actually being Italian (you don’t have to be I guess, but helps if you have lived/worked or breathed air over there), or incredibly passionate chefs/owners who brought the real Italy on a table but found that the public were after what their idea of “Italian “ was. Often heavily Americanized, diluted and compromised.

To conclude, my favorite authentic Italian in Leeds is Diva Italiana of Pudsey. This is the only place that I can honestly compare with a real Italian restaurant back home. Worth of mention is off course the UK famous Salvo’s. I am yet to sample Jamie’s Italian, however, given the amount of respect I have for Jamie’s ethos & and his Italian mentors – I presume I shall not be disappointed.

Embrace freshness & talent people, I long for the day when people will go to a restaurant and eat what they are given, fresh, in season and a work of love & skill. Buon Apetito.

Kirsty Ware aka @gazpachodragon

Viva is located on Bridge End, opposite the Malmaison hotel. It’s a small, traditional place, with pictures of Prince Charles on the wall, and an owner that stands at the door kissing all the ladies as they enter. I was introduced to it by an Italian friend, and it’s a very popular place with those homesick for proper Mama’s spaghetti and other Italian delights. There’s a massive menu with old favourites of pizza and pasta plus more unusual dishes, plus regular specials of what’s in season (I recommend the pizzas. Any of them.). Portions are massive, and the staff are all, without exception that I’ve seen, completely lovely and very friendly (they’re also very knowledgeable on where the food comes from etc). The owner is usually hovering around and loves having a chat, particularly if you’re in a big group (which they’re really good at catering for), or you can sit in a corner with your loved one and pretend you’re in a back street of Naples.
Chris King aka @northernwrites

To consider the idea of a favourite Italian restaurant, you immediately have to discount a number of perfectly acceptable alternatives. Alternatives that may offer something, on a given day, which ticks the very box you are looking for.

There are a number of solid Italian restaurants in the city, that were you given the option of eating in, would take a lot to find fault with. Bibis’ food is perfectly fine, with a host of additional entertainment, it’s just that sometimes you want to sit and get served when it suits you – the issue there is popularity, not quality. The same can be said for the main restaurant at Salvos. Post the 7pm watershed for booking a table and all the quality wine in the world won’t make up for the jumpy, need a table feeling you may experience.

Jamie’s is solid, good above average food that puts the likes of Pizza Express in to the shade. But then you could be sat in a Jamie’s in London or Leeds, and would you know the difference?

What you want from a really good restaurant is the belief that the food you are getting on your plate – is only on offer in that restaurant; at that particular moment in time.

Where you find that moment in time is at both Cafe Marinetti in Horsforth or Salvo’s Salumeria in Headingley. The former exudes family friendly, relaxed dining. The latter offers a window in to a regional dining experience that every Italian holiday promises to deliver.

Take a one year old to Café Marinetti and the staff makes you feel as though they are the most important person in the restaurant. Not in the red carpet sense, more so in the all embracing Italian family sense. They check if everything is ok, they play peek-a-boo from behind the menu, and they serve good wholesome food that keeps parent and child happy and coming back for more.

Salvo’s Salumeria’s regional meals are a touch above the ordinary, which makes both venue and menu stand out for those all important, special occasions. Where else will you get to try 10 courses that include octopus carpaccio, pasta with turnip tops or peaches and amaretto – as well as another seven dishes across a perfect three hours dining? Sure they make the money up on the amount of vino you drink, but isn’t that all part of the experience?

But then there are occasions where all you want is something strong and quick; we’re talking coffee here. Then forget the menus, forget the dining experience and just get yourself down to La Bottega Milanese. You’ll struggle to find anywhere more passionate about the dark stuff anywhere else in the city.

No matter what restaurant you choose, just remember one simple rule – Italian food should be embraced, savoured and above all anything else, simple. If you can get it as soon as you walk through the door, or need to concentrate on it more than the company around you, then you are definitely in the wrong place. They may talk fast, drive fast and live fast – the last thing any Italian does, is eat at the pace most of us Brits choose to live our lives.

What do you think? Any more we should add to the list? Please do include details and contacts in your comments