West Yorkshire Dining

The Grey Horse Inn

Restaurant

Quote:

While there seems to be a host of pubs offering a gourmet menu, sometimes I just hanker back to simpler times. Some days eating out, I just fancy not spending a fortune and having a basic choice of a few staples. I enjoy it even better when the place offering the food doesn’t just rely on serving pre-packed identical microwave meals. Heh, “lack of choice and basic food is the new black”.Fortunately, The Grey Horse, on Halifax Road, just about a mile into Huddersfield town from J24 of the M62 is just such a place. It isn’t a pub to get too excited about the food. However, if you want good value and good basic meal, then this is your place. It’s certainly worth taking a short detour from the M...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 11, 2008

The Grey Horse Inn
215 Halifax Road, Birchencliffe
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
01422 314 941

Cheer!
Flag

Leemas

Hotel | "Leena's"

Quote:

One of the restaurants I have been keen to visit of late is Leena’s, a new and smart looking curry restaurant in the centre of Lindley. I finally got my chance recently. As we arrived, I was impressed with the way Leena’s is furnished. Comfortable high backed leather chairs, nicely tiled flooring, and plush modern tables wait. However, there are a few signs that the restaurant was finished a little on the cheap. Unfortunately, in winter, portable fan heaters offer an extra heating boost, and in the toilets, both the urinal and hot water tap had broken. By the way, Leena is the young boisterous daughter of the very friendly owners of the restaurant. We arrived at peak eating time on...Read More

One of the restaurants I have been keen to visit of late is Leena’s, a new and smart looking curry restaurant in the centre of Lindley. I finally got my chance recently.

As we arrived, I was impressed with the way Leena’s is furnished. Comfortable high backed leather chairs, nicely tiled flooring, and plush modern tables wait. However, there are a few signs that the restaurant was finished a little on the cheap. Unfortunately, in winter, portable fan heaters offer an extra heating boost, and in the toilets, both the urinal and hot water tap had broken. By the way, Leena is the young boisterous daughter of the very friendly owners of the restaurant.

We arrived at peak eating time on Saturday evening on a spur of the moment decision, and I was half expecting the restaurant to be full or thereabouts. I was surprised to find around just a dozen diners downstairs and the upstairs eating area completely empty. I’m not sure whether we arrived at a “bad time”, but the good food and attentive and friendly service doesn’t warrant the apparent disinterest in the place.

Our starter was the highlight of our meal. The menu has a good if traditional choice of starters, main courses and sweets. I chose the Chicken Shahlik for £3.50 ($7), and was not disappointed with the amount, quality or taste. As well as chunks of spicy chicken, I enjoyed the generous amounts of grilled peppers and onion on my plate. The dish came with a serving of deliciously thick and minty yoghurt sauce, and it was suitably spicy hot. It is not a dish for curry trainees, but anyone into their spicy food would love the dish.

My beloved had an excellent quality lamb tikka, which I would choose next time, as the quality of the lamb meat was spot on. To accompany our starters, we also had a small sample of salad. Unusually, for a curry restaurant, this was a notch above the standard lettuce and tomato, with the addition of sweet corn, cucumber and a sliced strawberry. It was an extra and welcomed effort.

I have a phobia about drinking wine with spicy food, and so we chose a pint of draft Cobra lager (£2.90 a pint ($5.80) to accompany our meal. Cobra was designed especially to be drunk with spicy food, and it goes well (although it tastes a little dead and flat when drunk alone). The wine list however, looked imaginative, with the reds being rather gutsy but reasonably priced little numbers. The house in particular (a strong looking South African) at around £9, looked like an inspired choice.

I was slightly less impressed with my main course, although my dining companions Chicken Biriani, was one of the nicest I have ever tasted.

I think I didn’t choose the best for me, with the Chicken Karahi (from memory, around £7 $14). While it was very tasty, it was just a little too meat heavy and sauce light for my taste. There was certainly enough chicken to feed two! My third dining companion had another chicken dish, which again was very generous on the meat and slightly light on the sauce. I know it sounds churlish to complain about too much meat, but as a lapsed veggie, it over faced me a little.

One of the things that really impressed me with the menu, was the extensive vegetarian dish choices (both vegetarian starters and main courses are on their own section on the back of the menu). On our next visit, my beloved and I will share a meat and vegetarian main course, so we can tone down the meat content of our meal.

To sum up, we enjoyed our meal at Leena’s, which came to around £15 a head, a very reasonable price for a nice meal in nice surroundings with a speedy, friendly and attentive service. Our starters in particular, were excellent. The main courses are good quality, if unexciting and too meat heavy for my taste, however, I now know how to remedy that.

I will certainly revisit Leena’s, and I hope the friendly family owners do well from their hard work.
Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 15, 2008

Leemas
17-19 Lidget Street
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
01484 646 466

Cheer!
Flag

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Attraction

Quote:

One of my favourite pit stops just a mile or so off J38 of the M1 is at the West Yorkshire Sculpture Park, a few miles south of Huddersfield. Although you have to pay £4 ($8) parking for your car, the restaurant is reasonably priced, and you can walk off your meal with a quick zip around the Sculpture Park free. It’s always nice to find somewhere to stop that is close to the motorway, but isn’t a boring, expensive and standard service station.The restaurant is on the first floor of the main reception building. You will spot the building by following the metal walkway with the names of the friends of the sculpture park stamped into it. Downstairs is a small gallery shop selling wonderful jewe...Read More

One of my favourite pit stops just a mile or so off J38 of the M1 is at the West Yorkshire Sculpture Park, a few miles south of Huddersfield. Although you have to pay £4 ($8) parking for your car, the restaurant is reasonably priced, and you can walk off your meal with a quick zip around the Sculpture Park free. It’s always nice to find somewhere to stop that is close to the motorway, but isn’t a boring, expensive and standard service station.

The restaurant is on the first floor of the main reception building. You will spot the building by following the metal walkway with the names of the friends of the sculpture park stamped into it. Downstairs is a small gallery shop selling wonderful jewellery, and designer pottery. Unfortunately, the shop isn’t cheap, so I usually content myself by sticking my nose onto the windowpane outside for a couple of minutes to pick up my high-art fix.

The restaurant is in canteen style, so the service is quick. There are usually a few “specials” such as meat and potato pie or rattitouie for around £7, or a huge baked potato with a variety of fillings for £4.50. The food is served from a hot plate, so is quick, and as it isn’t a self-service, is hygienic. While the restaurant isn’t intended for special dining, it is perfect for a short fast stop and some basic, good quality filling food. The restaurant also offers a variety of sandwiches and snacks.

One of the things I like about the restaurant is the extensive choice of adult soft drinks that are available. Rather than having to face the cloying and teeth rotting Sprite and Coke dispensers, there are plenty of healthier and different choices, such as traditionally brewed dandelion and burdock, orange or ginger beer. Of course, they also sell quality tea and coffee for those in need of a caffeine fix.

As I felt virtuous over the healthy drink, on my last visit I had to treat myself to a cake; I had a chocolate brownie, while my beloved enjoyed her traditional treacle tart. The cakes are large, cheap (£1.25 - £1.75) and delicious.

The seating area is formed using simple chairs and tables, so it doesn’t encourage you to linger beyond your meal. However, the full height and wide window of the dining area gives a wonderful view across the valley of park and farmland. In summer, I enjoy sitting at the open-air balcony in front of the window.

While I have always managed to find somewhere to sit at the restaurant, I am always surprised at how popular the place is. Given that even with the £4 parking charge, a meal is probably still cheaper (and much nicer) than the service station alternative, it’s no doubt well used by travellers in the know.

And so a few words on the sculpture park itself; you can spend as little or as long here, as some exhibition centres are quick to walk to, while the main outdoor section have some walking routes several miles long. There are always Henry Moore, and (my personal favourite) Elizabeth Frink sculptures on display here, but there is a regular change round of travelling exhibits too. We recently enjoyed the Andy Goldsworthy exhibition. As I tend to drop by perhaps a couple of times a year, I find the displays constantly moving and changing, even if I only have half an hour for a quick walk around.

While the restaurant is fairly basic, I always find it clean and the food good and filling. I always look forward to a quick stop at the Sculpture Park, both for the opportunity of a quick meal, and the chance of a refreshing walk.
Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 15, 2008

Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Bretton Hall West Bretton
Wakefield, United Kingdom WF4 4LG
44 1924 830 579

Cheer!
Flag

K 2 Restaurant

Restaurant | "K2"

Quote:

In the UK, Bradford is probably best recognised as the curry capital of the North. In the 1950’s, thousands of incoming Asians moved to Bradford to work in the labour intensive textile factories. Unfortunately, most of the textile jobs have now gone, leaving Bradford as a depressed, poor and crumbling city. However, one of the few business growth areas comes with the number of curry restaurants. For the curry connoisseur, choice is plentiful and the prices keen. Many of the incomers to the region are Muslim, and while the food is similar to Hindu Indian, I prefer its slightly less sweet taste. The Kashmiri restaurant, K2 is located on one of Bradford’s most notorious streets, Manningham’s Lu...Read More

In the UK, Bradford is probably best recognised as the curry capital of the North. In the 1950’s, thousands of incoming Asians moved to Bradford to work in the labour intensive textile factories. Unfortunately, most of the textile jobs have now gone, leaving Bradford as a depressed, poor and crumbling city. However, one of the few business growth areas comes with the number of curry restaurants. For the curry connoisseur, choice is plentiful and the prices keen. Many of the incomers to the region are Muslim, and while the food is similar to Hindu Indian, I prefer its slightly less sweet taste.

The Kashmiri restaurant, K2 is located on one of Bradford’s most notorious streets, Manningham’s Lumb Lane. This was the heart of the red-light district, and haunt of the Yorkshire Ripper. Today, thankfully the street is tidier and safer than of old. We even felt we might have a fighting chance that our car would still be there when we returned.

K2 seems to be a restaurant of faded reputation. In the mid-late 1990’s famous food critic Egon Roney bestowed a number of awards upon the place, but the stickers and certificates look a little worn and faded a decade on.

K2 restaurant is reasonably furnished, but again, it looks as though its glory days are behind it. The restaurant is small with about 10 tables on the ground floor. There are some pictures of the K2 mountain (the second highest in the world), on the walls. The kitchen is through a window at the back of the restaurant, and the cooking facilities looked clean and tidy. The “Scores on the Doors” website, which displays results of 90 different UK local authority hygiene inspections, gives the restaurant a good four-star rating. Unfortunately, the upstairs washrooms are in severe need of cleaning. The black greasy smears in the hand basin made me feel my hands were dirtier after washing them, than before!

K2 offers a good range of starters, with some of the vegetarian options (such as Onion Bharjis) coming in particularly cheap (around £1 a portion). As I couldn’t decide, I went for a little bit of everything with a mixed starter, which from memory was about double the price of the standard starters. While I received a good plateful, I was disappointed that my choice didn’t include a sample of the more expensive meat dishes. However, the onion and mushroom bharjis, meat samosa and kebab were very fresh tasting and nicely spiced. The slightly sweet and pink yoghurt sauce and salad are pre-served on the plate.

One little oddity of the restaurant is that you don’t get cutlery with your meal unless you specifically request it. Fingers are the order of the day here (which can make finishing off the yoghurt sauce coated salad a little tricky!).

For main course, I chose the Egon Roney recommended lamb curry with a plain naan. The main course was around £7 per head. I was initially perturbed with my choice, as my lamb dish looked rather greenish grey in colour. I soon discovered the colour was due to a lack of tomato and an excess of fresh blended coriander. The dish was actually quite subtle, and it took me just a little while to appreciate how nice and different it was. The meat was good and lean, and the naan bread suitably soft and so hot as to require asbestos gloves to handle. My beloved, chose a ginger chicken dish, which was exceptionally meaty, and very garlic and ginger heavy. I think she tired a little of the dish by the end, but we enjoyed swapping tastes.

Unfortunately, the K2 staff got one of our dining companion’s meal wrong; she ended up with a plate of thin vegetable curry sauce and a portion of rice. When she explained she had ordered a prawn biriani, the ingredients were hurriedly removed from the table, mixed together and prawns added. Her main course arrived 5 minutes after ours, and given its hurried preparation, was certainly a taste disappointment. I’m not sure why the chef got the order wrong, as the restaurant was empty. I think alarm bells should have rung, as I can’t imagine they normally serve just thin vegetable curry sauce to people!

The K2 is unlicensed, so we just received a jug of iced tap water to accompany our meal. Fortunately, we also brought a bottle of wine from the supermarket to enjoy with our meal. This is acceptable practice, and the restaurant won’t charge corkage.

Summing up, the K2 provided us with a perfectly acceptable and filling meal. At around £10 per head, it is good value. However, the unevenness of the food meant that some of our party enjoyed our meals better than others. The distinctly dodgy bathroom and the sheer abundance of curry food choices in Bradford, means I can’t recommend the K2 as a “must do” restaurant.
Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on April 13, 2008

K 2 Restaurant
116 Lumb Lane
Bradford, England BD8 7RS
+44 (1274) 723704

Cheer!
Flag

Saim's Restaurant

Restaurant | "Saim's"

Quote:

Given there are a considerable number of curry restaurants in Huddersfield, to bestow a “favourite” tag to one of them is a considerable achievement. My favourite over the past couple of years is Saim’s just outside the central ring road on the Bradford Road in the Hillhouse area of the town. In fact, its location is the worst thing about Saim’s, as the road is a busy duel carriageway, and the area has its fair share of drug dealers and prostitutes. Saim’s now has off road parking, but I’d personally suggest you work up an appetite, ignore eye contact with the locals (it isn’t soo rough to be honest) and stroll the scant mile from the town centre. One bright jewel in the area i...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 15, 2008

Saim's Restaurant
113 Bradford Road
Huddersfield, England HD1 6DZ
+44 (1484) 539444

Cheer!
Flag

IgoUgo

England Journals

West Yorkshire Dining

The Grey Horse Inn

Leemas

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

K 2 Restaurant

Saim's Restaurant

About the Writer

More Journals by Slug

More England Journals

England Tips & Stories

Popular England Hotels