I have a whole range of reviews to blog as I've just spend a week sampling many culinary delights in the Capital as we had Olympic tickets. For now I will stick to somewhere local that I have visited twice and both times I have been impressed with the service, ambience and the food - The Wheatley Arms in Ben Rydding just outside of Ilkley.
My first time here I had a goats cheese & red onion sandwich, with olive & sun blushed tomato salad and a side of hand cut chips. All the ingredients are fresh and good quality and so it was delicious. The hand cut chips were a particular highlight - I refused to share them as they were so tasty.
My second visit I had hot food and went for the pea and mint risotto. Risotto is one of my speciality dishes to make and so I am always quite critical when I have it at a restaurant - it was good that it wasn't too creamy or sickly as some can be, it was fresh and the pea and mint gave it a tangy and crunch taste and texture. It could have done with more grated parmesan on top as I do love my cheese. My dining partner had the fish and really enjoyed it. Their food is well made with really fresh ingredients. For dessert (see above) they have a huge selection of delicious ice-cream - not your usual neopolitan choice. I had a scoop of creme brulee and one scoop of white chocolate and it was served really nicely in a brandy basket. My partner had summer fruits merengue - which I would never have chosen and it looked a bit bland and lacking.
The service was quite good although we were near to the bar and the young staff seemed more busy flirting and chatting with each other than necessarily paying attention to the customers and I felt they should have been more professional.
Overall:
* beautiful interior and lots of places to sit - from casual to formal
* fresh ingredients and well made food
* limited selection of veggie dishes
* reasonably priced for the quality
* worth going for the ice-cream alone (but then I do love ice-cream!)
