Hooray!!! Bundobust are opening after spending months fitting out their premises on Mill Hill in the city centre!! I’ve walked passed countless times, eagerly waiting for the good news and it finally happened. This is one of those occasions when there’s the tiniest bit of regret I’m not accepting freebies anymore, especially when I see the preview invite pop up in the inbox, but I have to decline and will, no doubt feed my face silly when the place is open to the public.
For those of you who don’t know of Bundobust, they are a collaboration between much-loved Prashad, Drighlington’s Indian vegetarian restaurant and The Sparrow pub from Bradford. Their aim is to serve fantastic Indian street food from their street food kitchen, accompanied with great Indian craft beer.
Just to the get the mouth watering and the taste-buds tingling in readiness for the opening, here’s a photo from thepop-upat The Belgrave a few months ago:
If I was a betting person I doubt the bookies would let me put money on my (popular) prediction; that Bundobust is going to be a highly sought-after food venture. With their crowd-pleasing street food already having a large following; myself included in that long list, I cannot wait to be ordering everything off the menu!! If the food’s anything as good as the stuff they’ve dished up in the past they are definitely onto an odds on winner!
Bundobust opens on the 4th July, I’ll see you there no doubt!!
Even though I’m not a huge drinker of beer or ale, I do have a penchant for fruit beers, so I quite happily enjoyed Kirkstall Brewery‘s finest Framboise!! My friend, who is an ardent fan of ale sampled a few different tipples, such as Kirkstall Brewery‘s Dissolution IPA andSiren Craft Brew‘s Soundwave IPA. From what I saw they certainly went down well!!
Of course there would have to be good food to lure me there as a given, this came in the form of pop-up The Grub and Grog Shop, by Made by Jim. On offer were Jim’s fantastic stews and sandwiches, I chose one of their sandwiches made with a Leeds Bread Co-op‘s ciabatta roll, filled with Pancetta, garlic sausage, crushed cannellini beans and rocket with a tomato sauce and sour cream dressing. Ooooh yummy, just perfect for me!! Whereas my friends went for the Roasted beetroot stew with chickpeas and tamarind. Both went down well and sold out not long after!!
On offer in terms of drinks were a wide range of between 20-30 beers and ales from some of the best small independent breweries in the UK, including Magic Rock, Kirkstall, The Kernel, Arbour, Fyne and more, and also some special imported ales from around the world. As you can tell the idea of the festival is to showcase some of the best independent craft beers and ales around, this they certainly did over the three days.
We had a really enjoyable, relaxed evening with good company, food and drink. You can’t ask for much more than that. Here’s to next year’s Brew-denell Beer & Ale Festival!!!
Been looking forward to a friday night catch up with the best mate…Karaoke and yummy food is always a good mix!!! Friends of Ham was on the agenda and can be found on Station Road, near another Leeds favourite Layne’s Espresso. I love the signage that hangs outside and it speaks for itself I think.
Cool signage!!!
This place has become deservedly very popular with city workers, dwellers and foodies, I was hoping it wasn’t too busy when we arrived. Their philosophy is to serve great craft beers and wines with top quality charcuterie, the great thing about the people here is everything on their menu has been selected on purpose because of the quality and flavour of the produce. What’s also really good is they regularly change the products on offer and are also on the look out for trying new things.
Their menu is broken down into charcuterie, which include the fabulous Iberica Bellota, considered the finest of Iberico hams, Tuscan salamis and Salchichón De Vic, salami-style pork sausage from Catalunya. Cheeses to suit non-vegetarians and vegetarians alike with delights such as Yellison Goat’s cheese from Skipton, N Yorks and a Cornish Yarg, Wild Garlic Leaf or Nettles, a moist cheese from the Duchy of Cornwall’s estate. For snacks they offer olives, pickled chills and snacking salami to name just a few. They also have specials, e.g. the Spanish board and sherry flights too for those who fancy a little tipple to go with their Iberico ham.
We managed to sit downstairs which is a quirky mix of comfy sofas, long wooden chunky tables, stools, benches and farmhouse-style dining chairs. I didn’t want us to lose our seats so I used their free Wifi to peruse their menu online.
Downstairs with the shuffle board game for entertainment
We eyed up the Leeds Charcuterie board, with extra Jabugo Ibérico (Spanish pata negra) and their wine special Borsao Rosado, a fruity rose from Campo de Borja in Spain. Not normally a rose drinker but I thought with the hams ranging from mild to more robust in flavour this would do nicely.
Borsao Rosado with fab wine cooler
It didn’t take long for the platters of meat to arrive, oh my to a carnivore they looked beautiful!!! Love it when the ham is sliced thinly and layed out so it can be admired in all of its glory, waiting to be devoured!! Our man explained the order of the hams on the boards and we got started!
Leeds charcuterie board – Coppa, Fennel Salami, Chilli and Black Pepper Salami with bread and cornichonsJabugo Ibérico – Spanish Pata Negra ham
The Chilli and Black Pepper salami was first, it tasted fab and I loved the peppery heat! Next was a very delicate Fennel Salami with a nice hint of fennel, and finally the Coppa had a lovely mild meaty flavour. Nothing against these 3 yummy delights but our last treat was our favourite, the Jabugo Ibérico, I had to order this extra to the charcuterie board after falling in love with it on a recent visit to Portugal. It comes from Black Iberian pigs where they roam outside, eating acorns. The flavour was amazing, bursting with its natural oils and melt in the mouth layers of fat. We both were trying not to eat really quickly and look like we were scavengers it was so tasty!! Perfectly sliced too which is an absolute must!! The accompaniment of bread and cornichons were good, in particular the cornichons were lovely, slightly crunchy and with just the right acidity.
In matters other than the food there’s always a great atmosphere here. Even on a Friday evening it’s not too loud, so you can put the world to rights if you choose too. The total bill was £33 for 2 people! A great price for high quality produce in a little gem of a place. If you haven’t been yet you’re really missing out!!
Hi, I'm Diane and welcome to my blog. I'm currently hopping between Leeds and the South finding the best and the worst in food and drink whilst on my travels. You'll find reviews and recommendations, sometimes the odd thing about running, travel and my life in general.
A Tale of Two Sittings 