Crafthouse

It all starts with the view. Floor to ceiling windows in a restaurant that is positioned just above the beautiful sky line of Leeds. This view will hopeuflly encourage its visitors to look up when walking the streets of Leeds.
So the view is fab. On to the food. It is also Fab, delicious to be exact and even the cocktails were a mix of traditional and unique. Not to mention the endless supply of Prosecco for £10 if you go for lunch, as we cleverly (if unwittingly) did.
The staff are attentive but not annoyingly so. You feel special and would probably want to make a bit of an effort when you go to make the most of the feeling.
Worth a visit for a special occaision or in fact just because it is the weekend if you are that way inclined.

Definitely worth the price, with lovely views, a great atmosphere and some excellent food. I would recommend the cauliflower soup!

So it’s taken me a long time to sample Crafthouse, having been open for longer than a year I really should have taken in the restaurant way before now — especially when it recently won The Oliver’s Best Restaurant of the Year Award — but no, yesterday was my first visit.
I should caveat that by saying that I’d visited The Anjelica upstairs before, and found it to be totally ordinary — and when we started out visit to Crafthouse with cocktails and wine at Anjelica this time, I found it to be totally the same. Ordinary. For the lovely balcony area, the great views and the youthful pretty people scattered around the bar, the service was atrocious and drinks were pedestrian.
But this isn’t a review of Anjelica, it’s a review of Crafthouse.
We took our seats in the PDR and to be fair the service levels from Anjelica took a huge step upwards almost immediately, with a dedicated chap answering to our every whim for the next bottle of wine or martini with a swiftness I’m positive Anjelica could never hit. So we enjoyed some sparkling wine whilst we mulled the menu, what I can only presume is a group set menu having 4 starters, 4 mains and 4 desserts to choose from. But for lunch who really needs more choice than that? I went for the Duo of Pork, the Fillet Steak, and the crème brûlée, and sat back and waited for the magic…
Firstly the pork was bland. Really bland. Even the greasy roll of pork (as opposed to the tiny cut of pork) didn’t excite the taste buds. And the chutney and brioche added very little to the blandness — the chutney registered as not being awful but the bun was dry and really worked my jaw muscles getting it down.
Which was probably Crafthouses way of getting me in training for the steak. I’ve been to Blackhouse, and RBG, and Gaucho (all in Leeds) and further afield to places like Hawksmoor — and comparing the fillet that I got at Crafthouse to any of these would be a travesty! It was as bad as the worst pub steak I’ve ever had — yes, I could have been at a Harvester. I had it rare, and it was tough and tasteless. a perfect combination for less than mediocre. It was only really half saved by the béarnaise sauce that I asked for and was giving instead of what my colleagues called the «grey gravy» — or peppercorn sauce. Dispatched quickly and with no real enjoyment (except maybe of rate carrots, three tiny ones, the best thing served all day), we moved onto the dessert course.
It was HUGE! The biggest Crème Brûlée I think I’ve ever seen. And it looked perfectly cooked with a good crispy shell. And inside, it was exactly the same as everything else I had at Crafthouse, unenjoyable, bland, poor.
We continued to drink until we were politely told we’d have to leave, at which point we went and sat at the front of Restaurant, Bar and Grill and enjoyed cocktails head, shoulders and torso above the quality of Crafthouse and Anjelica.
I thoroughly unenjoyable experience, saved from 1 star only by the fantastic Tannat red and a decent table service!
I have no idea which Crafthouse the judges for The Olivers went to, but on my experience yesterday, it wasn’t this one.

Food just not up to the rest of the experience; and in a restaurant that’s a big issue.
Service is lovely, wine list good and imaginative. But oh the good…
Burnt and over seasoned lobster bisque, salad drowned in dressing and a competent steak with dull veg; but for the money you must do better.
I booked this after a few google searches and with the expectation that at minimum a D&D place will be not bad — they occasionally surpass that (come on down Modern Pantry) — but I now need to re-​evaluate that.
Overall a slightly disappointing night rescued by a very nice Big Betty from Victoria ;-)

Not up to expectations except the setting. Love the vibe to the place and the fantastic setting and styling but the food just was not good enough for the setting or the price tag. Smoked salmon starter, not only too big which is an odd complaint but the smoked salmon was not good. Texture was too tough and not a good solid flavour and the blini type thing it was sat on was doughy.
Steak main course, ok. Well cooked, nicely rare as ordered but the quality of the steak was just average and for 30 quid I would have wanted more flavour and a more tender cut that that.
Desert, rhubarb and custard mousse thing. All excellent flavour but too far on the styling. The custard really good, the jellied rhubarb very good, the mousse very good but why did someone put three small meringues on top? Adds nothing to the dish and just looks messed about with.
Disappointing really, didn’t live up to the expectation.

On the face of it has everything, beautiful setting, great décor, very attractive young ladies with low cut tops welcoming you in. Then it goes down hill when the food arrives! Vastly overpriced for very average food, poorly booked meats and quite a boring menu. Service friendly but slow.

So, it’s about time I wrote my review for Crafthouse, being as I went a while ago, and haven’t yet shared my thoughts. I was going to meet a friend for lunch, and we took advantage of their lunch time deal, saving a few pennies. Now, bear in mind that you’re saving little compared to other lunch deals, but that the extra cost does assure you this: the food is great.
I don’t know what else to say, although if you’ve read my reviews before, you’ll know there’s always more to elaborate on. I chose the roast chicken, being as I can’t resist a Sunday lunch, and for dessert the crème brûlée.
The chicken came in the most delightful pot, and the leg portion was more than enough for lunch. It felt like I was basically having an evening meal, which is no bad thing. We had ordered some side veg, that had been steamed and buttered with finesse, as much as you might consider veg to be cooked with flair. The leg came complete with the gravy of goddess, and couldn’t have been cooked better in my humblest opinion. It was juicy, tender, and was finished off with a crispy bit of skin.
I’m getting hungry just thinking about it, and I rarely find chicken interesting enough to ponder.
The crème brûlée was probably one of the nicest I’ve had. Not overly creamy, not sugary. A perfect balance. As for the ambience, well. I guess this would depend on your preference. I can’t deny there’s an air of exclusivity, and not least due to the prices. That being said, I’d encourage a visit for several reasons. As a treat it’s fabulous, and I can tell you now, I’ve walked in wearing jeans and had no comment. Not even a look. The staff are all lovely, and the view is, naturally, totally glorious as well. Locally sourced menu, beautifully presented, and super tasty. Job’s a good ‘un!

Busy, «in» crowd, plenty of hair extensions and false boobs, reassuringly expensive.
Average nosh — but a good night out!

Considering the hype, price tag and general expectations of this place, it certainly failed to deliver. It was clearly still having initial teething problems since opening, and they let themselves down by trying so hard and failing on the basics.
Wrong starter and 2 incorrectly cooked steaks was corrected by apologising profusely and knocking all the wine of the bill, and providing a free dish of their signature lobster bisque. Overall the food was lovely, but the service was too try hard.
They rescued our custom by making up for their mess up, so would go back, but they need to review their priorities.

Crafthouse is one of the new restaurants which has opened up in the Trinity Shopping Centre. It is also probably the most upmarket with a discrete entrance leading you upstairs and away from the throng. As you arrive, your eye is taken by the open kitchen and the expansive views over Leeds. The setting certainly befitted the price tag.
However, this initial impression was probably the highlight of the meal and it is clear that teething problems remain (the restaurant opened less than a month ago). First, service, although friendly was slow and not anywhere near as slick as I would have expected. Second, I am far from convinced that the Josper oven which Crafthouse use to cook much of the menu adds any worth to the dining options.
A Josper oven (as our waiter kindly explained to us) is a unique technique in the preparation of our meat and fish, char-​grilling at 480 degrees over charcoal. As you might imagine, this means that a smokey flavour accompanies the meat/​fish that are cooked within. Indeed, for me, this smokiness was in danger of overpowering the meat/​fish itself. Further, cooking at that kind of temperature must risk food becoming quickly overcooked — certainly it seemed to be the case as my steak was overcooked — although in fairness, the second attempt was much better and the staff handled the problem professionally.
Whether matters improve remains to be seen. However, given the setting, I will definitely return and will update this review when I do.