East of Arcadia

First time here for food.
I had gammon with egg and chips.
It was a fare sized piece of gammon, 2 fried eggs and very tasty chunky chips.
My meal was very nice.
My sisters wanted the beef slate but we were informed that they had run out of beef.
My sisters opted for the beef rib slate for 2 to share.
When theirs was brought out they had to ask for side plates.
The beef ribs were quite hot and spicy. Had we been told this they would have ordered another main as neither like hot, spicy food.
The bread, cheeses and torine were very nice and the salad was crunchy fresh.
There was only one member of staff to wait on tables and they also had to tend to the bar.
The poor girl was rushed off her feet.
Sauces weren’t brought and we had to wait more than once to order drinks as the bar was left unattended.
But I will say she tried and cannot be blamed in her efforts.
My sisters felt a bit let down as this wasn’t what they were used to as they had eaten here before.
Then they ran out of Mary Jane!
Poor staffing levels and not enough information marred this visit.
3 stars down from 5 on my last visit.
Which is a real shame because I had heard such good things

When you’ve finished your Sunday stroll along the beck, and taverns near by have sold out of lunch, don’t panic. Take a deep breath and hot foot it over to East. If it’s later on of a Sunday it’ll be peacefully quiet, still serving, and ready to go for some roast goodies. They might have run out of a few things, as was the case when I was last here, but that doesn’t matter — because the pork is just as good as the beef. (Can you tell I prefer beef!?)
The guys working here are great, and know plenty about the beer if you want advice. Kind of handy since there are many to choose from amongst the well kept ales and world beers. They also serve Fentimens, which is particularly ace, as they happen to be my favourite soft drinks. Another cool thing is that they’ve got board games, namely chess, to play. A long game and a few pints is my idea of a fantastic Sunday, especially once you’ve eaten your fill, and the sun is shining through those great big windows.
The only sad part is that the atmosphere sinks a little when it’s empty, being as the room is so big and open. However, when the pub quiz is in swing, there’s a decent vibe so it’s worth popping down for that to warm up your matter and check your random facts.

I have been meaning to try this place for a while, as I am a big fan of Arcadia, and really the only place I go in Headingley for a drink.
I can’t say I was a little bit disappointed when I visited East of Arcadia however. We had just been to Alfred across the road and really enjoyed it, so East of Arcadia felt rather soul-​less in comparison.
Sure the beer selection is very good, and I was pleased they had the passionfruit beer in which is perfect for a Sunday afternoon. However the atmosphere just isn’t great for me. It’s large and that’s good for the area, but it just doesn’t have that cosy feel that I love about Arcadia. It almost feels like a chain, which the modern carpets and furniture. Veritas, in Leeds which is part of the same group, is fairly large but still manages to maintain some of the soul that I like from a bar, and I was expecting East of Arcadia to be more like this.
I may return here, but probably only if Alfred is full to bursting.

We went to East of Arcadia for lunch on a Friday as a work team, feeling we deserved a nice eat out lunch after a long week. When we walked in I really liked the quiet but not empty atmosphere and the de-​cor was great. It did however take us a while to get served as there was only one person serving at the bar and there was already someone waiting before us (as there were 4 of us to order this was a bit of a worry).
I asked if I could have the tuna melt but without the red onion but was told that this was not possible as it was already pre-mixed…to me this doesn’t massively signify fresh food if I cant even have the onion taken out. I also asked if I could have chips instead of a salad and coleslaw as I didn’t want either but was just told that I would have to buy an extra portion of chips and still have the salad and coleslaw.
So i settled for the Cajun chicken carbonara which was very nice and the chips which were fantastic. The service was quite quick although we had explained we only had a one hour lunch break but were just told it would take 15 minutes.
All in all a great lunch and I left feeling very full. I would definitely go there again and recommend it to others but I would love a bit more flexibility with the food for those as fussy as me!

East of Arcadia, is the sister pub to Arcadia… only it’s a little further east in Meanwood. See what they did? So, you can expect the same décor, the same fine selection of ales and European beers, the same high quality of staff even.
So why don’t I like it as much?
Basically it lacks soul. Where Arcadia has nice little nooks and crannies and stands as a characterful, grown up bar in the heart of all the studenty nastiness; East of Arcadia feels like a big open plan chain pub. You could be fooled into thinking you where in a whetherspoons at times, and THAT, my friends, isn’t good.