Dining destinations out in the Leeds suburbs

Here are five highly recommended restaurants to choose from.:

Amalthea, Adel

Opening in 2017, this Greek-owned family Bistro (main picture) with a deli offers handmade, all-natural foods direct from small producers from all over Greece. A fusion of old and new cooking styles, it is run with passion and an earnest desire to please. Decorated with a nautical theme, it’s a wonderful little cove to be stranded in for a few hours. Try the mixed meat, seafood & veggie meze: soutzoukakia (meatballs), lamb rolls, calamari, whitebait, courgette balls, tomato balls, tzatziki, cumin yoghurt dip, and pitta bread.

Salvo’s, Headingley

Effortless classical Italian dining done with a flourish and a flash of confidence – quite right too, seeing as they have been in business for over 40 years. There’s the main restaurant (expanded some years ago), a deli and if you’re feeling adventurous, their new ‘Alter Ego’ tasting menus, £38 per person, with bookings taken Friday and Saturday.

Zucco, Meanwood

Quite simply, stunning, from the welcome to the service, to the attention to detail, and oh yes, the food and wine, which is cooked to a high standard, while the atmosphere remains as down to earth and relaxed as you could wish for. The crispy soft shelled crab with lemon mayonnaise is utterly divine.

La Casita, Horsforth

Almost two years on and La Casita has brought something special to Horsforth, with its elegant take on food and attention to authentic wines and beer. Spanish tapas with flair.

Stew & Oyster, Otley

An eclectic collection of furniture will get you talking at least in this quirky real ale bar-cum-restaurant, which serves, among other things, oysters, hence its name. You can choose just to have the one oyster “naked”, i.e.: served on a nothing more than a bed of ice, or whisky infused oysters.

In addition, they also serve some of the tastiest, most wholesome stews you are likely to find outside the romanticised image of how your mum used to cook. Food and drink for the soul.