This definately is a great little find, located on a fairly busy road in headingley( student land in Leeds) suprisingly few people know of this bistro. I can't understand this really as it recieves many a good local review, this is how i came to first hear of it. I'm now a frequent visitor and hold this small eaterie in high regard as one of my favourites in Leeds.It is a modest looking place from the outside and would be easy to bypass without a second thought. It is very plain to look at and doesn't give a great first impression, but proves when you enter and dine here that looks can be deceiving! As you walk in you enter a small dining area, 30 seats max I would say and all relatively close together, however you must remember this is a bistro and thats is part of a bistros history.The name came about in France when space was hard to come by and very expensive, small dining spaces would be aquired by chefs/restauranteurs and filled with as many seats as possible, diners would be offered simple, well cooked food at low prices. This idea has certainly travelled into this country not only as bistros but also as our alternative of gastro pubs, these provide good restaurant standard food in an informal environment at lower prices and has been considered abit of a food revoloution in the past few years.
Anyway, enough ramblings back to Ferret hall( an unusual name I know).
Atmosphere ==========
The first thing that hits you when you walk through the door is what a buzz this place has, it is usually quite full with happy customers chatting away but rarely over crowded, although this was the case on one visit, but on a Friday night what else would you expect? I personally would much rather be in a busy restaurant than an empty one anyway.
Decor ======
The decor itself is quite basic so not much can be said really, white walls, red flagged stone floor, I like this as it seems to have a touch of authenticity about it. Also on the walls are cartoons connected with food and are fairly subtle, there are also pictures of regular customers enjoying there meals here which adds a nice touch I think. The tables and chairs are wooden, very rustic and just what you'd expect to find in a typical bistro- no white linen table cloths here then!
Staff ====
I love the staff here, its all very informal, friendly and polite, on my first visit I felt right at home as the husband and wife team(owners) along with the rest of the waiters treat you like old friends and are very welcoming. I like this approach in a place like this as it has no pretensions and just is what it is- a relaxed place to have great food, there's nothing I hate more than unecessarily snooty waiters! Despite the informalities the food is always delivered correctly and there are no apparent downsides to the service- you are well looked after throughout the meal.
Food/menus =========== It is hard to pinpoint a food style here as there are a wide variety of dishes available that originate from many diferent countries, the best I can say is that its predominately european with thai/asian influences, quite a mixed bag really but this means there's something for eveyone. The al'a carte menu is very extensive cosisting of 19 mains and 12 starters and alot of homemade ice-creams and puds to chose from. There is also a specials board and a set price menu from £10-£15.50 with 5 starters/mains/puds to choose from, this is exceptional value but the prices are all pretty reasonable anyway so there's no need to worry about too much damage to your bank balance here. I am quite indecisive anyway when it comes to food much to my partners dismay there is usually quite a wait until I'm ready to order, I am even worse than usual when dining here as there are so many nice things to pick from. After some time I eventually opted for a roasted field mushroom with chorizo & gorgonzola to start and the kleftico of lamb for mains, my partner had a toulouse sausage with cream cheese mash and red wine jus to begin and also went with the lamb for mains, this is a favourite of ours and many other regular diners- almost a signiture dish really, it is slowly braised shoulder of lamb cooked so it virtually melts in the mouth , it is slighty spicy, sweet, sticky and of morrocan origin I believe, highly recommended yum yum!All main meals come with a choice of new poatoes, chips, rice or salad, and as if thats not enough you are also brought vegetables, we received red cabbge and roast parsnips and at no extra cost this really is good value. Puds change quite frequetly but there is always a large selection of interestingly flavoured homemade ice-creams with brandy snaps available, we chose to try the blackcurrant with pernod and the tutti frutti, both were delightful, creamy and fairly light and the brandy snaps add a lovely crunch.
Below is a small sample of the current al' a carte offering available, but the menus really are far too vast to cover it all!
Starters ======= Mushroom & madeira soup-£4.00 Homemade pancake topped with salmon, dill tartare sauce-4.95 Smk mackeral pate with horseradish-4.50 Roast field mushroom, chorizo and gorgonzola4.95 Oven baked goatscheese with fennel and chilli on ciabatta croute-4.95 Smk haddock fishcake with grain mustard creme fraiche-4.95
Starters price range runs from £4.00-£5.50
Mains ======
10oz fillet steak-£16.95 12oz ribeye steak £13.95 Sauces are ordered are extra and cost £1.95 with a good range on offer Confit duck leg, bacon & bean cassoulet with thyme-11.95 Slow roast belly pork,orange & leek trivet, red onion marmalade-11.50 Green thai curry, rainbow veg, cashew nuts & bitesized macaroon balls-13.95 Somerset pie, ham, leek, apples & cider in a cream sauce under a herby pastry lid-£11.95 Chunks of salmon in fresh pasta with a creamy white wine, lemon & anise flavoured sauce-10.95 Goatscheese baked in a crisp pastry sheel with olive tapenade and napoli sauce-11.95 Homemade beef burgers with lots of different toppings to choose from-9.25
Side orders start at £1.45 for chips/potatoes and goes to £2.95 for a good helping of bread and olives.Plenty of nice salads and vegetables available and these change frequently
There are lots of vegetarian options and also a good range of gluten free dishes, they are happy to accomodate special dietry requirements as best they can.
Puds cost between £3-£4.50 and are changed regularly, but there are usually old favourites like cheesecake, brownies and sticky toffe pud available, plus all the fantastic ice-creams.
A 10% service charge is also added to your bill
Drinks ====== Wine starts at about £12 and goes to little over £30, we had a bottle of rose and at £17.00 this was more than adequate, coffees start at £1.65 and mineral water at £1.95, we also rounded the meal off with 2 liquor coffees at £3.50 each which were very good.
To sum up ========= Ferret hall does not open for lunch but is open everynight from 6pm until 10pm, it is a lovely comfortable place to eat on a reasonable budget its only down fall being lack of space really.The parking space is also quite limited but you have good access to buses and there are always plenty of taxis handy.If you do fancy a visit I would advise booking as this little place fills up quickly. Children are welcome here as long as they are well behaved/under control etc. No smoking is permitted. On a wole this is a friendly, relaxed environment with great character in which to enjoy tasty, simple food, I'm sure this kind of place will appeal to many. Thanks for reading, hope this helps, Ruth xx
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Cleanliness
Good
Family Friendly
Good
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