The Owl
Leeds, West Yorkshire
When the evening sun hits the terrace of Mark Owens’ restaurant on the towpath of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, it makes the perfect place for oysters and Champagne or a plate of fine cheeses with a glass of their Polish Pinot Noir. The Owl is a remarkably peaceful spot in the heart of the city – watch out for the coots, moorhens and the occasional swan gliding by. Indoors, dinner is served in a spare and spacious ground-floor dining room of polished concrete, blonde wood furniture and cane lampshades. Owens offers a tasting menu and a carte (with wine recommendations for each dish), beginning with a glazed bread roll and Marmite butter, followed by a couple of pleasing snacks – perhaps an oyster with marinated vegetables or a delightful savoury/sweet pastilla. Next, a choice of carefully constructed dishes ranging from veal sweetbread with goat’s curd or marinated scallops matched with grapes and tangy sea buckthorn to halibut with peas and brown-shrimp butter plus a single ‘big chip’. Vegetarians are also well served with intriguing ideas such as spiced aubergine with smoked almond, broccoli and a wonderful hen of the woods mushroom finished with a gentle Berkswell cheese sauce. Elsewhere, red and yellow Isle of Wight tomatoes paired with a basil ‘custard’ and delicate shards of savoury meringue alongside a clear tomato broth is a delightful summer dish that takes the caprese salad to another level. For dessert, choose a dense chocolate pavé with cubes of ginger jelly, ginger ice cream and a kick of pink peppercorn, or a prettily presented Brillat-Savarin cheesecake, or perhaps Owens’ mildly controversial spiced rye cake with Yorkshire honey, truffle and Baron Bigod cheese – his spin on the Yorkshire habit of eating Christmas cake with Wensleydale cheese. A sparkling German Riesling and an Italian Teroldego feature on the appealing wine list.
Dining Information:
Wheelchair access, Deposit required
Lockside, Mustard Wharf, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS1 4EY
0113 531 6621
