There’s fresh Dough in the city!
From the masterminds behind ‘Vice & Virtue, ‘Aperitivo, ‘Nineteen’ and ‘Feed’ (a personal local favourite of mine) I welcome you to try Vice groups newest venture… the stunning ‘Dough in the city’.
Situated slap bang in the middle of town (below Vice & Virtue) and in the ever-growing, ever more popular, busy Northern quarter. The restaurant itself is fresh and inviting with exposed wood, scaffolding poles and quotes in bright neon lights such as “ I licked it so its mine” to pack a punch! It’s modern, its comfortable and it’s fun.
Dough is your newest local modern pub that serves all day foodand drink. However, I find that last sentence a little lack lustre consideringthe type of food that comes out of the kitchens.
Every item on the menu has these culinary genius’s stamp all over them. Exquisitely presented, with generous portion sizes and out of this world taste, I’m telling you, you won’t be disappointed by this latest offering. The team is led by Laura MacLeod the executive chef & Co-director who boasts 20/20 reviews and is famous for her incredible brunches and tasting menu’s. This is followed by Luke Downing the director of Vice Group and who headed up our evening with a chat about everything Dough has to offer. With 4 previous success stories within this group under his belt he’s clearly a man who can be trusted with food and drink.
To begin we were presented with a selection of five starters from the new menu in tapas style. All of which I tried and to be honest, was blown away by each one of them. My favourite of the five was the Salt & Pepper Calamari with Black Garlic Aioli, turmeric and Lemon. ‘The Proper Falafel’ which were balls of falafel with a Hummus dip, olives and Asian Slaw and finally the Buttermilk & Siracha Fried Chicken (which had a kick to it) with Asian Slaw and Kimchi. So, you see, from reading just what some of the starters had to offer you get the idea this isn’t just your typical everyday ‘pub’… The grub here is good!
Moving on to the mains I was tied between two options. Dough’s version of a Chicken Katsu Curry with Jasmine Rice, Lime and Almonds or Ox cheek with truffle mash and vegetables. The Asian slaw from the previous starter dishes set me up for an Asian cuisine type of night and so I went for the Chicken Katsu Curry. I’ve had enough of these in my time to differentiate from a good to a really good dish, thankfully this was the latter. The rice was cooked to perfection, the chicken was tender, the Katsu sauce was sublime and hand’s down they always win for presentation. Not just the way the food is cooked, and how its presented but what it’s presented on is always important. Just like when I order breakfast in Feed all the dishes come to suit what on the plate. Often, you’ll notice your food served with a unique piece of paper with Dough’s logo – I love the finer details and this really works!
So, I’m all full up from the first two courses and then I’m presented with desserts. Luck would have it that my all-time favourite is on the menu and that’s what I was going to have! Sticky toffee pudding (a real pub classic) with pecan ice-cream presented beautifully and enough of it to be keep me close to bursting for the rest of the night. Sometimes it’s OK to be glutenous when food is involved right?
I wanted to mention the cocktails here too. They mirror the food in presentation and taste and only use the best branded alcohol. Not only are they expertly created but they are reasonably priced too. Right now, there is an offer where you can get 2 cocktails for £10.00 – You try find a better offer than that on a decent cocktail in the city!
I’m yet to try a Sunday Roast here but word on the street is its something of the food gods. I have tried the Sunday roast in Feed and its by far one of my favourites, so I’ll be back to try Dough’s too. A huge thank you to Luke and Laura for inviting us (We really did love it!) and thank you to Pink Gorilla for hosting another wonderful evening.
Check out Dough’s latest offerings here – including a brand-newBottomless Brunch! https://www.doughinthecity.co.uk/
Dough in the city – 68 New Briggate – Leeds
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