Darren Cronian of MyLifeinLeeds and I were invited to a press Spring Menu preview dinner at the City Inn Leeds on 21 April 2010 .  The City Cafe restaurant overlooks the canal basin at Granary Wharf.  Now as I’m no gourmet and find it almost impossible to describe flavours in words, I  thought you’d prefer an illustration of the City Inn Leeds’ Spring Menu to my feeble attempts at emulating the likes of AA Gill.

City Inn Leeds City Cafe restaurant

We made our selection from the a la carte menu.  You can select two courses from this menu for £16.95 or 3 courses for £21.95 but there are supplements on the steaks and side dishes e.g. potatoes and vegetables costs £2.95 There is also a  Market dinner set menu where two courses cost £14.95 and three courses £16.50.

Darren in the City Inn Leeds restaurant

Darren started with Pan fried breast of quail with honey and five spice, pea and mint risotto cake.

I plumped for White crab and mango salad.

For main course Darren had the Rump of lamb with lamb belly and kidney with Jersey Royals and tarragon glazed carrots.

I went for the Pan fried Gigha halibut with salsa verde and citrus dressing served with Dauphinois potatoes and broccoli.  My only criticism of the meal was that my potatoes were too salty and that the broccoli was cold.

We couldn’t resist the desserts. Darren was floored by the Bittersweet chocolate and pecan pie topped with malted banana ice cream.

My Trio of rhubarb comprised of a mini trifle,a  crumble and a parfait.

The evening ended on a high with a drink at the 13th floor Sky Bar.

View from City Inn Leeds Sky Bar at night

If you’re looking for a Leeds restaurant with with great views, the option of outdoor seating away from traffic and a good choice of quality seasonal dishes,  I’d recommend the City Inn Leeds restaurant for eating out in Leeds.  Here the link to Darren’s review of the restaurant and some ideas of things to do and see in that area.

If you’re thinking of a Leeds short break, the City Inn Leeds has some good weekend deals.  They offer free wired and wireless internet connection to guests (music to a blogger’s ears when many hotels charge £15 for 24 hours internet access).  I used the wifi in the restaurant to start uploading photos and tweet and it was a very good signal.