It has to be said there are some cracking places to eat in and around Leeds and not all of them are in the city centre. Many are on the outskirts in smaller towns and villages, as is the case for the hidden gem that is Lambert’s in Horsforth.
Horsforth is a great area of Leeds with a thriving independent business community and a growing restaurant and bar selection, many of which we know well, so we were keen to find out what Lamberts had to offer.
We had never been to Lamberts and when we were invited to try them out, we immediately hopped online (as you do) and liked the look of what we saw.
Great décor, fabulous menu and good outdoor space – essential for hot summer days and if you plan on keeping a certain social distance after the 19th July.
We arrived early and it was pretty quiet, but things soon livened up as customers started arriving en masse from around 7pm, creating a great buzzing atmosphere.
The welcome was really friendly, as was the service and there was such a relaxed vibe to the whole process. We never once felt rushed and it was a pleasure to just sit and take it all in. If like us, you love a booth, you will really like the layout here, perfect for privacy and also great for people watching.
Our table server, James was brilliant, a real character and excellent at customer care. James knew the menu inside out and was able to make recommendations that we were happy to try – we were not disappointed.
Starters ordered; we enjoyed a couple of drinks while we waited and we didn’t have to wait long before they arrived – Tempura King Prawns and Scotch Egg. Both perfect but thank goodness I didn’t order the Scotch Egg – it was enormous! My dining partner made short work of it though and said it was one of the best he had ever had!
For our mains, I went for something weather appropriate (it was a hot evening), with the Ham Hock Salad – slow roasted ham hock, garlic roasted new potatoes, green peas, poached egg and wholegrain mustard dressing. Although there was a large plateful, this was actually a very light dish, bursting with superb summer flavours and let me tell you – that plate went back clean!
The other main course was the recommended Cookhouse Pie with chips and veg. That was a plate of food for a hungry appetite if ever we saw one! Lovely deep meat filled pie encased in crisp short crust pastry, fat chips and plenty of thick gravy! It was superb and it was devoured.
At this point we needed a break because the dessert menu had one of our favourites and we couldn’t leave without it. We decided the sensible thing to do was order one dessert and two spoons. Thank goodness we didn’t leave without appreciating this divine pudding, it was everything we wanted it to be Sticky Toffee Pudding with toffee sauce, salted popcorn and vanilla ice cream – need I say more?
Meal over, we could happily have stayed for another hour or two, drinking wine and soaking up the atmosphere but word was getting out how good this place is and they needed our table back.
Reluctantly, we made our way home. But we will definitely be back and bringing friends with us!
Lamberts has amazing food, great service and a superb atmosphere and adds a lot for the lucky residents of Horsforth!
