Nicks Brasserie

Category: £20 - £30

Situated in a converted, listed warehouse near the river Nicks is a stylish, contemporary Brasserie and bar.

The former warehouse has been converted utilising the building’s original high beamed ceiling and exposed brick walls but teamed with a solid wood floor, tasteful deep wine accent walls, dark wood furniture and fantastic lighting it really is special.

We arrived around 7.30pm on a Saturday night and the atmosphere was definitely laid back and chilled.  Greeted at the bar by friendly faces we perused the wine list and chose a delightful Rose, which we sipped on high chairs that gave us a great view of the place.

For Nick Colley, the owner, this is a new venture that he is understandably excited and proud of, after months of hard work and planning, they opened in September 2005 and it’s already doing well.

I felt very comfortable and relaxed as we looked over the menu and Specials Board.  It was getting busier and the atmosphere was great.  There was plenty of staff, all of whom were helpful, I like to be advised about menu choices and they were happy to spend time with us going through the different dishes.

The menu is innovative and there are some great options on the brunch menu such as Homemade Crumpets with Blackberry Butter, Avocado Toast with Lime, Pepper & Coriander, Ricotta Hotcakes with Chocolate Honeycomb Butter as well as the more usual Full English Breakfast and Salmon & Scrambled Eggs.

The evening menu is equally appealing and having sampled Nick’s cooking skills in the past at his previous restaurant, I knew we were in for a treat.  Nick recommended the Tomato Stack with Goats Cheese and Nicola already knew what she would be having - Calamari!

Nick suggested the Seabass on the Specials board, which was perfect for Nicola and I chose the Fillet of Beef Wellington with Fondant Potatoes.  We asked for a selection of side dishes including Homemade Chips, Bubble & Squeak, Courgette Fritters and Buttered Spinach.

We had a few more minutes chatting at the bar and enjoying our wine before taking our table in the restaurant.  The very well presented starters arrived and my Tomato Stack was refreshing and the Goats Cheese particularly ripe and creamy.  I did chance a try at Nicola’s Calamari at the insistence that it wasn’t ‘fishy’ and to my surprise it was absolutely gorgeous – I will have this myself next time and I don’t do fish!  The hot chilli dip served with it was fantastic and I think I had more than my fair share.

A chance to chat between courses is always nice and we caught up with the news and girly gossip, sipped our wine and relaxed into the evening very happily.   My Beef Wellington was just perfect, the pasty crust melt-in-the-mouth, the fillet tender and perfectly cooked for me.  The side orders though were phenomenal – those chips, how do they make them?  The Bubble & Squeak, the Courgettes lightly battered and deep-fried and the Spinach – all so, so tasty – we finished the lot and were really too full. 

This is the kind of food that you don’t want to stop eating – you know that you’ve probably had enough but it just tastes so good, that you end up ‘managing’. 
Nicola raved about her Seabass, she really enjoyed it and she did persuade me to try a little – but no, far too ‘fishy’ for me I’m afraid.

Did we want to see the dessert menu?  We looked at each other and knew instantly that, yes, we did – we wanted to prolong this experience and well, we like desserts!

Nicola chose the Crème Brule and I had the Cheese Board as my partner had just arrived to collect us and take us into town (kind chap) – and as he hadn’t eaten I thought it only fair.

The Crème Brule was spot on, Nicola hmmmmed her way through it giving it five stars and managed to finish it despite it being the largest Crème Brule I have ever seen.  There was a good selection of chesses and an excellent chutney on the Cheese Board and together with a cappuccino each we were well and truly satisfied.  To be honest, I would have been more than happy to stay and enjoy another bottle of Rose but we had arranged to meet up with friends so had to leave at a time when the atmosphere was great.  The place had filled up with a large party of about twenty young, trendy people and there was a nice mix of couples and small parties all enjoying themselves.

We were treated to an unfaultable meal from Nick – his cooking really is fantastic and his staff truly excellent - we were made welcome and were looked after all evening.  My only complaint is that they have taken the brave step to be entirely non-smoking – perfect for the non-smokers and OK, I admit, it is so much nicer to enjoy your meal in a smoke free zone – but we had to go outside! It was freezing!

Open Monday to Saturday 12-12pm and Sunday 10-10pm for drinks, cocktails and fabulous food, Nicks Brasserie is certainly, in our opinion, going to be one of the best restaurants in Leeds.

Reviewed by Cherie Andrews

Review Summary

Atmosphere ♦♦♦♦♦
Food ♦♦♦♦♦
Service ♦♦♦♦♦
Value ♦♦♦♦

Contact Details

Nicks Brasserie & Bar
No. 20 Dock Street
Leeds
LS10 1JF

Tel: 0113 2469444
www.nb-restaurants.com