The trendy osteria
Vinny & Vito – Village Hotel, North Leeds – Finding a tasty bite to eat that won’t break the bank can be tricky these days. In my experience, restaurants often tend to come in two categories: cheap and nasty or expensive and superb. Treating yourself to a meal can be a veritable minefield.
But, luckily, there are establishments who have high hopes of breaking this mold – one of which is Vinny & Vito, located within the Village Hotel in Headingly Leeds. The trendy osteria is honest about the clientele they are aiming to attract. The less fussy diner who simply wants to eat good pasta and pizza without dissecting the ins and outs of where the produce originates from or, indeed, how precisely it was cooked. Here, the bottom line is taste.
In practice, the restaurant achieves most of its ambitions. For me, while the calamari starter followed by meatballs and tiramisu was good, I wouldn’t rate it as exceptional. Then again, at £72 for two people – with a bottle of wine and soft drinks – neither was the price. A three course meal at such a reasonable rate hardly breaks the bank, and that makes this a really good restaurant for all comers.
The question that I always like to ask people – the one that really sums a restaurant up – is ‘would you return?’. And the answer in this case is ‘yes I would’. You see, sometimes you just want something to eat that’s full of taste and reasonably priced, and Vinny & Vito ticks those boxes.
It’s worth mentioning that this restaurant is based in a hotel, and that’s clever – very clever. I spend week after week in hotels where, generally speaking, food is poor. It’s pre-packed, fried and generally un-loved. But, at the Village, things are different; things are fresh, well cooked and loved and, more importantly, well priced. No doubt occupancy in the hotel will bloom with the addition of a good restaurant such as this – and that’s good business.
So next time you find yourself in Headingly get yourself to Vinny and Vito. I’m certain you won’t be disappointed!
