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Graham Clark
Music Features Writer
@Maxximum23Clark
9:00 PM 3rd June 2017
lifestyle

Gino D'Acampo Restaurant, Leeds

 
Outside the restaurant
Outside the restaurant
The rise of the celebrity chef has been a recent phenomenon in the restaurant industry.

I was really looking forward to experiencing Italian Chef Gino D'Acampo's new restaurant in Leeds, as I have dined in Italy from North to South from Turin to Taranto so I have a good background of Italian restaurants.

Inside the restaurant
Inside the restaurant
First impressions were good: a light, airy restaurant with plenty of staff: there was an awful lot of staff in fact.

The welcome was friendly and the offer of visiting the bar downstairs for a pre dinner drink was offered too, but as we were quite hungry we decided to go straight into the restaurant.

If you eat in a pizzeria or restaurant in Italy you will always find it noisy. The whole family tend to eat out together and there is usually a television on with music or a sports channel.

The music is here too. Now I like my music but I did find it far too loud and brash. Even in Italy you can have a conversation without having to raise your voice.

Downstairs bar area
Downstairs bar area
If Gino had a choice in choosing the music then he must be a fan of Britpop is all I can say: The Boo Radleys, Franz Ferdinand and Pulp were blaring away far too loudly, which it is not the type of music that compliments the atmosphere of the rest of the dining experience.

There are plenty of Italian artists that would be better suited to the restaurant playlist: Mario Biondi, Eros Ramazotti, Francesco Gabbani and Vasco Rossi would be ideal to add to a true Italian atmosphere.

Sharing bread board
Sharing bread board
Our starter of the sharing Bread Board arrived after I had gone to have a look at the downstairs bar area. Upon returning I asked my partner if she had already started as the selection looked a little depleted. Apparently that was the full selection. The serving looked like it was just for one person.

The ciabatta bread was good but with only two small slices along with the grissini with fennel and sea salt were not the best we both have eaten.

Sea Bass
Sea Bass
Things picked up with our mains.

My partner's sea bass was described as "excellent" but priced at £17.00 with no side included it seemed pricey, compared to what other restaurants serve in the local area. An extra side of fries added to the meal.

Real Neapolitan Pizza
Real Neapolitan Pizza
I went for a pizza as I literally must have eaten over 50 pizzas in Italy over the years, including many in Naples, where Gino is from.

I have to be honest and say that my Real Neapolitan Pizza I chose was not the best I have had: it was far too greasy and the base far too thin - I have eaten in Naples, from street corner pizzerias dodging the locals on their scooters to high end restaurants in the southern Italian city.

The omission of the classic 4 cheeses pizza seemed odd too as you would be hard pressed to visit any Italian restaurant over there and not find it on the menu.

Chocolate Fondant
Chocolate Fondant
Desserts of Chocolate Chestnut cake and my partner's Chocolate Fondant were both good but nothing special.

There are plenty of photos of Gino all around the restaurant and opportunities to buy his books.

It might be early days yet at the new Leeds restaurant. I found the staff, many of them Italian, to be excellent. The restaurant is clean, new and swish and as I said the service first class. It is just that, for me and my partner too, the food was not as good as what you would get when dining in Italy.

Gino D'Acampo Restaurant
11/12 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5HD
Telephone: 0113 244 3220
www.ginodacamporestaurants.com