ASK Italian Restaurant Headingley Review

Reviewed by Sean Dodson

ASK Italian in Headingley is the latest addition to the group’s 120 restaurants that have been growing in reputation recently. Once the little brother of Pizza Express, this plucky little Italian has spruced itself up and is now swaggering down high streets up and down the UK. This latest addition, situated on the site of the old Lounge cinema in the northern suburb of Headingly in Leeds, is a white tiled, glassy eatery which serves dishes of Italian origin on two floors.

It’s well designed space with a mezzanine floor high above the open kitchen filling the space with the lovely aroma of freshly baked bread.

Early on a Saturday evening we found it a large busy and quite noisy restaurant, buzzing with groups of well-dressed young women, families celebrating and one very boorish birthday party. It’s a handsome restaurant, with a design philosophy that extends to the Alessi porcelain, some fish-bowl like wine glasses and colourful windmills to entertain the children.

Our starter of Antipasti, delivered on a wooden board, was set out like artists palette (£11.75 for two) with separately arranged clusters of buffalo mozzarella, smoked prosciutto, salami and olive tapenade. The mozzarella was as creamy as mascarpone; the tapenade as salty as the sea, but it was the rosemary-infused bread, fresh from the oven, which impressed most.

Mains of sea bass al forno (£12.95) baked together with potatoes and tomatoes with a light white wine sauce was rustic without being too heavy; while the funghi and pancetta pizza scored the only bum note of the evening.

Described on the menu as being piled high, it was a more frugal affair, with a filling-to-dough ratio that wasn’t as generous as the menu suggested.

While an impromptu carnival of the Otley Run (a local fancy dress-themed pub crawl) paraded outside the high windows, we sipped a zesty Gavi (£32.50) chosen from a wine list that sticks admirably to wine grown in Italy.

Desserts arrived promptly torte al limone (£5.40), a latin version of lemon merangue pie, was nicely sour. The gelato espresso e biscotti (coffee ice cream, coffee and crushed amaretti biscuits) was appropriately bitter.

The mezzanine floor does tend to become noisy, a rowdy party continued to echo around the old picture house, annoying staff (who were first-rate) and customers alike. But even some excessive boisterousness didn’t spoil the impression of a lovely building and a lovely well organised brightly modern restaurant.

ASK Headingley is as fresh as an ironed shirt but the bill won’t take you to the cleaners.

For more information or to book a table click here.