Is It Still The Best Sunday Lunch In Leeds?
As we approached the beginning of the end of lockdown and we were on the cusp of Independence Day on the 4th July when pub reopened, I suggested it might be time to go to our favourite Sunday Lunch venue Matt Healy at The Foundry.
I suspect Sunday Lunch is an important topic of discussion in Leeds as it doesn’t take long for it to crop up in conversation and whenever it does I always say you need to go here it is the best.
So you can probably guess there was a wholehearted agreement at my suggestion, similarly a lot of other people had the same idea so we couldn’t get in until the 12th. But we all new the wait would be worth it.
We tried to book a table for 6 but that wasn’t possible with cover restrictions so we had expected to be settled in a 4 and a 2 which to be honest wasn’t a problem.
Amazingly on arrival it was suggested we could have a table of 6 outside and since it was a lovely sunny afternoon we jumped at the chance!
We then spent 5 mins organising the exact table to take into account who would be sat in sun, me and daughter no2 share my Irish complexion so we were keen on shade as was boyfriend of daughter no2 (lets say he is a strawberry blonde) whereas Mrs K was trying to organise her seat so she could have maximum exposure to sun.
Drinks ordered sunglasses on and 6 Sunday lunches please the excitement was palpable.
Oh My God That Looks Amazing!
Doesn’t it just the problem is that it wasn’t from our most recent visit this was from a previous visit pre-covid.
Historically you used to get chicken with your beef (if you look closely at the above image you can just see the chicken peaking out from behind the beef) now you choose between chicken and beef! Also you get one slice of beef and a single Yorkshire not the mountain you can see above
To be clear I am not blaming the restaurant the menu was very clear its just we had been so many times before we didn’t look at it (well had a peak at the puddings)
When the meals arrived we were all giving ourselves quizzical looks and eventually I asked the waiter “excuse me don’t you get chicken anymore?” “no we have changed it” came the reply. We were crestfallen in fact I forgot to take any pictures (not quite got the hang of this blogging lark yet!)
But was it still nice?
Absolutely it was great really enjoyable and to be frank one of my favourite things about The Foundry is that all the staff are really friendly and helpful. It is not a massive restaurant but it has a lovely vibe which in spite of all the undoubted tough times they have all faced it still has an amazing atmosphere. The staff genuinely can’t do enough to make your visit enjoyable.
Similarly if we hadn’t been before it would have rated rated pretty highly but we had many many times and it used to be the best by a long way. So it is still good but not the best.
So please go (if you haven’t been before) you will love it the beef is melt in your mouth amazing and veg (an area where many Sunday lunches fail) are cooked wonderfully.
It feels like there is a but….
There is actually and the gripe I had (apart from the massive change to the lunch line up!) was Mr Healy himself.
We have been to the restaurant probably 5/6 times and have never met the man himself which was never a problem. What we didn’t realise that the helpful man that suggested we could have a table for 6 outside was actually Matt himself (he looked different in real life!)
We found out it was him as he made a massive fuss of one of the tables outside going over to introduce himself and probably spent a good 5 mins chatting. At the end he turned and walked back into the restaurant without a hello or wave to the other 2 to 3 tables of people who were dining outside.
“Oh grow up” I hear you say and you’re right it is no big deal at the end of the day, but when you go as far to trade on your name it would have genuinely made my day if he had just said “hello”. Part of the going out experience is being made to feel special and I just think he potentially missed a trick (I know I am shallow – but I am too old to change now.)
The damage
£268 for 6 including a bit of drink (not sure who had the Diet Coke btw!) which for me was pretty good value for 2 courses plus drinks. Please don’t be put off it is still enjoyable and if the weather is nice an amazing lunch experience due to its secluded location and the fact it is a bit of a sun trap.
A solid 7/10
