Last week me and a couple of friends went to somewhere that I've been dying to visit since I moved to Leeds - Friends of Ham. The place makes a big deal out of cured meats, cheese and beer - what could be better?
Firstly, I have to apologise for the quality and lack of photos, the only bad thing was that FoH have a cool vibe created by a dimly lit room so my poor little iPhone struggled and the end result is very dark and high-contrast photos - but you get the idea.
We rocked up on a Thursday evening and I was worried that we would have a ridiculously long wait, cause we hadn't booked even after all of us thinking it was probably the best idea. Anyway, we turned up and were told there would be 45 minute wait for a table but we could leave our name and number and they would contact us when dinner was about to be served. So that's exactly what we did.
We headed to somewhere else I've been looking to try - The Griffin. It's a brilliantly elegant-looking pub right next to FoH so we snuck in there and sat in the part of the bar that looks like a tube tunnel - honestly you have to pay it a visit to see what I mean!
No longer had we ordered our drinks and sat down, than the phone rang telling us our table was ready. Well, you've never seen three people neck their drinks as fast and leave. When we got back to FoH, we were pointed downstairs and to our table. We were unsure about how much to order as the dishes don't really look enough to sustain three hungry appetites but we opted for a three-cheese board, a three-meat board, extra bread and a raclette - because who on earth turns down cheese and bread?
Firstly, I have to apologise for the quality and lack of photos, the only bad thing was that FoH have a cool vibe created by a dimly lit room so my poor little iPhone struggled and the end result is very dark and high-contrast photos - but you get the idea.
We rocked up on a Thursday evening and I was worried that we would have a ridiculously long wait, cause we hadn't booked even after all of us thinking it was probably the best idea. Anyway, we turned up and were told there would be 45 minute wait for a table but we could leave our name and number and they would contact us when dinner was about to be served. So that's exactly what we did.
We headed to somewhere else I've been looking to try - The Griffin. It's a brilliantly elegant-looking pub right next to FoH so we snuck in there and sat in the part of the bar that looks like a tube tunnel - honestly you have to pay it a visit to see what I mean!
No longer had we ordered our drinks and sat down, than the phone rang telling us our table was ready. Well, you've never seen three people neck their drinks as fast and leave. When we got back to FoH, we were pointed downstairs and to our table. We were unsure about how much to order as the dishes don't really look enough to sustain three hungry appetites but we opted for a three-cheese board, a three-meat board, extra bread and a raclette - because who on earth turns down cheese and bread?
To my absolute delight, the meat came with gherkins and the cheese came with a delicious chilli jam. Both plates were simple but so tasty. Deli boards are my kind of food and that's exactly what FoH do so well. There's nothing particularly complex about what they do but the quality and freshness of what they are serving is spot on. We worried about the quantities when they came but actually there was more than enough to feed three of us, but I'm glad we opted for the extra bread.
Not to mention the fact it was ridiculously affordable. We all had drinks and two platters, a raclette and extra bread and I think it came to £15 including a generous tip, which the helpful waitress definitely deserved.
If you are expecting a sit-down, three-course meal then FoH probably isn't the right place but if you are wanting somewhere that serves affordable, fresh produce, somewhere a little different then you can't go far wrong with Friends of Ham.
Not to mention the fact it was ridiculously affordable. We all had drinks and two platters, a raclette and extra bread and I think it came to £15 including a generous tip, which the helpful waitress definitely deserved.
If you are expecting a sit-down, three-course meal then FoH probably isn't the right place but if you are wanting somewhere that serves affordable, fresh produce, somewhere a little different then you can't go far wrong with Friends of Ham.