Our best dishes also include an awesome aubergine and packin' pakora wrap
Summer's here, can't you tell?
The new month of June also brings our latest best dishes round up. Just a little one this month but still worth making notes from.
Read on for the best things to eat in Leeds in June.
Slow roasted aubergine, Engine Social (£6.50)
Any one of the dishes that I’ve enjoyed at Engine of late could feasibly have taken this accolade. The classics, such as chorizo in piquant cider, or the blistered Padron peppers, are consistent crowd-pleasers brilliantly done. But my stand-out dish this month is their slow-roasted aubergine, because I don’t think I’ve tasted anything quite like it. The flesh, yielding and creamy after a long time in a low oven, is contrasted by mounds of spiky chilli, crispy tofu and crushed, spiced cashews. A zesty herb oil adds another layer of lively energy. Like Engine itself, it’s an addictive proposition. Richard Miller @eatingthenorth
Britain’s Best Bacon Butty, Bolster Moor Coffee Shop (£4.75)
My Tuesday morning ritual involves dropping the dog off at daycare then going to do the big shop at Bolster Moor, a few minutes from Scammonden. But to be perfectly honest, the whole charade is just an excuse for me to enjoy a quite extraordinary bacon sarnie at the on-site coffee shop (or if the weather’s nice, to take it to the rocks above March Haigh Reservoir and enjoy pork with a view). Less than a fiver for about a thousand thick, luxurious pieces of bacon crammed into a soft bap – it’s like piggy millefeuille. I always add an egg, because if you aren’t chasing dribbly yolk over your thumb and halfway down your wrist, then as Radiohead once said, you’re not living; you’re just killing time. The perfect start to a day. Simon Richardson @lunaticonthegrass
Pakora wrap, Manjit’s Kitchen (£5.50)
I left home for my lunch break last Wednesday in search of comfort and nourishment. A visit to Manjit's Kitchen in Kirkgate Market was the perfect remedy. Our street is currently a building site, thanks to the cladding scandal, and the excited buzz of the market is the perfect remedy for the constant drilling and banging. I opted for a pakora wrap, which contains many of my favourite things: carrot salad, red onion, coriander, pickles, yoghurt, and of course the crispy pakora. It’s a perfect mingling of sour, sweet, and spicy, chewy, crunchy, and soft. The pakora itself is crisp and delicately spiced. If you’re unfamiliar with the magic of pakora, this lovely video essay from Sourced explains it far better than I ever could. Finish up with a cup of masala chai and you’re pretty much set for anything the day throws at you. Anja Madhvani @anja_madhvani
Read next: Leeds' top eating out offers, deals and discounts: June 2022
Read again: Gooey cheese, life-affirming pub fodder and a steaming hunk - Best things to eat around Leeds May 2022
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