It’s nearly that time of year again and at The Arch Café we’re already preparing for the Christmas season! This year you can join us for two or three course lunches in the café, festive afternoon tea for two or more and for full Christmas parties in our beautiful Grade II listed building! We are also holding our annual Christmas Carol Concert, hosted by national treasure Harry Gration, on Saturday 3 December at 2pm in St John’s church on New Briggate. Tickets are £5 each and include a hot drink and mince pie for adults and children’s tickets include juice, biscuits and a visit to Santa with a gift. Tickets are available to buy from the Arch Café or by calling 0113 389 3002. After the concert there will be free Christmas craft activities for children and grown ups to enjoy! We hope you can join us for a fun family afternoon. Click here to view our Christmas Lunches Menu Click here to view our Christmas Afternoon Tea Menu CHRISTMAS PARTIES AND EVENTS! Fancy a personally and professionally managed office or family Christmas party in a beautiful Grade II listed venue?

With a fully licensed bar, including; spirits, beers, ciders and local craft ales, a full range of buffet and canapé options, a private event space and audio facilities, the Arch Café is the perfect venue for Christmas events of all sizes! And that’s not all, you can also feel at ease in the knowledge that we source our ingredients locally and responsibly and all our profits go to support the work of Age UK Leeds. Booking your Christmas event here can really help make a difference to the lives of older people in the Leeds area! To enquire about booking please call us on 0113 389 3002! Full buffet menu coming soon!Best kept secret in town: Park restaurantposted in : MONTREAL, restaurant reviews I believe the words “mind-blowing” were uttered in a hushed tone a few times, our eyes rolling back as we bit down on the silkiest, smoothest, freshest piece of fish I have ever had the pleasure of tasting in Montreal… Every single bite throughout that whole tasting menu evoked the same reaction.

If this is sushi, then what had I been eating all these years? Park is the best kept secret in town. I had vaguely heard about it when it first opened back in February. It was on my list of places to visit but that list is long and it kept getting pushed back. However, in the past week a few events contributed to my increasing curiosity and I figured the universe was sending me a sign – several of them in fact – that I just had to go… and soon!ninja sushi menu aiea Chef Antonio Park’s eponymous restaurant is a casual place with a cool vibe dishing out incredible food. sushi grade tuna nashua nhIt is such a well kept secret that I wasn’t sure I was in the right place even after stepping through the door! jiro dreams of sushi calgary

The best seats in the house are definitely at the bar where you can watch Chef Park work his magic. His passion for the job and his respect for the ingredients is immediately obvious in every single one of his gestures but especially in his words. His journey is a fascinating one, from his Korean roots, to growing up in Argentina and Brazil, to culinary school in Japan. jiro dreams of sushi kaizenHe’s worked in several kitchens in Montreal, Toronto, New York and more and was executive chef at Montreal’s private dining club 357 C as well as Kaizen Sushi. genki sushi menu wilmington ncEven though Park has only been open for two months, it is quickly forging a reputation as one of the best sushi restaurants in town. umi sushi menu jacksonville

The fish here is from private import only – a rare thing in Canada – and always fresh, never frozen. Chef Park’s privileged relationship with a Japanese fisherman allows him to pick his freshly-caught fish as it’s still on the boat in Japan about two or three times a week. It is then immediately flown over and is on your plate a few hours later for you to enjoy. The flesh of a fish this fresh is sweet, silky soft and melts in your mouth. Every bite is perfectly seasoned by the chef with fresh wasabi and the right amount of soya sauce needed. In fact, some of the fish is so fresh it’s almost still alive when it gets to Montreal. Kaimin tai – or  “acupuncture” fish (click on the link, it’s a fascinating read) – is so called because the fish is actually induced into a coma-like state by inserting seven acupuncture needles in it, a humane method of killing fish developed by the Japanese in 2005 in their constant quest for freshness. Chef Park is the one who first brought this fish to Canada and his restaurant is the only one nationwide that carries Kaimin Tai.

The fish arrives to its destination so fresh its eyes are as clear as if it was fished a minute ago. It still holds its shape and its organs are still perfectly intact. In what must be a stroke of genius, Chef Park serves his acupunctured pink snapper topped with chimichurri, a nod to his native Argentina. Who could’ve guessed that the tart flavour of the chimichurri would be the most perfect complement to the sweet fish? Park doesn’t just serve sushi. It is open six days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner and serves Japanese specialties, as well as Korean ones (kimchi BLT for breakfast anyone?). Chef Guillermo Russo (formerly of Laurier Gordon Ramsay) is also in the kitchen contributing to the creation of the omakase (chef’s choice) menu every night. His delicious contributions to our meal that night included a rabbit and soba noodle consommé, a beet-cured salmon dish and a stuffed rabbit loin. Not your typical Asian fair but oh so delicious! I saw the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi not long ago.