I cannot imagine a nicer dining experience than spending a long evening working my way through the tasting menu at Anthony's flagship restaurant in Leeds, in the company of my enthusiastic eater of a husband. Upstairs we sipped water and crunched pigs ears while having a nice chat with the very personable Maitress D' before being led downstairs ceremonially, our drinks bourne before us. The service has a degree of pomp (and frankly if I'm paying £100 a head I want a bit of pomp) but every highly-skilled waiter is informative, elicits feedback and hangs on your every comment as though vital. Being led downstairs into the calm brown and cream dining room immediately sets the tone – you are here for serious eating, and the food is seriously interesting to reflect this.

With their El Bulli pedigree, the team at Anthony's offers extremely fine dining at a price which fairly reflects the degree of skill and attention that goes into the many little dishes paraded in front of you. Expect to be dazzled by Anthony Flinn's deep, deep artistry. Be prepared to try combinations you've never thought of and put aside your prejudices – pork crackling with pudding, yes please! I thought I hated tongue until I had it here, slightly dried and combined with extremely fresh-tasting seared tuna. And leave room for the cheese course. Okay, giving the cheese its own menu might seem a little poncey but hell, I like cheese, and since you get to select from a couple of dozen varieties you probably haven't heard of you'll be glad to read up on them first. When they arrive, in order of strength, the waiter apologises for the delay but chef won't let them out of the kitchen until they're the correct temperature.

Attention is paid to every detail providing the kind of evening you sink into like a marshmallow as one dish follows another effortlessly, each surpising, each showcasing the flavours of the ingredients. And what appeals to the nipcheese in me is that while the food is relatively expensive we… More