March 28, 2024

Our verdict – Terrace dining at Oulton Hall, Leeds

Many venues have looked to make the most of the easing of the Covid restrictions by focusing on their terrace dining experience and Oulton Hall near Leeds has been no exception. Located in stunning landscaped gardens, the venue has improved its offering in a number of areas. It has worked closely with suppliers to design a new alfresco menu and carried out a full taste panel in an attempt to ensure every dish is the right fit. We headed along to see if these efforts had paid off.


Mains

The Pepperoni Meatza (£16.50) lived up to its billing with plentiful slices of pepperoni, chorizo and ham ensuring this was indeed a meaty feast, smothered in mozzarella cheese and a rich tomato sauce on a delightfully crisp hand-stretched sourdough pizza base. The addition of a generous portion of French Fries (£4.00) meant there was no danger of anyone going home hungry.


Fresh Cos lettuce, tasty Parmesan cheese and ultra crisp sourdough croutons were joined by succulent chargrilled chicken (£4.50) to do justice to this take on the Classic Caesar Salad (£12.50). This time the aptly-named Thick Cut Chips (£4.00) did the heavy lifting on the sides front.

The notes of red cherries and blackberries of the Canyon Road Merlot, as well as its subtle vanilla and spice flavours, made for a fitting companion to both mains.


Desserts

A rich dark chocolate sauce cut through the tanginess of the Clementine tart (£7.00) in impressive style, while a scoop of high quality vanilla ice cream added a further level of decadent deliciousness.

As the sun began to set the warm Sticky Toffee Pudding (£7.50) with rapidly melting salted caramel ice cream was a delight and rounded off proceedings in fine style.


Our verdict


Given how long venues have been closed for as a result of the lockdown, many would be forgiven for taking a bit of time to get their terrace dining offering up to speed. This is not an allegation that can be levelled at Oulton Hall, however, as it’s clear that the preparation work that General Manager, Claire Steven, and the rest of the team at the hotel have put into getting everything ready has really paid dividends.

The revamped menu really suits the alfresco vibe, while the layout of the seating area, the extension of the hotel’s Wi-Fi coverage, and the investment in new tablets and card payment devices to facilitate the improvements, has helped make for a really smooth operation

Away from the technological side, the menu, whilst understandably not extensive, has a lot to offer and the food itself was expertly prepared and presented. The wonderful setting of the hotel really raised the classiness of the entire evening too. Let’s just hope for continued glorious weather so that more people can sample this fantastic terrace dining experience (although blankets are available from the hotel to help stave off the chills on colder days).


Address: Oulton Hall, Rothwell Lane, Oulton, Leeds, LS26 8HN.

To book a table telephone 0113 282 1000 or visit www.oultonhallhotel.co.uk.