The Ivy Leeds review - the £19.95 Golden Summer Menu is made for long summer lunches

There are few things we love more than a long lunch, and The Ivy Victoria Quarter continues to be one of the best places in Leeds to have one.

Beautiful interiors, a buzzy atmosphere and consistently brilliant food make it somewhere that always feels special, whether you're heading in for a celebration or simply making an afternoon of it. And right now, there's an even better excuse to book.

The Ivy's Golden Summer Menu is currently running, offering two courses for £19.95 every day except Saturdays, with some genuinely brilliant dishes to choose from.

We settled in for lunch and started, as we always should at The Ivy, with the salt-crusted sourdough. I don't say this lightly, but this might be the best bread I've ever eaten. Every single time I visit, I wonder whether I've built it up too much in my head, and every single time it delivers. Warm, salty, beautifully crusted and almost impossible to stop pulling apart.

Alongside it came the arancini balls, packed with flavour and exactly the sort of thing you want on the table while deciding what comes next.

We followed with the garden pea soup, which was comforting, fresh and delicious. It arrives with the soup poured at the table, which adds a little bit of theatre to something that could otherwise be such a simple dish.

For my main, I went for the gochujang glazed aubergine salad, a newer addition to The Ivy menu and quite possibly my new permanent order. The rice was perfectly sticky, the aubergine had just the right amount of heat and everything was finished with plenty of fresh herbs, bringing little bursts of flavour to every bite. Fresh, spicy, sticky and completely moreish, I already know I'll be ordering it again.

We also tried the brioche-crusted chicken escalope, topped with a fresh tomato, rocket and parmesan salad. Crispy, golden chicken paired with the freshness of the salad made for such a good combination, and it was another dish we'd happily order again.

A peppermint tea gave us a little interlude before dessert, because there's one particular Ivy dessert I will never leave without ordering.

The frozen berries with frozen yoghurt and warm white chocolate sauce might sound simple, but it is genuinely my all-time favourite dessert. The hot white chocolate poured over the icy berries and yoghurt is absolute perfection. If you've never ordered it before, make it your choice next time.

We also had the crème brûlée, which brings a little drama of its own when it arrives flaming at the table. Beneath that beautifully caramelised top is the smoothest, creamy custard, and it tasted every bit as good as it looked.

One final cappuccino later, we looked at the time and realised we'd been there for three and a half hours. And that, really, is exactly how lunch at The Ivy should be done.

There's something lovely about giving over an entire afternoon to good food, plenty of conversation and absolutely no rush to be anywhere else. Add in the beautiful surroundings of The Ivy Victoria Quarter and it made for an exceptional summer lunch in the heart of Leeds.

With two courses for £19.95 on the Golden Summer Menu, it's also one of the best dining deals we've spotted in the city this summer.

Clear the afternoon, book the table and make a proper occasion of it.