Now, I’ve decided to break a golden rule. The rule was to only write about places to eat in Sheffield, mainly to avoid confusion. But the discovery of a 100% gluten free restaurant in Leeds is too good to keep to myself!

I discovered The Oxford Place because I went on a girls’ shopping trip to Leeds – on a pilgrimage, if you like – to John Lewis. Let’s not go there though. Suffice it to say that the Leeds store is a different experience.

Now, normally, we’d have been looking for some street food, a quick and cheap option, so we could maximise the retail time, but we didn’t want the uncertainty and disappointment of looking for somewhere on the day. So it turned into what I find is fairly common – we ended up choosing somewhere more expensive to guarantee a good experience. This is another reason why Coeliac’s disease is so annoying – quick and cheap food options are generally off the menu.

However, we did have an absolutely fabulous meal, and it was a joy to be in a place where there was no need to quiz the waiter about cross contamination, and where none of the menu was off limits. The restaurant itself is boutique style, with non-matching crockery and eclectic decor – we all admired the animals in picture frames wallpaper. And the chef’s Michelin star experience shone through the presentation and flavour of the food.

For a starter, we all shared this fabulous vegetable tempura, which came with home made sweet chilli sauce. The batter was wonderful and crispy

For my main course, I had pan fried seabass with tomatoes, samphire, brown shrimps and beurre blanc. It tasted as good as it looks – absolutely gorgeous. Crispy, seedy skin on the fish, salty samphire, and finished with a pretty flower.

We were too full for a pudding and needed to get back to the retail, but before we left, we were treated to a shot of something (schnapps maybe?) to send us on our way. A reminder of my dim and distant youth! I might have been tempted by the tiramisu though – I’ve never seen gluten free tiramisu in a restaurant.

So, I’m very much looking forward to another trip to Leeds so we can go back here. As you can tell, I would highly recommend it.

The Oxford Place, 2 Oxford Place, Leeds LS1 2AX