A Glimpse of Marco's New York Italian, Leeds

I have always been a fan of Marco Pierre White's restaurants and although they are predominantly steak houses, I've found the few vegetarian options that I've had highly enjoyable and each of the restaurants I have visited, the decor has been exceptional. Last week I was invited to check out the new cocktail and food menu at Marco's New York Italian in Leeds and I couldn't wait.

Marco's New York Italian, Leeds opened in April this year and the restaurant offers an extensive Italian/American menu consisting of all the classics such as pizza and lasagne, as well a few nice surprises like the new addition of the quinoa superfood salad. This particular restaurant has been highly anticipated on the Leeds food scene for the last few years as Leeds is the birthplace of the man behind the restaurant, Marco Pierre White.

The evening began by talking through some of the cocktails on Marco's menu and a brief history of how cocktails began, back in the prohibition era in America. Marco's cocktail menu has all the much-loved favourites such as Martini's and Daiquaris, as well as a few house specials such as 'The Golden Cadillac' - a mixture of Galliano, creme de cacao, orange juice and cream and 'Blood and Sand' which comprised of Chivas 12 year old whisky, sweet vermouth, Cherry Heering and orange juice.

Once the cocktail briefing had finished, we were given the chance to have a go at creating our favourite drinks from the menu. I opted for the classic 'Pornstar Martini' which is made by mixing fresh passion fruit, Absolut vanilla vodka, Passoa and lime juice, with a shot of Prosecco on the side. It's a refreshing, fruity cocktail that isn't too sweet and it is always my drink of choice on a night out. This particular cocktail had a smooth vanilla finish due to the Absolut vanilla vodka.

To soak up all the alcohol we had just been given, we were then taken into the main restaurant and served some dishes from the new food menu. We started with pizza, garlic bread, olives and nuts to share, then proceeded with a variety of salads, lasagne and pasta dishes. My favourites during the evening were the margarita pizza which had a lovely crunchy base, plenty of herby flavours and a topping that wasn't too greasy, the wild mushroom lasagne which was rich and indulgent, but not too heavy and the Quinoa salad which tasted fresh and juicy.

After we had made our way through all the delicious main courses, we were then greeted with a plethora of mouth watering desserts from this Manhattan Milkshaker which came complete with a New York cheesecake on top, to a naughty, but irresistible Chicago hot brownie with chocolate sauce. At this point, my lactose-intolerance was in overdrive (I usually avoid dairy at all cost), but I wasn't going to let that stop me from sampling the cheesecake. It was creamy, light and melted in my mouth and it went incredibly well with the rich strawberry milkshake that my husband was only happy to oblige when it came to polishing it off.  It was the perfect ending to a great night and a wonderful meal.

Have you dined at Marco's New York Italian before?