But the metropolitan mecca that is Harvey Nichols have just put on a darling menu which we simply had to try – we also had to see if it passed the lunch hour test.

Could a big restaurant deliver in 60 minutes? Hmmm, it wasn't far off.

But the overrun is made worthwhile at the moment by a choice of two or three courses specifically from a selection composed to celebrate British Food Fortnight.

At first sight it seems quite a cute deal as well – two courses for £15 and three courses for £18, which ain't bad value at all, especially when you see what's on offer.

For starters you could try the mussels with Ampleforth cider, herbs and cream; the cured ham, celeriac and pickled leeks or maybe the watercress and potato soup. Yum yum.

We skipped straight to mains, however. Mine was the partridge, which is a little fiddly because they're little birds, but quite a unique flavour and, no, it doesn't taste at all like chicken.

The blob of carrot puree was token as was the two brambles it was garnished with, thankfully I was filled up by a side order of sweet potato mash.

My dining partner had a more successful choice with her grilled plaice with brown shrimp butter and greens.

Desserts were even better – my dining partner had a trio of small English apple desserts – which were quite tasty, but not out of this world, while I had the basic but hearty plum crumble.

We were both struck by how full we were, despite the compact portions. Equally striking was the fact that although we'd enjoyed our meal we weren't blown away by it. But the most striking characteristic was the bill – a whopping £47 for two courses and four soft drinks.

This meal deal was something of a false economy – one of the most expensive lunches Little Oliver has tried, unfortunately it wasn't the most amazing and we had one of those 'discretionary' service charges slipped in there too. Boo.

Service was pretty fast, though our waitress forgot to bring us one of our drinks, the atmosphere is nicely humming and this is, after all, elite retailers Harvey Nichols.

But if you want better food at a better price elsewhere in Leeds you won't have to shop around much.

Rating: 3/5