Sure, it has a certain corporate, don't-change-the-menu-very-often feel to it, but its food is good quality and cooked to perfection.

And it must be one of the best spots to sit and soak up the vibe of The Calls with an unrivalled view of the River Aire with its bridges and banks of plush apartments.

The Waterfront also looks good. It's pretty simple with the odd colourful flourish here and there but, most importantly, it's cosy as hell.

Not least because if you want to sit by the windows – and believe me you really do want to sit by the windows in this restaurant – you're allotted a booth all of your own which offers privacy while not cutting you off entirely from other diners. A nice touch.

But most importantly of all, the menu is impressive. They've kept things simple – but not too simple – and alluring to the tastebuds. On the list you will find 11 starters, eight mains, four fish dishes and as much pizza and pasta as you can imagine. You won't be short of choice.

And despite a multitude of options, the dishes are not complicated, they simply feature a few, high-quality ingredients.

For example my dining partner started with the mussels in a sauce made of three basic ingredients – white wine, garlic and cream. And it was a triumph, particularly as these were pretty big, juicy mussels too.

My starter was the carpaccio of beef with rocket, which came in very small, thin slices but packed such flavour since it was drizzled with shallot vinaigrette. See what I mean? Very simple, very tasty, just like authentic Italian food should be.

The mains ratcheted things up a bit with my venison haunch steak with globe artichoke and forest mushrooms, the perfect portion of meat, cooked just to the right side of pinkness and delicately flavoured with port jus.

My dining partner was impressed with how tender his lamb rump was too, requiring only the smallest touch with his knife and fork to remove it from the bone. But the really successful element of his meal was the minted pea puree with which it was topped, a fantastic but, again, simple addition.

Already full of food, we considered skipping dessert but our friendly waitress insisted we try some of the ice cream. So, arms up our backs, we opted for the vanilla, strawberry and Christmas pudding flavours.

What arrived at the table was three decent-sized scoops, each in its own individual bowl, which we thought was another nice touch since it didn't allow the flavours to melt and merge into that cloying mish-mash which can sometimes happen.

By this point we really were fit to bursting – and this is an important point, because you can easily over-order at Waterfront. We had two side orders of a rocket and parmesan salad and some marinated olives, neither of which we could finish.

This is important information because Waterfront isn't cheap. It isn't terribly expensive either but expect to pay £5-7 for a starter and £10-16 for a main. The wine list is extensive and very reasonable, but throw in a couple of glasses of pinot grigio and coffees and you'll end up, as we did, looking at a bill for two people of around £80. Which isn't bad, but it certainly isn't budget dining.

It is great dining though, we couldn't find any serious gripe with any part of our meal, in fact most of it was absolutely mouthwatering and it's obvious that, as simple as it was, they put a lot of care into preparation.

What irks about the comparatively low profile which Waterfront has endured for the last year, is that much more staid and uninventive restaurants in Leeds continue to hog the limelight.

That is despite the fact they're little more than your usual garlic-bread-and-bolognese hangovers from the 1990s, with lots of stodge, cheese and tomato and little in the way of imagination.

Waterfront clearly strives for authenticity. It offers food that an Italian might enjoy in their homeland, as opposed to the fast food alternative we often find on our plates. Not only does it strive, it succeeds.

Service was pretty good, the atmosphere just right for a Saturday night and, overall, it was an extremely pleasant dining experience – one which more people in Leeds need to enjoy. They really don't know what they're missing.

Facts
The Waterfront, 4 Brewery Place, Leeds LS10 1NE.
Tel: 0113 245 5369
Opening times: Every day from noon to 10.30pm.

Food: 5/5
Value:3/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Service: 5/5

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