Reviews of Salt's Delicatessen

...they were queueing out the door on the day we visited...

13 January 2011

LITTLE Oliver actually finds it hard not to gush about this place. We really must rein ourselves in in the name of objectivity but, even being impartial, we struggle not to go on about Salt's.

Because this deli should be held up as the perfect example of something we should be very proud of.

It's an independent business which set out to achieve a clear vision and has done so wonderfully.

The venture began down on Swinegate, and has now spread to a second unit up in The Light on The Headrow – and the city is all the better for it.

Owner Bruce Salt established the business almost six years ago with the aim of creating a little piece of Spain in the heart of Leeds.

Fridges packed with olives, sundried tomatoes, cheese and cured hams. Dried bunches of chillies hang above a thick wood counter festooned with sweet things, steaming pots of pasta and little bags of savoury delights.

It's a look which many have tried, and failed, to emulate, but Bruce and his wife Caroline have kept it real by following a few simple principles about packing their food with flavour and not cutting corners.

Salt's has never been cheap. There are plenty of places that do cheap in Leeds but they don't deliver this high standard.

They provide the most high class of fast food – hot dishes, upmarket salads, delectable pastries and a sandwich bar to die for.

We dropped in for lunch and were struck by the forcefield of knee-trembling smells which hit us as we walked through the door.

I went for the sandwich and soup deal, which means if you buy a sandwich you get a pot of soup for just £1.50 extra. In total this came to £5.35.

The sandwich was a perfect ciabatta containing chorizo Iberico, brie de Meaux, spiced pear chutney and watercress while the soup was a fantastic pea, mint, potato and courgette number.

My dining partner, meanwhile, had the Harissa and citrus chicken with spicy prawn rice at a not unreasonable £3.85. It wasn't the biggest portions but the chicken was very tender, not too greasy and the rice had a real kick.

So we were in and out in five minutes with lunch for two and change from a tenner, which is a fair price for what we received.

We noticed the salad offering had been reduced. There was once a time when two or three would adorn the counter top but now it's down to just one. Is this due the change in seasons or the need to streamline the business? It's uncertain, but certainly a pity.

You do need to watch yourself in Salt's as well. If you do you can get yourself a not too expensive meal, but go mad and throw in a cake here and there, perhaps one of their drinks and you could easily double your bill and end up paying something close to £20 for a take-away.

Quality comes at a price, but at Salt's it's not one you have to pay if you're careful – something punters have clearly realised since they were queueing out the door on the day we visited.

RATING: 4/5

The new store represents everything that Salt's has become widely known for...

Insider Media Limited, Thu 16th December, 2010

Salt's Delicatessen has opened its second store in The Light shopping centre. The business first launched on Swinegate in Leeds city centre five years ago.

Situated opposite the entrance to the Radisson Blu Hotel at the Cookridge Street entrance, the new Salt's store will sell locally made cakes, pastries, sandwiches and hot dishes as well as speciality cheeses, meats, preserves, oils and chocolates.

Owner and former tax adviser Bruce Salt said: "The Light store is a milestone in our success to date and I am delighted that we have been able to grow the business in a city as vibrant and diverse as Leeds.

"The new store represents everything that Salt's has become widely known for: fresh, homemade lunches, indulgent pastries and cakes, good and sensibly priced coffee and an inspiring choice of fine food goods and gifts. I hope our customers find a unique culinary experience when they visit us in our new central location."

Recommended is the Yorkshire grain fed free range roast chicken salad sandwich...

Written by Darren on December 15, 2010

The other day I enjoyed lunch at Salt's Delicatessen in their new store located in The Light shopping centre, situated opposite the entrance to the Radisson Blu Hotel at the Cookridge Street entrance. Recommended is the Yorkshire grain fed free range roast chicken salad sandwich.

Salt's harks back to a time when things were done properly..

Tony Naylor guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 July 2009

With its solid wooden counter, cake stands and high, packed shelves, this deli has the feel of an Edwardian fine food store. Equally, in its ethos, Salt's harks back to a time when things were done properly. Soups and specials are cooked fresh daily; all meats, eggs and vegetables are quality Yorkshire produce. Near to several hotels (Malmaison, Jury's Inn, Travelodge), Salt's breakfast menu may be particularly useful to travellers. Skip the Ferme des Peupliers yoghurts, and try their sausage butty: fat, moist, well-seasoned pork and leek bangers on a terrific home-baked ciabatta.

Best food shopping (Yorkshire)

11th December, 2006

Best food shopping (Yorkshire) : Runners up : Salt's Deli

Salt's brings Mediterranean warmth to west Yorkshire...

The Guardian, Monday 25 February 2008

Salt's brings Mediterranean warmth to west Yorkshire, not only with its range of homemade ciabatta, pastries and cakes but also in the beautiful dark-wooded interior. The European influence stretches across the menu, from the manchego cheese and Italian beef in its sandwiches to the French pastries and rare champagnes sourced from lesser known producers. Although you might go into Salt's for a sandwich, you could just as easily leave with bruschetta - topped with roasted vegetables or chorizo - or the sublime tarte au citron.

...a surprising hotbed of European influence...

The cuisine in Yorkshire is a surprising hotbed of European influence and nowhere more so than Leeds-based deli, Salt's.

Using the finest regional fruit and veg and a few Spanish delicacies, Bruce and Caroline Salt put together a range of Iberian pastries and pies from traditional tortillas to chocolate brownies. There biggest seller? A creamy crème brulee.

See what I mean? THIS is a deli.

03 April 2008

LITTLE Oliver has a massive problem with delicatessens. To be more precise it has a massive problem with places which purport to be delicatessens, but aren't.

Virtually every street corner has a sandwich shop on it. Some sell the odd salad, the occasional pastry or maybe a smoothie or two.

But the problem is they still ain't delis – but Salt's? No problem at all. Salt's is the bona fide, real deal, Rolls Royce of delicatessens.

It's chosen a prime spot to open shop too.

Smack bang opposite the banks of riverside apartments and offices next to the Aire, there's a lucrative clientele on their doorstep.

They're money rich, which is just as well since Salt's is also one of the most expensive delis in Leeds.

But if you like top quality food you'll love it.

Sure they do sandwiches, but they're sandwiches packed with chutneys and pickles, an array of cheeses, continental meats and all wrapped in freshly cooked bread.

Sure they do salads, but they're the heartiest, tastiest combinations you'll ever find.

My dining partner went for a fantastic avocado and bacon salad with cherry tomatoes and caesar dressing, while I went for the day's equally mouthwatering hot option – cous cous with feta cheese, pine nuts, falafel and peppers.

To sample a sandwich or salad you'll pay anywhere between £3 and £5 but that's bumped up by the fact that you can't resist the sweet options which are usually just shy of £2.

We're talking lemon drizzle cake, bread and butter pudding, brownies, apple and cinnamon cake, the pupil-expanding selection goes on.

And take your pick from the array of savoury nibbles up for grabs.

Grab a little pot of peppers stuffed with cheese, or olives or maybe some of the array of cured meats available.

Even the drinks are special.

You have to try the bottled juices. I sampled the organic lemonade, while my dining partner had a blood orange and mandarin number. Both superb.

See what I mean? THIS is a deli.

We didn't get much change from £20, all in all, and since there's nowhere to sit any more (an initial seating area was abandoned due to lack of space) that's a take away price too.

But it really doesn't matter if you don't mind paying for blue riband food, which this undoutedly is.

You'd be unlikely to get anything of this high standard in many a restaurant and here you'll pay a lot less for the sake of taking it away in a plastic tub (placed in a nice brown paper carrier bag, of course).

RATING: 5/5

Head to Salt's, your appetite will thank you for it.

23 July 2008

If you work in Leeds business district and your lunch option of choice is a Boots meal deal, then you can't know about Salt's Delicatessen. If you do and still go for the £2.99 packaging feast, then quite frankly you ought to be locked in a walk-in fridge with Ramsay, Fearnley-Whittingstall and Pierre-White and beaten with the full force of their combined gastro-fascism. And a baguette.

For those that don't know, Salt's Deli is a Spanish-style delicatessen tucked just around the corner from The Cockpit in the heart of Leeds's answer to The City. It's an incongruous little place nestled amongst the soulless high rises, but this cosy food outlet is releasing its warm gastronomic delight onto an otherwise aloof corner of the city centre.

No relation to the Salts Diner recently reviewed by Hazel Davis on this site, Salt's Deli is a grammatically sound establishment that specialises in all manner of locally sourced, expertly selected and freshly prepared fine foodstuffs. Opened in May 2005, it is the baby of Bruce Salt, a former tax advisor whose passion for food and Mediterranean travels inspired him to ditch accountancy in favour of bringing a flavour of independent, Spanish-style food retail to Leeds.

The result is an attractive delicatessen offering foods you definitely won't find in Tesco. Cheery, knowledgeable staff serve behind a raised counter in front of shelves stocked to the ceiling with chutneys, pickles, olive oils and wines.

Big bunches of deep red dried chillis and paella pans hang above the counter top where glazed fruit frangipanes, chocolate brownie slabs and large, moist-looking cubes of toffee and walnut cake are ready to satisfy mid-afternoon sugar cravings.

It is cheese and meat that maketh a deli and Salt's knows this. Local cheese treasures Yorkshire Blue and Hawes Wensleydale sit alongside six month mature Spanish sheep's cheese, Manchego, and creamy Spanish goat's cheese, Murcia al Vino. For the meat there are hocks of English roast hams, Artisan Italian salamis, German smoked blacky ham and, of course, Spanish chorizos.

Lunch options are where they truly come into their own. Sandwiches range from classics such as mature cheddar and Elizabeth Smedley's Yorkshire Dales Pickle (£2.35) to the specialities like Bresaola Italian cured beef, roasted courgette, parmesan flakes and rocket (£3.45) on their own baked ciabattas, as well as fresh salads and soups. The jewel in the Salt's lunch crown though is the hot daily specials. The summer chicken casserole I had the other day was a delight. Tender chicken with smoky bacon and chunky seasonal veg in a creamy tarragon sauce with roast new potatoes all for £2.50. Yep, I kid you not, a proper hot dinner for £2.50.

Still tempted by a limp egg mayonnaise sarnie and a packet of ready salted? Thought not. Head to Salt's, your appetite will thank you for it.

Customer reviews

The staff are always really helpful and approachable – nothing seems too much trouble

I love the customer service and readiness to help out at short notice

The quality of food provided, it never differs whether it was made for myself or for a business lunch. You can really tell that the staff members have taken time and care when creating each product.

The food is very tasty, the price is well matched and the staff are helpful and friendly. The website is very user friendly and I love how easy the booking system is.

The food is very fresh, locally sourced and the selection is mouth watering!

Delivery option, quick and professional service, happy to adapt to suit needs of customer

I like the fresh produce, real chicken (no strange uniform slices of white wobbly stuff!), and as I'm on a gluten free diet, the lovely salads and soups. Ordered food for my birthday too and it was amazing and not too expensive.

Best food around by far, at a reasonable price.

@Saltsdeli = superb food!! Best buffet lunch ever. 7:55 AM May 6th 2010