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It was 1955 when Salvatore Dammone arrived in Leeds from Sicily and set up on Kirkstall Road with an espresso bar downstairs and an illicit gambling den upstairs. Mrs Dammone didn't like the upstairs. She made an offer to move out that couldn't be refused; they headed up the hill to Headingley; and one of Leeds best-loved, most legendary and longest running restaurants was born: Salvo's
Salvo's has never stood still. There has been Salvo's on the park, Salute at Oulton, even city centre jazz clubs, but it's centre of gravity has always been St Anne's Parade on Otley Road, and it is here two doors down from the ever-popular trattoria that Salvatore's sons John and Gip, have branched out again with Salvo's Salumaria, an upmarket delicatessen and café.
No bigger than the original Salvo's, the décor is quietly contemporary. A wall of shelves displays Italian groceries: jars of capers, speciality pasta, biscotti, prettily wrapped pannattones. The chill counter has Parma ham, salamis, olives and cheeses. The café is open through the day for simple well executed meals of soup, salad, sandwiches and pasta dishes.
But ever the professional restaurateurs, the Dammone brothers have launched a series of pre-booked no choice, regional tasting dinners every Saturday night to showcase the deli and take us back to their Italian roots. Twenty fiver diners sit down together at 7.30pm prompt for a multi-course menu at £27.50 a head. We couldn't have done better that to Sicilian night. John Dammone tells us about the global influence introduced into Sicily 's food by various invaders and then we're off. Be warned: this is a major feast. Clear the evening, prepare with the lightest lunches, and pace yourself.
Considering how much was to come we were foolhardy in wolfing down every crumb of the crostini topped with a mild fresh ricotta and grilled peppers ; greedy in clearing the bowl of excellent fat Sicilian olives that came with a wooden board bearing coppa, salami and slices of fennel. Perhaps, we could have just picked at the fine flat bread that came with the hearty lentil soup. And when the ever persuasive John Dammone, giving some gentle tutoring, tells you that is Pantelleria capers that dress the marinated anchovies and sun-dried tomatoes are the best in the world, well, it would have been rude not to leave a clean plate. And the capers were certainly world class.
The swordfish rolled and stuffed with sultanas, and pine nuts, unusual ingredients for Italy, was a prime example of Sicily's ‘invasion cuisine' so, out of research necessity, it was agreeably demolished; as was a blessedly small plate of pasta with tomato and aubergine topped with an excellent gating ricotta – ‘primo sale'.
The meat course of slow roast lamb with herbs was so meltingly tender that it slipped down in a trice. The cheese course, a plate of pecorino, quince paste and slices of melon-like prickly pear, was clearly the beginning of the end so we saluted it.
Not quite. There were still two puddings to come. A second, or third, wind did credit to cassata Siciliana, a classic confection of ricotta, almond paste, fruit and nuts. We came to a grinding halt over vanilla ice cream with a blood orange sauce, and coffee came as a blessed relief. After four hours of gorging, we were feeling like Perigord geese who had volunteered for force-feeding.
Remarkably, all this had been conjured up by two chefs on two electric rings and a table top oven. Service was charming and informative, and eleven courses for £27.50 speaks for itself as value. Not surprisingly – this is Salvo's after all – it's a highly popular attraction and gets booked up fast. The good news is that it's so popular that they may soon run it on Friday nights too.
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