“Stuff your talentless faces with my mother’s crab cakes!” – Friends
On Saturday night I was invited out by Marco’s New York Italian Restaurant for a three course meal. Marco’s has been open for around a month, up near Leeds Arena at the top of town.

At first glance of the menu I thought it was pretty basic and nothing jumped out at me that I wanted to try – usually when I see a menu I’ve already decided what I’m having three days before I get there, but I think that says more about me than it does about any restaurant!!

When we arrived at Marco’s New York Italian, a very friendly maitre d’ asked if we wanted to be seated or have a drink in the bar first, so I ordered a large glass of wine and settled into the comfy seats around a communal table in the bar. We were brought a dish of olives and a bowl of spicy blow-your-head-off nuts that we picked at before deciding to sit down.

The chairs at the dinner table were lovely – I do appreciate a good chair at a restaurant as all too often you get provided with a quirky metal stool or a chair with a gap in the back and it’s just not comfortable dining. Service from the waiting staff was excellent, water was poured for us every time someone passed our table and they always waited for both of us to be seated before taking any orders.

A bit uninspired by the menu, I opted for crab cakes to start as it’s not something I ever have at home and I chose cannelonni for main course. Stu went for ribs to start, so the waiter brought him a finger bowl, and surf and turf for main course – a steak cooked to order and some gigantic buttery prawns.

The food was well presented and I loved the spotty dotty plates, adding a bit more personality than just plain white crockery. When I sliced into my crab cakes I was more than pleasantly surprised. They were stuffed with shredded crab meat from end to end, unlike the slightly rubbery textured crab cakes I’ve had before, they were delicious.

I mostly chose the cannelonni for the garlic ciabatta and it did not disappoint – soaked in garlic and butter, I could have eaten it with every meal until the end of time! The cannelonni itself was served in a cast iron dish, bubbling with molten lava like cheese and tomato and stuffed with a creamy spinach and ricotta filling. Just look at that photo, I knew I would be jealous of myself when I wrote up this post! I chose a rocket and parmesan salad to go alongside my meal and that was big enough to be a stand alone dish itself, drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

I was hoping for lemon sorbet on the dessert menu, but I never dreamed it would come with a frozen limoncello on the side – a bitter, icy, sharp delight! They also had affogato on the menu too, but the limoncello tipped me over the edge.

We finished the meal with a drink at the table, I chose Frangelico, an incredibly light hazelnut liquor with ice. They also had Disaronno, an army of vodkas and a whole collection of cocktails that I didn’t even get chance to look at. There’s definitely plenty of things to go back to Marco’s time and time again to try something new, especially if all the classics are as good as the cannelonni. Next time I think I fancy trying their carbonara!

You’ll find Marco’s New York Italian Restaurant on Wade Lane in Leeds
Starters begin at £5.95 and main courses are from £9.50