One of my colleagues suggested I was being a cheapskate when I said I was going to a new restaurant in Holmfirth which, among other things, has burgers on the menu.

The inference being that we were hardly pushing the boat out by potentially opting for a burger.

Well now he can eat humble pie because our choices at the recently opened Soul Kitchen in Dunford Road, Holmfirth were absolutely spot on, top notch burgers and all.

Six of us decided to go out on a family outing (including a dear friend) to celebrate my birthday. Yes, another year, another step up the ladder of life but we’ll say no more!

My son and his girlfriend had tried Soul Kitchen a couple of weeks ago and raved about the American diner-style restaurant which is certainly stirring up the dining out scene in Holmfirth.

Only small, it is situated at the bottom of Dunford Road, and sits above Gonza Bar, describing itself as a family diner serving American BBQ and soul food, homemade burgers, ribs and fried chicken along with pastas and steaks.

Walking in, it’s instantly very colourful and kitsch, and after spending the evening there, I can say it’s definitely fun, funky and very unique. This is a restaurant which is sure to appeal to both young and old alike.

For a small place, the menu is very extensive and caters well for meat lovers, vegetarians, those who want to enjoy an affordable burger or those who want to push the boat out and enjoy steak. It was nice to see that Soul Kitchen is a great supporter of local produce, using Yorkshire Blue cheese in many dishes along with locally sourced meat.

It also supports Yorkshire brewers with Pure North Original Cider, brewed in nearby Deanhouse, on the drinks menu, and uses fresh bilberries in desserts, grown on the banks of Digley Reservoir, which brought back many happy memories of walking our dear old dog in that part of the world.

Speaking of dogs, it was interesting to note that one of the hot dog choices kept up the local theme, being named the Yorkshire Terrier.

After ordering our drinks, we turned our attention to the menu and the starters, which included fried chicken wings, potato skins, nachos or half portions of pasta.

Between us we ordered a portion of nachos with roasted vegetables, another portion of nachos with pulled pork and BBQ ketchup, along with portions of potato skins with chorizo and skins with cheese and bacon. My son chose hot chicken wings which come with a ‘heat rating’ from one to 10. After choosing a seven rating last time, he had to admit defeat and drop down to a ‘five’.

In true American reality TV Man vs Food tradition, there’s a challenge of an 11 heating rating which is only for the very brave.

Yummy starters all round but my nachos were really delicious and included plenty of roast vegetables and loads of cheese.

For main courses we chose an assortment of the handmade burgers which are all flame grilled to order. One of us opted for a pasta dish and chose the pesto, dried tomatoes and mozzarella option which came in a huge dish and took help from four of us to polish off. It was delicious though and made me wonder if I should have gone for that choice.

However I wasn’t disappointed when my main course came. My veggie burger contained a large grilled field mushroom with onion and Yorkshire Blue cheese. Mmm, it was gorgeous, so tasty with the blue cheese melting into the bread.

The current food favourite, pulled pork, was the choice of two others, while the other two went for the mixed vegetable stack and the Yorkshire Soul burger. Three portions of chips completed our order.

Could you fit in a pudding? Well, maybe if we shared. Imagine however our disappointment as we’d got all ready for a New York cheesecake with Digley bilberry compote, only to be told it had sold out. No prize for guessing the favourite pudding then! In the end we opted for a banana split, chocolate brownie and berry sundae which came complete with a birthday candle for me.

So a great night out, made all the better by the bill which we all thought was very reasonable seeing as it included several drinks.

This is a fun, fab restaurant which will hopefully do very well in Holmfirth.

SOUL KITCHEN

10, Dunford Road, Holmfirth

Tel: 01484 687575.

Website: www.soulkitchenholmfirth.co.uk

Opening hours: Wednesday to Friday 4pm to 10pm, Saturday 2pm to 10pm and Sunday 2pm to 8pm.

Children: Yes

Disabled Access: Difficult because restaurant is accessed by a flight of stairs

The bill: £99.25 for six (including quite a few drinks).

Would you go back? Absolutely, the sooner the better.