Gaskell's Restaurant in Wakefield

I have visited here twice. Once a few years back and more recently with my elderly mother. The food is very reasonably priced and good quality. The restaurant has a much more relaxed feel to it on my most recent visit and the wait staff were much more friendly. The food was amazing and had a very varied menu which it did not before. My mother is a frequent visitor with her friends but I will definitely be returning more with her

I have been coming here for years but this last few months have been the best food I’ve had here by far. I’ve always come as it’s cheap and decent for the price but the food was always bland and dated. I’ve been told the department is under new management with new chefs. They are really modernising it and the food has improved massively. Keep up the good work guys 👍🏻

A pleasant cosy restaurant reached by a few steps. The food was excellent and very well presented and it was nice to try some Scottish dishes that we haven't had before. The service by the students was of a high standard and nothing was too much trouble. The restaurant was fully booked for our group and they coped very well with us all turning up at the same time. Bottled beer including non alcohol varieties was available, and the wine was very reasonable for a restaurant meal. Thankyou very much for a lovely Burns lunch Chris and Jan from Wakelele Group

Friendly efficient & dedicated. Caring knowledgeable & supportive especially when your First Aiders are needed. Thank you.

Excellent 5 course Christmas Dinner, it was perfect. We had a table of 12 and everybody enjoyed it. Thank you to all the staff and students. Well done.

The best food I've eaton for a long term ,the service and food was amazing, well done to all students 😀

First time at Gaskell's but definitely not the last. Booked our ladies section Christmas Dinner here and what a lovely time we had. Food, service and atmosphere all exceptional.

Excellent Christmas dinner as usual

Gaskell's restaurant provides practical experience for students to serve "real" customers. The meal provided was excellent. The service was good if not flawless but that is the point. It is about learning and gaining experience and we had a great night and hope we get the opportunity to go again. Good luck and thankyou to all.

Had a fantastic meal here tonight. Twenty six members of our choir had a 5 course meal for £21, including a cocktail and coffee. Incredible value for money and beautiful food. It’s a great way for the students to learn ‘on the Job’. As it’s was rhubarb week, Rhubarb featured in every course, which could have been an issue if you aren’t a fan. It was wonderful! We will definitely be back.

Gaskells is a special place in Wakefield, training young people in restaurant skills whilst serving outstanding food to the public. I love the place.

Had the 4 course Christmas menu, main course was very disappointing. Turkey was cold and fatty, carrots were clap cold, mash potatoes were lumpy, had to wait along time for more vegetables to come out as there wasn't enough sprouts for everyone. Sat under an air conditioning unit blowing cold air on us for the majority of our meal which was uncomfortable. Soup was nice. The best bit was dessert which was ginger sponge and ice cream. The waiters are very wooden and atmosphere feels forced.

First time tonight for us and we managed to book for the 100 years of the British Legion evening. I cannot fault any part of the meal and service. Even if some aspects of the meal weren’t quite to my taste, I can totally appreciate the time and effort put into making each course. And it didn’t stop me eating it all! The only fly in the ointment for me was the impatience of some of the other customers at the bar who were actually borderline rude, in my opinion. Not sure if anyone else noticed but to the lads working the bar this evening, well done. It’s not easy being on the frontline and some people forget what it’s like to be young and finding their feet. Gaskell’s is a credit to Wakefield College and as much as I want to sing it’s praises, I also want to make it Wakefield’s best kept secret! Very well done to everyone involved…all the staff were lovely and polite. Looking forward to may 26th….if we can get in *crosses fingers*

Had a lovely experience again at Gaskells, first class food, excellent service especially as for most students it was their first night on duty,well done all staff . Very much looking forward to our next visit.

I came for a meal today and the food was absolutely incredible. Fresh, tasty, perfectly presented and perfect portion size. The service was professional, caring and efficient. This 3 course meal was one of the best meals I’ve had out in a very long time. I can’t wait for my next Gaskell meal. Thank you to all the wonderful staff / students that gave me such a warm welcome and excellent service. Leyla

caring and professional staff with a great atmosphere

When I heard the news that (F Block) was due to undergo demolishment as regards residential use along with its restaurant I was very surprised and quite upset.

This was my first visit and I was very impressed. You have to book well in advance and now I know why. It's easy to forget that you are being served by students, as they all do a very good job. Nerves are a little on show but they should all be proud of what they achieve. Lovely food - we had a choice of soup or mackerel, turkey, guinea fowl or a veggie risotto, and then pie, crumble or a trio of delicious desserts, then tea or coffee, all for £9. Plenty of lovely vegetables, a good choice of wine and they catered extremely well for one of our party's specific dietary requirements. Well done to all concerned. Long may it continue. I'll be back!

Back in 2018, I attended Gaskell's Restaurant every Friday morning through Wakefield College and successfully completed the NVQ Level 2 Professional Cookery Course. We were taught by Damien Hunsley 'Chef Lecturer' who has worked in the industry for many years. As students, we worked extremely hard in the kitchen and the restaurant was always clean with a stylish bar. We received certificates and he voted me "The Nicest Guy In The Kitchen". We had a pleasant friendship and bought 2 Easter eggs, a Birthday Card and an M&S £5 Shopping Voucher. As a highly valued cook, I am now completing a voluntary work placement at 'The Lunch Club' through St Georges Hall, Wakefield. Regards Gordon Hanscombe

We always have lovely fresh well presented food when we visit Gaskells. The students do a wonderful job producing and serving wonderful food.

Had a really lovely evening out with friends. We have been to Gaskells on a number of occasions and each time it seems to get better. The food was first class in both presentation and taste. The service by the students (and tutors) was excellent. Well done to everyone. Look forward to my next visit and can only urge everyone to book and support our local college. You will not be disappointed.

A group of 14 friends attended a fabulous evening of great food and fabulous atmosphere. Best place to eat in our area. I do hope customers realise tips are used at the year end to support the catering students in a variety if ways. So please give

We had the fish tasting menu. All the food was very well cooked with the stand-out dishes being the soup and the sea bass.The sorbet was excellent, smooth texture and subtle flavouring. With generous portions, for us, 4 courses would have been adequate. The waiting staff seemed a little nervous but sure this will improve with experience and the youngsters who were cooking came out to meet us and chatted enthusiatically about their work. They all did themselves proud.

We went to Gaskells for the 6 course fish set meal on the 28th March. There were a group of 8 of us and we all thoroughly enjoyed the meal. We go to Gaskells regularly and the meals get better and better. Last night was outstanding. At the end of the meal we asked Mark if we could talk to the chefs. They came out of the kitchen to a loud applause from everyone in the restaurant! Cannot praise the food enough, always cooked perfectly, well presented and delicious. Best restaurant in the area by far.

Visited with three other couples on the Fish Themed night, the food throughout the night was superb, could not fault anything at all. everyone was very happy with their food. we applauded the young chefs at the end of the evening. when they came out of the kitchen at our request We are frequent visitors to Gaskells and are convinced that the quality gets better each time, I find it very difficult to see how they can improve on last evening .Please keep up the good work.

I was working with the students toady on chocolate skills. The food was absolutely delicious and to say it is cooked by students is tremendously impressive. I particularly enjoyed seeing the coloured cocoa butter work. Excellent food at an excellent price. Definitely the best place to go for lunch or dinner in the whole of Wakefield. Remember you have to book well in advance, but I definitely recommend it to everyone

I have just returned from a fantastic Burns lunch at Gaskells. The haggis and tatties were delicious (can't say I was looking forward to them). We had lamb for the second course which was so tender and finished with cranachan. Everything was beautifully presented and the students were very attentive and helpful, other restaurants could take a leaf out of their book. My only complaint was the food needed to be a bit hotter otherwise well done to the students, well worth the money

We came on Wednesday evening it was a lovely night , the food was excellent,the staff where very good to say it was their first night of waiting on tables ( well done) We will be coming back soon

Beautiful, reasonably priced food.

Fuimos a almorzar cuando estaban haciendo un buffet chino. La comida fue absolutamente deliciosa y dicen que es preparado por los estudiantes es tremendamente impresionante. Un plato de sopa sabrosa fue seguido por el delicioso buffet caliente, cocinado a la perfección. Disfruté especialmente el pollo en salsa de limón. Luego tuvimos piña buñuelos de manzana deliciosa y para postre seguido por té o café. Excelente comida a un precio excelente. Sin duda el mejor lugar para ir a almorzar en el conjunto de Wakefield. Recuerda que tienes que reservar con antelación, pero sin duda recomiendo a todo el mundo.

Tuve una noche agradable en el restaurante donde la comida es preparada y servida por los estudiantes de Wakefield College. Aunque el personal todavía capacitación el servicio fue muy profesional y la comida era deliciosa y bien presentada. Hemos estado varias veces tanto en una noche y a la hora del almuerzo y siempre hemos quedado impresionados por la experiencia. Hemos reservado para ir de nuevo.

Nos lo pasamos de maravilla en Gaskells. Mi tía reservado un grupo de cuarenta para su cumpleaños, así que teníamos todo el lugar para nosotros. La habitación está bien presentado, con un bar a un precio razonable.

Enjoyed a really super meal with friends, we are regular visitors to this restaurant.

Visitamos el restaurante college la última noche y tuvimos una noche verdaderamente encantador. La comida era sin duda una calidad restaurante, sirve a un estándar muy alto y cocinado a la perfección.

Asistimos a una recepción muy elegante civic noche aquí con Pimms y canapés servidos y preparados por los estudiantes de la hospitalidad y catering de golf. Todo era excepcional, con unos 15 diferentes canapés fríos y calientes servidos por los estudiantes participando y bien informado. Una noche perfecta que fue entregado a un agradecido profesionalmente; lo encuentro un gran lugar para este tipo de reunión elegante y lujoso; altamente recomendado, gracias a Darren y su impresionante equipo de estudiantes!

Me visita aquí a menudo como la comida es genial! Buena comida a precios maravillosos, preparado y servido por los alumnos. Encantador! Recomiendo!

Este es el restaurante de capacitación dirigido por el colegio. Recomendaría este hotel a cualquiera. La comida era fantástica relación calidad-precio, cocinados a la perfección y servido por estudiantes atento trabajo hacia sus cualificaciones.

visited on the rhubarb themed night ,the food was delicious ,from the starter through soup and main course , sweets and cheese and biscuits, the food was very well presented and service from our waiter was just about perfect.

I dine here regular with my friends. Some visits there has been 3 of us and some visits up to 12 of us. The food here is beautiful and the service is great.

Gaskells restaurant is the Wakefield Collage catering section which on certain nights of the month opens their cafe area and turn it into a nice little restaurant nothing posh but perfectly adequate.The students then serve you a beautiful meal they they have prepared themselves and they then serve it to you. We had a beautiful 5 course Xmas dinner for £16,You can buy drinks, wines, beers and soft drinks so it is all very civilised.I would recommend anyone to try this place out you wont be disapointed

Christmas menu was super the food was cooked to perfection, well done chef . the staff were vey attentive without being overpowering all seemed to want to give us a great experience

Went with work collegues inspired by the War on Weight campaign.Great food - well presented and good service. The chefs created excellent results linked to traditional foods such as rabbit, kale, root veg. The food was tasty throughout.

Fantastic gourmet food served to a high standard. I couldn't believe the price a three course meal with tea or coffee all for £15.95 The service was a bit slow, but you expect that with it being a training restaurant. The waiters were very polite and helpful. I went with my partner, our friends and their one year old son.

Amazing Training restaurant the food is exactly what you would eat at a Michelin starred restaurant, and the service is top notch can't fault it

5 courses, attentive but not obtrusive waiting staff, and excellent food made this a fabulous evening at a fraction of the cost of other restaurants. Highly recommended.

With food cooked and served by catering/hospitality students, the restaurant is run just as a commercial operation would be, but offering excellent value for money and the satisfaction of knowing you are contributing to the next generation of restaurateurs. Pleasant surroundings, enthusiastic and charming service, a varied menu, acceptable wine, and extremely good value. We will return!

A party of six enjoyed lunch at Gaskell's. The dining room is light, airy and spacious. Service is prompt although lacking a little finesse which is what might be expected considering its context. Bread was excellent as were the duck terrine, soup and Queen of Puddings. Most of our party had duck which was supposed to be served pink - most were not and slightly tough but not bad enough to be sent back. Vegetables were very good. Three courses for £8.95! Excellent value for money. Recommended.

lovely evening spent at Gaskells with three other couples, food was cooked to perfection, service was very good ,very polite young people , deserve to do well in their chosen careers. cant praise them enough.

A delicious meal yesterday based on recipes from WW1. We were a group of 4 and ordered a cross section of the menu. All the food was cooked to a high standard. The young people who are front of house are friendly, polite and offer a good service. All in all a great experience and excellent food.

Initially, I booked this restaurant as it was close to a business meeting and therefore convenient. From the moment we entered, we were looked after very well. Do not let the fact that the restaurant is run by students put you off; everyone conducted themselves in a friendly but professional manner. The food was excellent; it was themed event for Armistice Day, giving an upbeat ambience with subtle WW2 music and lots of Union Flags. I had Eggs Benedict, Meat Roly Poly and Apple Flummery. Although the menu was based around the war theme, no rationing was in evidence and it was truly delicious. A nice touch for someone's birthday was when the front of house and kitchen staff stopped to sing 'Happy Birthday'The bill was a pleasant surprise, very reasonable. I would highly recommend a visit.

My husband and I have once again been to this restaurant today for lunch and it never disappoints! The young trainees are well supervised and always have a pleasant attitude. Even though silver service is something they are still learning, their efforts with always a smile on their faces, are commendable.The restaurant is spotlessly clean and very comfortable and the food is easily better than some we have had in expensive restaurants.All in all any meal here is a very pleasant experience and one I would recommend to anyoneThank you once again to all concerned.

The service was great from walking through the door, taking my coat, leading us to the bar and sitting us in the bar area with menus. The drinks are an extremely reasonable price, small red wine £1.95. The food was beautifully presented. We had a Gruyere and Swiss chard tart which was executed perfectly. The pistou soup was delicious as was the home made bread roll. For mains we had duck served with artichoke puree (delicious!), turnip dauphinoise and raspberries. Fillet of pork stuffed with sage sausage and mushroom with dauphinoise and a lovely creamy sauce. The vegetables (spouts sautéed with bacon and creamed broad beans) were well cooked and served by silver service by an inexperienced waiter but her nervousness was charming and after all that's why they are there to learn! All the food was served piping hot and in great time, by very attentive staff. The desserts were.. how to put it? AMAZING. The pear in a brioche crust in caramel sauce was absolutely delicious. It is not my mission to find the recipe and recreate it. The lemon tart has a very delicate sweet pastry base, and the lemon filling was smooth and just the perfect amount of tartness. We were very happy customers and very impressed with all of the students. Please bear in mind if you visit that the bar staff, waiters and chefs are college students so they may be nervous or seem inexperienced. The course leaders and staff have extremely high standards and that is taught to the students so a bad meal should never reach the table. The setting is not the most beautiful restaurant as it is a college but the room is well kept, clean and very comfortable.Price (£35 2x 3 course meal, 2 large glasses of wine and a beer). A bargain.

We took my sister and her husband out for my birthday evening meal on the Rhubarb Special and really enjoyed it. The place was full but there is plenty of space between tables so it was easy to have conversations without struggling to hear. The food was served promptly and tasted good and the value was excellent. The wine list is good and the prices aren't a rip-off like most restaurants. Overall we had a great evening and will go again - we've already been to the Australian Wine evening and the Chinese New Year Buffet this year and are going again.

Amazing food prepared by the students at Wakefield College. The restaurant acts as the Catering Departments training centre and what a fabulous experience we had.We visited on a Wednesday evening and staff and food was excellent. The young waiters and waitresses we polite and friendly, a little tentative at times but then they are only 16-17 years old!Our food was superb. Served in a timely manner, piping hot and what a delight to look at and taste, wonderful!

Visited Gaskells for lunch today, it is some time since we visited this training college/restauraand it was great. The food was delicious. I had the chicken salad with a cream and coriander dressing and my husband had watercress and potato soup. Both were delicious. We were delighted with our choice of mains, pork stuffed with apricots and salmon coulibiac, both served with potato Anna, roast carrot and parsnips. The presentation was excellent and the young students who were serving were polite and professional. It was difficult to make a decision about the sweet as there were 4 good choices. We settled for creme caramel and raspberry bavarois with shortbread biscuits.I had informed Gaskells when booking that I required gluten free food. I was overjoyed that they had ensured I was able to enjoy all courses and was served a gluten free bread roll and a portion of the salmon coulibiac was made with gluten free pastry should I have chosen it. Overall a great experience. There were a number of people who appeared to be regulars and I can understand why, good food, good staff and great value for money.

Myselfand 2 colleagues had lunch at Gaskells today. First time I have ever eaten in the restaurant. We all agreed the food was lovely and the service first class. Well done to all concerned.

Visited as part of a Rhubarb Tour. Bearing in mind that that the waiting staff and presumably the kitchen staff are all students on catering/hospitality courses we had an excellent lunch. If we were local to the area I'm sure we would visit on a regular basis. On the strength on this visit we are going to visit our local college(Hull)who run a similar restaurant.

This is the second time we have dined at Gaskells and both times we have been very impressed. The bar prices are very good, the staff are very friendly and the food is excellent. I am sure all the students and tutors should be proud of what they achieve. Cannot wait to go again and take friends.

I used to be a student and have worked both sides of this restaurant! I have recently been back with a group of friends for a meal and it couldn't have been better!!! great service and the food was fantastic!! Cannot wait to go again!

This is a training restaurant so you are really well looked after, the foodis varied and excellent at a reasonable price.Parking sometimes difficult to find at lunch time.

Gaskell's is very popular and closed June August and September. It is run by students at Wakefield college, so the service feels as if you are being practised on!! However, the food was lovely, the wine was excellent and the bill was amazingly low - lunch for four - 3 courses with wine and coffee - £42. We'll be back!!

My husband & I have just returned home from an excellent lunch organised here for a party of 31 people.The reception was excellent and the staff quickly brought extra chairs into the bar area so that all the party could be seated and order a drink prior to going into the restaurant. The meal started promptly, the service was very good, and the food (pre-ordered) was delicious. The meal choices all arrived correctly at each of the three tables and the service was very efficient.Good food at a reasonable price. Good venue for an individual or party booking

Delicious meal served by a team of staff who were trying their best to please their customers.Everything was cooked to perfection.A very enjoyable experienceI will definitely be visiting again

I visited this restaurant for the first time today as I wanted to visit somewhere different. I ordered a vegetarian lasagne which was a very large portion and very nice. The service was great and our waitress called Charlotte was very helpful and delightful. Fully recommend Gaskells to anybody as its very good value for money, will be visiting again very soon.