If I told my grandmother I had gone out for dinner at a restaurant that sold cheese on toast, steak, chips and vanilla ice cream she would no doubt have been thrilled. The thought that I had finally stopped frittering away my wages and could now save up for a lovely set of dish cloths would make her day.
Unfortunately for my grandmother, and very fortunately for me, I had in fact dined at Room, one of Leeds top central restaurants. This is no ordinary cheese on toast joint, as a read of their cocktail list will prove.
The premise of Room , as with sister Grille restaurants on Hoxton and Harrogate is to serve fine, un fussy food in a relaxed, informal setting, though at Room there’s a twist; each dish is playfully re-imagined, offering a witty new take on a classic dish. So, while the menu doesn’t dick around with elaborate descriptions – my kedgeree starter (£5) was called precisely that, as was my companions crab and avocado cocktail (£5) – you can actually expect a luxury belied by the brief, modest tone of the menu. Her dish turned out to in fact be a delicious plate of soft shell crab in a tempura batter served with a vertical serving of chunky avocado pate. My kedgeree, meanwhile, was wonderfully buttery, Smokey and served with a quail’s egg.
To accompany these, we ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio (£26) from the sizeable wine list. As the DJ in the corner played his upbeat soul to the very varied mix of diners we tucked into our mains. My fish casserole (£15) was rich, and very exciting for a seafood fan like me. It came with mussels, sea bream and a shellfish dumpling, all on top of a bed of spinach. Now that is happiness in a bowl. My fellow diner had duck a l’orange (£15) with butternut squash, and we shared green beans with chilli (£2.75) a rocket and parmesan salad (£2.75) and a bowl of frites (£2.75). Let me qualify that, one of the biggest and best bowls of thin, crispy and salty frites I have ever had, even on mainland Europe.
By this stage I had taken off my belt and adopted the posture of a Victorian land owner, so much I had eaten. But, never say die when it comes to pudding. My companion and I shared peaches and cream (£5), which was panna cotta and peach sorbet, and the Room Assiette (£8.50) – uh huh, a taster of all of their sublime puddings on one plate. Roll on cholesterol I say. They were amazing, with special mention going to the fudge, raspberry charlotte and chocolate brownie.
Room recently appointed a new head chef – she’s clearly found her feet fast. If you enjoy a menu wit5h a bit of bite, but no bluff then book yourself into Room.
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