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I return to bar Soba, 6 months after it first opened and we covered the opening night. My review at the time was a resounding thumbs up however 6 months on, with the glitz and glamour of opening night in the past, it remained to be seen whether the standard was maintained. So when I was invited to come down and try new menu items, I went with trepidation and in the hope that they had not set aside what had been noteworthy, modern Asian cuisine. ​
 

​Picture​Kicking things off came a twist on a classic – a chilli margherita. Round the rim was chilli salt which gave a hell of a kick…possibly not one for those who can only handle a korma at curry time. I thought it added an extra freshness to the drink and really set the palette for the Asian banquet to follow. For starters we had the spiced beef dumplings. Wrapped in that familiar dim sum pastry and steamed to perfection with spices, herbs and soy, they came slightly pink in the middle and tender. These came with a soy reduction; the perfect umami base to carry the flavour of the beef and sprinkled atop with spring onions and chillies. I think this may have been my favourite dish of the night.
​The evening was hosted by Head Chef honcho Robert Montgomery and their chief mixologist who married each of our dishes with a complimentary cocktail. This interactive evening took us through how to make each dish (with the NOTABLE omission of sharing their special secret red Thai curry paste –dayum!), with a little cocktail class in between.

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To follow we tried an interesting, if not strange Japanese plum sour cocktail, traditionally made with egg whites. For the evening however it was prepared with a powdered substitute for the vegans and slightly squeamish out there. The egg whites offer a silky texture to sours and I get the idea, but for me it didn’t work. The foam on top ended up dissolving and looking like sad popped bubbles. I probably should have drunk it faster!

Next came the main deal and perhaps the most refined dish on the menu; confit duck with red curry sauce, fried crispy rice squares and greens. This was rich, gluttonous and tender. The duck was cooked perfectly with the crispy skin and tender, pull apart flesh beneath. This really is the way to cook duck leg, simmered on a low heat in fat – there is no way this duck is drying out! A surprising twist was the rice squares. These weren’t like the lunch box favourite you may be recalling but were sticky cubes of rice, shallow fried in oil with a caramelised, crisp outside and sticky inners – a really neat idea. The red curry sauce was velvety, sweet and hot; the way Thai cooking should be. A resounding thumbs up from the room as everyone devoured this. The next bevvy up was a refreshing mango tango; a spot on palate cleanser after the richness of the main.

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Deep fried bananas with caramel finished off the menu. These weren’t for me but I am a banana purist and ice cream does nothing for me besides toothache. To be fair, you don’t come here for a pud – the real attraction here is the starters, mains and cocktails. Simple, well priced and good portions – I’d go for an extra starter here any day over desert.
I’m pleased to see this place wasn’t an opening night wonder. The kitchen is still producing and inventing exceptionally good food and at a price Yorkshire folk can’t argue with. They haven’t left behind the drinks either- the cocktails are innovative and pair well with the menu. Check out the website for news of their deals- at full price it’s worth it, but with half price on Mondays it’s an absolute steal.
 
 
Food 7.5/10
Value 8/10 (average price of starter/ main £5/£11)
Service 7/10
Atmosphere 8.5/10
www.barsoba.co.uk/
9a Merrion Street
Leeds
LS1 6PQ
0113 242 5128
Written by Erin Goodall, FoodGoblin Northern Correspondent ​​​

 

 

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