Located near the canal in Leeds, Emba is a great little restaurant with some really tasty food. Offering small plates, sharing grills (Lobster and Cote de Beouf for example) but also a set tasting menu that changes weekly.
- Confit roscoff onion bread, topped with miso and honey, with whipped bone marrow and confit oil
The use of the oil used to confit the onions in the bread added a nice richness and depth of onion flavour. Bone marrow was a nice change to butter. Lovely touch of sweetness from the honey.
Pan roasted scallop, honey and yuzu koshu sauce, lime zest
Beautiful roasted scallop, had lovely sweetness and sea taste. Added sweetness and tartness from the yuzu koshu. A banger of a scallop dishSmoked mussels in a smoked mussels and yuzu broth, mussels tartare on brioche
Super intense mussel broth, almost Arbroath smokie flavour. Tartare was good but lacking a bit of umphCrab souffle with lobster bisque sauce. Crab salad dressed in pandan oil, on confit garlic and almond paste
Lovely crab souffle, immense rich bisque sauce with Kaffir lime to cut through. Salad was good, deep flavour from the garlic paste but not overpowering.Wild venison loin, miso custard, beef fat Jerusalem artichokes, honey sauce, venison hash
Well cooked and balanced. Jerusalem artichokes added a nice seasonal starch, venison hash was a lovely additionDolce de leche, ricotta Panna cotta, Yoghurt and milk foam, shortbread crumb
A grown up dessert. Little sweetness from the dolce, lovely savoury edge from the ricotta Panna cotta and tartness from the yoghurt. Really well balanced dish
Stand out dishes were the crab souffle, the scallop and the dessert.
A nice meal in a city that it seems strange to not have any starred restaurants in
by TheYorkshireSaint
7 Comments
Had a few tasting menus here when it was The Owl, good to hear it’s still as good as I remember
Thanks for sharing! That milk bomb looks delightful.
I’m potentially up in Leeds for a bit next year, will try swing by.
God I remember the Owl. Went downhill pretty badly before it closed. Haven’t been to the new place, I knew one of her ex staff members who left to go elsewhere because of her running of the place.
That seems very expensive and I’ve ate at a few starred and Michelin recommended places
Really don’t rate her as a chef and these plates do little to convince me otherwise.
This looks really nice. My one note is that I would like it if they spent a little more effort into the menu. Something about the layout makes it feel like an afterthought.
Ate at The Owl a few years back, just after it at moved, and thought it was pretty good. Conversely, also ate at Home when it was still in the city centre and it was pretty dull in all honesty. Will probably check out Emba at some point, so good to see a bit of feedback on it.
In terms of stars, Michael O’Hare has an opening date for his new place now (if you count Boston Spa as Leeds) – MBTC was an absolute gem, although it got very weird near the end, so hopefully his new place brings some of that excitement back.