emba

We visited emba over the weekend to try the set menu and loved every course, especially the duck, and venison tartare. The menu encourages you to try flavour combinations you might not usually go for, and it really pays off. The food was excellent, but the staff are what would bring us back. They were knowledgeable about the dishes and the wine, and made us feel relaxed and welcome. They were genuinely friendly and easy to chat with. A great all round experience!

A successor of Home that was previously located at Brewery wharf. With a much more casual vibe but still maintaining a high standard of food quality. It is my second visit to the restaurant and I was pleased to see even though some of the main component of dishes were the same, the seasonings and flavour profiles were completely different. The yuzu scallops were a standout in this visit. Whilst I had a good time, it wasn't as good as their previous establishment where it truly felt special. Perhaps that is their vision with it being more accessible, but at their cost range it feels it needs something more to justify the price. As someone with gluten intolerance, it was very nice of them to print me an alcarte menu clearly labelled with what I could have. I do hope in the future they are open to giving more dietary options in their set menu.

I'd been wanting to try Emba for a while and finally made it on Saturday. Overall it was very good but not outstanding for a couple of reasons. Whilst the dishes are lovely, small plate portions are very much on the small side, which means you need 5-6 courses for two.. It adds up. The desserts.. Not really to our taste. Both the milk bomb and the Tonka marshmallow were on the bitter side. Star of the show.. The oysters. I can't fault the staff, lovely people. I can see why it's in Michelin guide now, but it's not star worthy compared to other top end places in Yorkshire, but I think that's the space they are going for. I'll go back to try a few of the large plates and update and I hope it works.

I found this place in the Michelin guide and it was right by the hotel we were staying at, close to the train station to. The location is especially good being just outside of the busy areas on the canal. We had the tasting menu but that was to try lots of stuff the individual dishes looked great on those own. And it was great, some of those taste combinations and the way things were cooked were absolutely stellar. The staff were so helpful and friendly throughout. I can't recommend it enough.

The restaurant is cute, with a nice river view, and the staff are friendly. Overall the experience was fun. However, we feel that the taster menu today doesn’t quite meet the fine dining standard we expected for this price (85pp excluding service). The whole menu feels rather dense and heavy, starting from the first bread dish. Some courses repeated in texture and flavour （e.g. Celeriac and catch are next to each other, but are both creamy. The third dish, Tartare, came with fried bread again, after the first dish being fried bread). One dish was too salty for us, and a few others didn’t feel well balanced, with some ingredients overpowering the rest.

We had a meal at Emba last night and overall enjoyed the experience. The atmosphere was chilled, and the staff were extremely attentive and knowledgeable about the dishes. They were also very good at keeping our wine and water glasses topped up without being intrusive. We started with a cooked oyster before our starters. My husband chose the chicken broth option and thoroughly enjoyed it, while I opted for the seaweed version. Unfortunately, mine arrived without the crumb as described on the menu, which was a little disappointing, and I was undecided on it overall. For starters, I had the scallops, which were divine in flavour and beautifully cooked with a yuzu and lime sauce. However, there were only two small scallops on the plate, and at £24 I would have expected at least three, so that felt slightly underwhelming in terms of value. My husband had the crab soufflé, which was absolutely delicious. For mains, I chose the monkfish. While nicely presented, I found it a little watery, almost as though it had been recently frozen, which unfortunately diluted the accompanying sauce. Again given the price of the dish £37, this was disappointing. My husband’s beef short rib, served with cabbage and potatoes sides, was excellent - tender, flavourful, and very well executed. We were also disappointed to find that there were only two dessert options available. For a restaurant of this standard and price point, we would have expected a broader selection to choose from, which limited the overall dining experience somewhat. Overall, a restaurant with a good atmosphere and attentive service, with some standout dishes, but a few elements that didn’t quite match the pricing.

We've done Home the Owl and now emba and my love for Elizabeth Cottam's cooking opens another chapter. Great food, friendly staff, fantastic ambience its favourite restaurant in Leeds.

I’ll be honest, I think Liz Cottam’s previous restaurants were good, but Emba is on another level. Incredible food, excellent service, we absolutely loved it. We ordered most of the small plates between the two of us, the crab soufflé is out of this world. Ordered the pork chop to share and thank god we shared because it was massive, and one of the best pork chops we’ve ever had. We were warned by the waitress that we might have ordered too much and probably should have listened to her, but we had a great time!