Hotel Chocolat’s Roast and Conch

I absolutely love chocolate. Simple as that. So, on discovering that Hotel Chocolat have their very own restaurant and that one of them was in Leeds, it quickly rose to the top of my list of places to try out. My parents and I went along for lunch to celebrate my 21st birthday. The Roast and Conch experience is so much more than just a meal, with cocoa incorporated into every dish you’re in for an absolute treat. Chocolate lovers, you need to come here!

We followed the signs up the stairs to the restaurant…

At the top of the stairs, you enter into a gorgeous dining room. Whilst there are huge windows overlooking Leeds, the dark wood and yellowy lighting still gives it an intimate atmosphere. I would love to come at night when it is dark outside, I think it would be really romantic.

We nibbled on some pure cocao beans whilst looking through the menu.

The three of us decided to share two starters, two desserts and have a main course each. With the lunch menu, you can get 2 courses for £16 which I think is a very good price. Starters: First up, we have the ‘roast pear, nib infused soft goats cheese, cocao balsamic’… I am a huge fan of goats cheese and it worked so well with the roast pear. I love how beautifully the food was presented. Our second starter was the ‘cocao gin cured salmon, tart apple-radish-endive salad, white chocolate horse radish dressing’. How pretty are the colours?!

Main Course: My parents both went for the Choc au Vin jointed corn fed chicken casseroled with bacon, onions and cocao red wine sauce. My parent’s actually found this a bit too rich. The cocao sauce was quite strong and a little over-powering. I went for the Chopped rump steak burger, aged cheddar, cocao beer braised onions, potato chips and creple chutney. It was absolutely delicious, the perfect birthday treat meal.

Sides: I had read quite a few reviews of Roast and Conch before coming and everyone had recommended trying the white chocolate mash. I am not normally a fan of mashed potato, I can take it or leave it. This mash however, was amazing. The white chocolate just seemed to work. It really complimented the creamy texture, providing the ultimate comfort food dish. I don’t want to think about how calorific it was!

Dessert: The three of us shared the ‘Prosecco poached new season rhubarb, white chocolate cheesecake, spiced biscuit, cacao pulp sorbet’ and the ‘Molten chocolate lava pudding made from the cacao bean, rabot ice cream (nib infused)’. They were both absolutely divine! Not only were they presented so beautifully, they tasted incredible. Plus, they weren’t too big which was great after having already had our main course. The pudding did not defeat us! The rhubarb cheese cake was delicate and fruity and actually really complimented the warm and gooey melted chocolate lava pudding. I was worried this would be too strong but it really wasn’t!

(Just look at that melted chocolate!) Somehow, we still had a little bit of room for drinks. Tea and hot chocolate to finish off a lovely meal. Being the huge hot chocolate fan that I am, I had high hopes for my hazelnut flavoured beverage but I was actually a little disappointed… perhaps I was just too full.

I had such a great time at Roast and Conch and I was sufficiently satisfied for the rest of the day! Dinner didn’t even cross my mind. I definitely plan to go back to the restaurant and I would also love to try out their little cafe.

Chocolate lovers, what are you waiting for?!

Until next time,

Sass xxx

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