Bento Japanese Street Food & Izakaya — Restaurant in Leeds

Hospital Food, but at Restaurant Prices

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to pay restaurant prices for hospital food, look no further – we found the place for you.

As visitors to Leeds, after a full day of walking, we were absolutely starving. Trusting the highly-rated Google reviews, we wandered into this so-called restaurant and ordered two bowls of ramen – one being the “signature” ramen – a chicken miso ramen, a plate of prawn rolls, fried rice, two cups of brown rice tea (£2 each, proudly advertised as “unlimited refills”), and an apple juice.

The ramen noodles were a true culinary wonder – utterly flavourless, much like noodles briefly waved over boiling water. The miso broth from both bowls was equally unforgettable: so weak and watery, it felt as though miso itself had become a rare and precious commodity.

I managed to finish my chicken ramen quickly – not out of enjoyment, mind you, but purely to silence my hunger. The beef slices in the “signature” ramen were distinctly stale, offering a unique chewy texture best suited to those seeking the authentic “last week’s leftovers” experience.

The £4 fried rice was another triumph of blandness – entirely unseasoned and flavourless, clearly designed for those on a strictly flavour-free diet. We could barely manage a bite, being, unfortunately, not hospital patients ourselves.

Service was equally commendable. After draining my cup of tea, not once did a member of staff approach to offer a refill, despite the bold promise of “unlimited” refills on the menu. The only interactions we had with the staff were when food was placed in front of us – they seemed far more attentive to the neighbouring table, where customers had ordered wine.

To add insult to injury, a 10% service charge was tacked onto the bill – a delightful surprise, particularly as I don’t recall seeing any mention of it on the menu. To be fair, I wouldn’t mind paying a service charge, provided it was clearly stated beforehand and consistent service was offered to all customers, not just those ordering the pricier drinks.

By the time I (barely) finished my meal, I couldn’t wait to leave – and leave I did, vowing never to return.

It genuinely left me wondering how this restaurant managed to secure such high ratings on Google reviews. I can only hope it was because the head chef was away for the Good Friday holiday – and, sadly, I was left enduring a thoroughly not-so-Good Friday.

In summary, what an impressive establishment, perfectly suited for hospital patients in need of a bland, characterless meal! As a tourist, I count myself truly fortunate to have experienced it just once… and you can rest assured, it will remain a...

Food average, service perfect, owner is foul. My daughter ordered the 'small chicken kebab style/pinto style chicken with cheese on top'. (£2). She took a bite and wretched, I took a bite and did the same, it tasted like chemicals, I then smelt it and it was COMPLETELY off. I went up to the chef and the owner came up behind me and asked me what the problem was, so I told him. He TOLD me to sit down and he would "find out". More than 10 minutes later, he came to our table and stated, "There's nothing wrong with it, it's just the ALCOHOL in the marinade". (Erm, I don't think so). Utter nonsense! It STUNK of rotten chicken. Me and my daughter straight after did nothing but wretch into our serviettes. Our stomachs were in turmoil. He had the audacity to bring another one in replacement, we refused (thank you very much) and he shrugged his shoulders, went back to the kitchen and pretty much taunted us by standing and eating it in front of us. We tried to find him once my daughter finished her rice but he spinelessly made himself scarce. He took NO responsibility. And bringing us ANOTHER one?? Why would you do that?? What does that prove? ...Oh... (and as a foot note aside from the rancid meat), when it states, "chicken with cheese"... The cheese is a TINY piece of Dairylea type of piece of plastic orange square "cheese" (on top of the tiny skewer of rancid chicken). Which, is NOT classified as real cheese. The 'cheese' of the 1970's, is in fact CLASSIFIED as plastic, that's why it's so cheap! and that's why it DOES NOT MELT. ' It just goes BLACK, once subjected to hea, because it is NOT CHEESE... it will NEVER melt. All you will get is black plastic on top of the orange plastic 'cheese'. So there you have the quality of 'food', and the owner who provides the very WORST customer service imaginable. The best thing I can say is that I haven't eaten a thing today because my stomach is screaming at me DO NOT EAT today. (So I might...

Bento is situated at the far end of Merrion Street where it becomes a narrow alley connecting Vicar Lane with Upper Briggate. This situation somehow adds to the Japanese vibe which is completed by three large screens showing Japanese content and an improbable number of empty rice (or maybe plum?) wine bottles. The kitchen is open to view, but I didn't take much notice as I was absorbed in simultaneously watching girl pop stars walking through a variety of melancholic settings, a middle aged woman sampling street food and an old man working demonstrating traditional iron working. The restaurant has a number of different menu's - main courses, Benton (lunch) boxes, Ishigaya (? or something) which is Japanese tapas, street food and a whole page for different kinds of fried chicken. We concentrated on the street food and tapas and got a fair bit of food for our money. My favourites were the eel fillets fried with a sweet soy-based sauce, Japanese cheesy sausage - which was like mini frankfurters stuffed with extra oumami, and the fried chicken with leeks. The prawn and chive gyoza dumplings and octopus balls were also delicious, although I prefer my gyoza steamed then shallow fried and these were the deep fried type. If you're up on your Japanese food, you probably know all of these dishes. If not, you might require a bit of explanation from the waiter as all the dishes go by their Japanese names. Fortunately, I had my foodie sons with me, but I think our waiter would have been happy to help. He was very friendly. The whole lot - more food than we could eat, tea and pints of beer apiece came to a hundred pounds or so...