Now, maybe I’ve just been watching too much of the Harlots series on Netflix, but when I was invited to review the new “House of Koko” in Leeds City Centre I was somewhat taken aback.
A swift and panicked Google confirmed to me that it’s the newest brunch haven to hit Central Road. You won’t find high heels, stockings or a jolly bawd named Koko here, but what you will find is a really good brunch. The best, in fact, that I have encountered in a long time.
I have, in recent years, experienced a certain brunch fatigue. What was once a new and thrilling notion – that is, discovering that we can cram another meal concept in between breakfast and lunch – has become tired, cliched, and dare I say, rather dull.
Eggs bennies, stacked pancakes, something with avo, the full works, mostly rehashes and infinite derivatives of the same source material. I sound grumpy, I’m sure, but given the choice between having a lie in and breakfast at home and going out for a crowded, inevitably average, and overpriced brunch on a Saturday, the latter was becoming far and away the less appealing option. When I do go out with friends for brunch, I’ve given up any hope of being surprised and delighted by the food I receive. The most I have come to hope for is that it is at least executed very well.
House of Koko surprised me in more ways than one. First of all, we arrived on a Wednesday late morning – not exactly peak time – and the place was packed to the rafters with smiling, happy faces. It had a buzzy, inviting atmosphere and none of the pretentiousness that, in my opinion, sometimes lets slick city centre establishments down. The décor was no doubt modern – bare brick walls and high ceilings, with the odd vibrant green plant as a fashionable accent – yet it felt like the kind of place that you could happily spend all afternoon feasting and sipping great-smelling and great-tasting coffee, putting the world to rights.
Having enjoyed previous success in Chapel Allerton and Oakwood, Leeds City Centre is the third and newest opening for House of Koko – and their biggest investment to date. Having grown from humble beginnings as a small neighbourhood café, they are now adored by their regulars for their Middle-Eastern inspired offering and design-centric spaces, and as far as I’m concerned, the venue is a breath of fresh air
for our City.
Showcasing a menu that muddies our stagnant brunch waters and presents us instead with something that is half nostalgia, half experimental, there is something for every preference and appetite here.
We opted for two of the signatures: the 8oz steak with muhammarah (a hearty walnut and red pepper dip), triple cooked garlic and za’atar potatoes, herb oil and two crispy fried eggs, plus the “Harissa Chicken” – slow-roasted chicken thighs with garlic and dill labneh, sumac-pickled shallots and rocket on toasted focaccia. The dishes were priced at £18.95 and £14.25 respectively and a speciality coffee will set you back on average £3.50.
We shared everything to get a broad taster, and we were in silent, full-mouth, nodding agreement that every bite was a triumph. The chicken thigh (the best cut for flavour I’d always argue) was as the menu hints at, juicy and tender, the labneh brought out the tangy, zingy spices in the harissa, marrying together splendidly, and it was all of course soaked up in a very satisfactory manner by the soft focaccia bread (my new not-so-secret addiction) with the rocket offering a fresh relief and peppery, thoughtful finish.
The muhammara alone was a delight – I could have eaten mouthfuls of the stuff with crisps, crackers, smothered onto any meat or fish, you name it – or simply with a spoon straight out of the jar, decency be damned. The side of hash browns was everything you’d hope and expect from our now British breakfast staple – crispy on the outside and meltingly soft in the middle, and they were ideal for dipping in and soaking up the extra muhammara (if you’re lucky enough to have any left). The eggs boasted crispy whites and perfect, runny yolks and the accompanying potatoes were delicately spiced – the only comment either of us had to the contrary is that the steak, whilst flavourful, seemed exceedingly rare given that we weren’t asked for our preference as to how it was cooked. I love my steak rare, so it wasn’t a problem for me, but as a general serve I was expecting medium or medium-rare and so it was a surprise.
As for the coffee, I could draw no fault. Fruity, creamy perfection is what awaits caffeine aficionados here: the cappuccino had an emphatic, lively richness which was both exciting and moreish and simply sang on the tongue. My brunch partner in crime had chosen the mocha which, when I managed to wrestle it from his clutching, desperate hands, was genuinely the best I have tasted outside of Vienna. It was flirtingly dark, mellow and not too sweet – the balance of flavours bang on the money for me. They were the kind of coffees you order, try and fail to make last ten minutes, and then feel genuine sadness when you gaze down at your empty cup.
For me, going out for brunch these days too often results in me turning to my eye- rolling pals and saying “that place was all fur coat and no knickers”. What I will say about House of Koko – is that whilst I didn’t see any bawd – the place is very much all knickers. The design is beautiful, yes, but more importantly, they have stayed true to who they are. At root, House of Koko are still that small neighbourhood café with cracking staff, cracking food, and coffee I will be back for at every possible opportunity. Fingers crossed they stay that way.
House of Koko is now open in Leeds City Centre. You can find them at: 18 Central Road, Leeds, LS1 6DE. Check out their menu online: Because We Love Brunch | House of Koko.
