I’m not someone who goes to casinos. I don’t judge those who do – I just don’t have the attention span or intellectual ability to excel at card games, and, apart from the odd lottery ticket, I don’t really gamble.
Consequently, I think the only time I had ever been to a casino was when I was eighteen and working at a pub. The only place still serving after a midweek shift was a casino above a parade of shops nearby, so we headed over in the small hours for pints of Carlsberg and cheese toasties and stayed for longer than was probably advisable.
The grand reopening of Napoleon’s Casino in Leeds promised a very different experience. The casino has been undergoing a complete refurbishment, months in the making, and added a new restaurant which, according to the team at Napoleon’s, has been installed with the goal of attracting a new audience through the door.
In order to compensate for my lack of experience of going to casinos, I choose to take along a friend who loves them. Indeed, as we walk into Napoleon’s, he says “I love casinos!” out loud, to me or to himself I’m not sure.
The refurbishment has clearly been extensive: we walk into an impressively appointed, low-lit room to the sound of roulette balls trickling round their wheels. A golden panel of beaten metal shimmers above us from the ceiling. In fact, there is a lot of gold in the dining room: the lamps on the tables, the artwork on the walls, the light fittings suspended from the ceiling. Our conversation quickly turns to who our favourite Bond is. (I go for Brosnan. My companion is a Connery man all the way.) This environment almost demands such a discussion.
We are here to try a new five-course menu in Napoleon’s recently renovated restaurant. As we have drinks at the bar, we are brought canapes, of which a brioche crisp with smoked salmon, cream cheese and beetroot is a highlight. I manage to burn my mouth on an unbelievably hot miniature shepherd’s pie, but I’ll blame that entirely on my gluttony. It is far from the first gluttony-induced injury that I have experienced in my life.
Our first course of roasted tomato soup served, for reasons unclear, in an espresso cup, tastes of, well, roasted tomato.
Our starter of seared seabass, perched on top of a butternut squash risotto cake adrift in a sea of a Thai coconut broth is potentially the highlight of the evening. The pickled ginger cuts across the richness of the sauce nicely, the fish is well-cooked and the fried risotto ball adds texture: it’s a very nice bit of cooking.
A passion fruit pina colada sorbet, served in half a coconut, is a bit of fun as a palette cleanser, before a big beast of a main course.
We are each presented with a beef fillet, a Wellington of beef shin and vegetables, dauphinoise potatoes, a carrot puree and a ruby port jus. This is a groaning plate of heavy-hitting crowdpleasers; a bit like something that might be served at a wedding to appeal to all tastes and to line stomachs. My steak is cooked well but my companion’s steak has been given a little bit too long in the pan.
After such a heavy main course, neither of us is capable of making much headway through the dessert: a chocolate and hazelnut delice with morello cherry compote and white chocolate gel. As with all of the dishes, it’s well presented, but it’s a big and heavy thing and neither of us feels inclined to give it too much of our attention. (Ed’s Note: I promise I would have given it my full attention. Just saying.)
The restaurant at Napoleons Casino does its thing well. The food we are served is mostly fine, and if I were already inclined to spend time in the casino I can see myself being tempted to sit down in the dining room once in a while. As a companion to the casino, it fits the bill.
As we walked out of the door, my companion said out loud, again: “I love casinos”. If you do, too, then Napoleon’s is worth a visit.
All photography by Jac Williamson.
Napoleon’s Address: 2 Bingley St, Leeds LS3 1LXHours:
| Sunday | 12–6 am, 12 pm–12 am |
| Monday | 12–6 am, 12 pm–12 am |
| Tuesday | 12–6 am, 12 pm–12 am |
| Wednesday | 12–6 am, 12 pm–12 am |
| Thursday | 12–6 am, 12 pm–12 am |
| Friday | 12–6 am, 12 pm–12 am |
| Saturday | 12–6 am, 12 pm–12 am |
Phone: 0113 244 5393
