Chez Mal review: I tried the ambitious new menu at Leeds' Malmaison hotel - here's my verdict
This Leeds brasserie is raising the stakes with a reimagined menu that takes classic dishes and serves them with the kind of flair you’d expect from a place named after one of Napoleon’s favourite party palaces.
Chez Mal, the restaurant at the city’s Malmaison hotel on Swinegate, has relaunched under chef director John Woodward, pairing brasserie staples with modern techniques and fire-fuelled cooking on Konro and Josper grills. It’s a confident new chapter for the venue - and one that tastes as good as it sounds.
Tucked inside the stylish riverside hotel, Chez Mal manages to feel both relaxed and occasion-worthy, with décor that’s moody and contemporary.
The cocktails were where our evening began, with a welcoming lemongrass margarita - El Jimador Reposado tequila, Cointreau, lime, and lemongrass - a tangy, fragrant twist on the classic.
Perusing the menu, there are brasserie classics, but with a global sensibility. There’s the burratina starter - a creamy little globe of mozzarella’s richer cousin - lounging among heritage tomatoes, with pickled chilli providing the necessary snap.
Meanwhile, the tuna tartare tacos were divine - crisp, golden shells that shattered delicately, cradling ruby cubes of impeccably fresh fish.
The tuna was silky and clean-tasting, the kind of quality you notice instantly, while the creamy guacamole brought richness and the sesame and soy added a subtle umami. A squeeze of lime lifted everything. They were gone in three bites, but I could have had 50 more of them.
For mains, the Loch Duart salmon was poached to a delicate blush, sharing the plate with buttered new potatoes and a watercress and shallot salad.
But the star was the Scottish heritage breed beef flat iron steak. From celebrated butcher Donald Russell, this grass-fed, hand-prepared piece of meat was deeply savoury, tender, and just kissed with smokiness.
Its edges were caramelised to a gentle char that gave way to a juicy centre, each bite carrying the kind of depth that only comes from masterful grilling. The roasted onion served alongside it was sweet and earthy, and the fries were perfect.
We finished, inevitably, with the chocolate molten soufflé. It was a glossy, risen dome that surrendered its molten core at the touch of a spoon. The raspberry ripple ice cream served alongside it was both playful and palate-cleansing, exactly the kind of pairing you’d hope for.
Without drinks, the bill would have come to just over £80 for two - not bad for cooking of this calibre in a city-centre hotel setting.
But there’s an even better reason to pencil Chez Mal into your diary: every Thursday, premium steaks are half price when you order two courses. That means you can enjoy that spectacular flat iron for a fraction of the usual price, making it as friendly on the wallet as it is on the taste buds.
Chez Mal feels like a brasserie that understands its own appeal. The French spirit of indulgence, the British knack for comfort, and a chef’s respect for ingredients all converge here. And if Napoleon and Josephine were somehow to wander in, I imagine they’d feel right at home.