Yuzu Street Food Leeds review: I tried Asian street food at Northern Market - my verdict
We’re lucky to have a wealth of street food on our doorstep in Leeds.
From White Cloth Hall and Trinity Kitchen to Kirkgate Market, there’s certainly no shortage of places to nip into for a quick bite to eat and a pint to wash it down.
A trusty choice is Northern Market, tucked away in a basement on Great George Street. Formerly Assembly Underground, Northern Monk brewery reopened the beer hall and food market at the end of 2023 and it’s a brilliant venue - sociable and laidback, with long shared tables lining the centre of the room.
The bar stocks Northern Monk beers from 10 tap lines, as well as signature frozen cocktails. I opted for a delicious espresso martini, while my friend ordered a blood orange gin. There was a bit of a mix up as she was given the raspberry and hibiscus flavour instead, but she enjoyed it anyway.
Northern Market is home to the renowned Falafel Guys and its sister burger brand Big Buns, as well as Six Slice pizza and Yuzu Street Food.
Craving something spicy, we opted for Yuzu - a York-based business inspired by the owners’ travels around Asia. There’s a large and quirky menu, from katsu curry, rice bowls and ramen to gyoza, bao buns, loaded fries and hash browns.
We ordered from friendly staff at the hatch and our buzzer went off in under 15 minutes. We shared the edamame with chilli salt to start, which had a nice kick to them - but were a little oily.
For my main dish, I went for the miso ramen - customers can pick chashu pork belly, roast chicken or crispy tofu as the protein, and choose the ‘mild’ or ‘spicy’ option.
I went for tofu and spicy, but was disappointed to find the dish lacked any heat whatsoever. I’m a fiend for spice, so I even let my friend - who is adverse to anything spicy - try a mouthful. Even she couldn’t pick up the heat.
The tofu was perfectly cooked and crispy, but lacked seasoning. I had to dunk it into the miso broth to soak up some taste, and the bowl was soon a soggy mess. It needed some crunchy cucumber or tempura vegetables to give it some texture, or the soft egg noodles swapped for a more firm variety.
I paid an extra 50p for a fermented ramen egg, and I’m glad I did - it was deliciously salty and the yolk oozed out into the bowl, the highlight of my dish.
My friend had better luck with her hoisin duck donburi - a shredded duck rice bowl served with spring onions, cucumber and lashings of hoisin. The duck was lovely and tender, the rice had a good bite to it, and the dish was packed with flavour from the hoisin sauce.
The portions were huge - decent value for £13 per dish, and £5 for the edamame.
It’s a nice concept, but with authentic Japanese and Korean street food vendors popping up all over Yorkshire, it was missing the execution to stand out from the crowd.
And if you’re going to advertise a spicy option, don’t be afraid to make it spicy.
Factfile
Address: Northern Market, 12 Great George Street, Leeds, LS1 3ED
Phone number: 0113 466 0308
Website: https://www.yuzustreetfood.com/
Opening times (Yuzu): Mon-Sat, noon-10pm; Sun, noon-9pm.
Scores
Food: 6/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10