The Soul Kitchen has been open for over a year or two now, as far as I can tell, and it's housed inside Leeds' stalwart cocktail and live music spot, The Wardrobe. It seems like The Wardrobe consistently nails a few things well -- the drinks have always been well made and the entertainment has always been grand. The food, however, seems like it's always been trying to get there. I'm afraid, I think that this is no different with The Soul Kitchen. Having read all about Cajun and Creole eats recently, I had a huge hankering for some good ol' fashioned comfort food with a southern twist. I've read enough descriptions from Yelpers across the pond to know what to expect, and I've had a handful of authentic side dishes from various restaurants in the US and UK to know how these things should taste. I was so excited to discover that Leeds actually had one place (just one!) that serves this cuisine! In terms of decor, I guess it's hard to make half a building feel like the south, so no big deal. I've always been a fan of booths (because, cosy) so we sat in one of those. The service was fairly attentive, although there was a point where we needed a drink refill and no one came over for ages. No massive deal, though, since the main lad was grand. For eats, we were given an amuse bouche of a sort of veggie gumbo. This was probably my favourite thing of the evening -- very rich flavours and beautifully stewed vegetables in a spicy, soulful sauce. We ordered three items from the small plates and one main, so that we could get a spread of the fare. Of the mains, we ordered the jambalaya, and of the small plates we opted for shrimp and grits, callaloo fritters, and crab cakes. The jambalaya was a whopping £13 and for that you got less than a whole sausage, just two big shrimp (that you have to shell), and some chicken in rice. It was good and hearty, so you'll certainly fill up on the rice, but I felt that two shrimp was a little mean. Flavour-wise, I wasn't bowled over, although the rice was cooked to perfection. The rest was a little over done to my tastes. My friend really enjoyed the crab cakes, but I found them a little bland again, although the garlic mayo they come with was delicious. The grits were the biggest disappointment for me -- I was waiting for a creamy, buttery, heart-attack of a dish, and what came was a sort of pie/omelette of grits (four slices of baked grit-like cake) with prawns and bacon bits on top. The buttery prawns and bacon bits were delicious, but those grits were like nothing I've know to be grits. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't flavoursome and rich. On the plus side, I guess it was a lot better for me? To end on a high, the callaloo fritters were gorgeous: visually like an onion bahjee, these lightly battered, spicy greens were very more-ish. I'm sure it was jalapeño that was mixed in, which gave it the flavour kick I needed. Basically, the food is clearly made by a decent chef -- that's for sure. It was nicely presented, well cooked for the most part, and good, solid fare. I just think it lacked the flavour and authenticity I'd anticipated. Considering the price (shrimp and grits was about £7), it's a little much in my opinion. Fair play that they've picked a cuisine that you can't get anywhere else in Leeds, but I think it needs fine tuning a wee bit. read more

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