What with Bar Room Bar and the Living Room there's not much, er, room for another restaurant with room in the title. But this upmarket venue, called Room (are you confused yet?), deserves its own space.

Unfussy food, a relaxed atmosphere and cocktails so fresh you don't feel like your fiver's gone to waste make this place worth a visit, or two.

The Venue
You may be lost trying to find the entrance to this beautiful restaurant. Room is in part tucked away in a courtyard off Boar Lane but you can spot the door by the sizeable covered patio with modern plastic chairs and round wooden tables. Inside the restaurant is modern with edgy, minimal decor. One wall is covered with understated grey floral wallpaper and there are dark leather benches around black tables. A few square stools offer extra seating. The dining area is upstairs and the two floors are connected with a spiral staircase. Upstairs is furnished with dark metal chairs and simple tables. There are also large purple lampshades, tall stools by the bar and a theatrical red curtain at the entrance.

The People
The crowd here is fashionable, even a bit glamorous, but they're never in-your-face flashy. Room is an elegant environment and posing is frowned upon although everyone is, to be fair, quite well-dressed. However there's no need for designer outfits, heavy make-up or spray tans. Most people are in their late twenties and thirties. Some are here to celebrate birthdays with a sober dinner, while others are regulars coming over for a drink and an occasional bite to eat.

Since Room is predominantly a restaurant there's not much mingling. The place is never bustling busy and can be rather quiet despite a trendy soundtrack.

The Food
There are different lunch and dinner menus and they serve an affordable lunch plate for £7 to £9 including kedgeree seafood linguini and buffalo mozzarella salad with tomatoes. They also serve a set menu including two or three courses (£10 to £13.50) guaranteed to see you walk out of the door in 45 minutes which makes it perfect for a working lunch. The menu is subject to change but a typical starter would include pate, Scotch egg and potato waffles and in the mains there's macaroni cheese, stroganoff and fish and chips.

For dinner or for an elaborate lunch Room offers rich starters (£4.75 to £7.50), mains (£10 to £16), grills (£18 to £22.50) and desserts (£4.50 to £5). You can choose between poacher's salad made of roast pigeon or surf and turf, thermidor (monkfish tail), beef bourguignon, sea bass and clam chowder and many others. Room doesn't scrimp with its ingredients and prep and it shows.

The Drink
As with the rest of Leeds cocktails are a big feature here. Most are classics (£6) like Long Island Iced Tea, Bramble and Cosmopolitan but they have a number of Room originals too like Honeyroom Soured (vodka, honesy liqueur, creme de cacao, lemon). It's best to visit during the cocktail hour (Monday to Friday from 5 to 7pm) when cocktails are reduced to just £4. During the same hours you can get a bottled beer for £2 instead of £3 and wine is also reduced to £2 from £3.

If you are looking for wine then look no further than Room. It has a great variety of grape varieties and vintages from the New World and Europe. Classic bottles start from the very affordable £13.75 to the rather expensive, but most remain in the £20 to £35 price range. The Champagne list is just as comprehensive with many different labels and they start at £35.

The Last Word
Dress to impress whoever you're with and enjoy a quiet night with great drinks and some of the best surroundings in town.

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