There are some chefs who make a song and dance and constantly flaunt their talents, nothing wrong in that at all, that is the way of the world. But how do those who choose to not take that path also grab that elusive attention? Hopefully keeping on cooking to the standard I found on my visit to Craig Rogan, Dakota Grill in the luxury Dakota hotel in Leeds recently, there can be no hiding with that talent at the stove.
The Dakota Grill From the Yorkshire Post October 2019
There has been a flurry of plaudits and stars fluttering around restaurant businesses in recent weeks. Yorkshire gained a Michelin Star and lost one (we still have five), the county boasts eight entries in the top 100 National Restaurant Awards and 76 in the 2020 Good Food Guide. With over 7,000 places to eat here, that leaves an awful lot of unrecognised chefs and eateries. I come across them often and wonder how come they slip through the net or is it just a case of he who shouts loudest?
Chef Craig Rogan is one such chef; he rarely pops above the parapet of celebrity. Yet his CV boasts names to make my gastronomic heart flutter; L’Enclume in Cartmel, Manchester House and Fera at Claridge’s, London, are just a few. More recently he was head chef at the Grand Hotel in York, winning back 3 AA Rosettes for them. Now he is heading up the food in both the bar and restaurant at Dakota, the seriously stylish deluxe hotel on Greek Street in Leeds.
Being where it is in the heart of the city centre, on a Friday night Dakota bursts with energy in the street-facing cocktail bar, but our preference for pre-dinner drinks is the Salon Privé, a restrained jazz bar on the first floor. Here it is possible to escape the madness of Leeds nightlife, though a peep over the veranda will reconnect you to it but at a safe distance.
Dakota Grill, Greek Street, Leeds LS1 5RU. Tel: 0113 3226261.
Food 5/5
Welcome 5/5
Atmosphere 5/5
Prices 4/5