New World Cafe in Leeds

Four of us and two babies ate there in August. We had hotpot - one of our party is from Szechuan, home of spicy Chinese food and hotpot. Really enjoyed the cook-it-yourself at table experience and service is friendly .... but ... How many non Chinese know what hotpot is ? Most other customers were Chinese one pair of English having standard Chinese menu foods. Come on owners.....sell the Hotpot to non-chinese, ....Do a beginners menu with help and instruction from the staff before Leeds loses this experience it never knew it had!

3 course deal Watered down miso soup with little tofu and no seaweed etc Cold soggy fried rice with fatty pork and too much green pepper 2 Spring roll style small gyoza It was cheap at 9 for 2 people but it was still not worth it Deco was nice and staff friendly enough but food really let it down. I love Japanese food and if it had been good I would return again and again but it failed.

Visited today using a Wowcher voucher. Japanese 3 course lunch. Limited menu of soup, gyoza dumplings and a choice of a rice or noodle dish. Portions not massive but quite tasty. Plates could have been warmer. All in all service was fine and the food was tasty.

We went with a groupon voucher that entitled us to 2 starters and 2 mains, The options were very limited. We had what can only be described as mush balls for starters, they were that bad we left them all and ordered ourselves some soup which was okay, For main we had chow mein which i was surprised was so bad, mine was really greasy and my boyfriends was really dry! The food ordered of the groupon menu was that bad we ended up spending more money on extras from the menu, many of which were just as bad. Drinks were nearly £5 for a half pint glass of soft drink. Overall i was very unimpressed and will not be going back!

I visited this 'restaurant' via a Living Social offer and feel we were treated in the most appalling manner as we were two men having dinner together. As we arrived, we were looked at as though we had advised we were there to defacate on the tables rather than to have a nice meal out? All I had said was that we had booked a table for two and gave my name. The man checking this looked the pair of us up and down and checked his desk after audibly huffing. After being hurridly shoved onto a table in the furthest back corner of the dining area, we were approached 3 times to order in less than 10 minutes which made us feel pressured to order and feel unwelcome. I dont know about anyone else, but when going out for dinner, its nice just chatting away and not immediatley eyeing up the menu. The food was flavourless and cold and we left feeling cheated and rushed out. I would not recommend this place to anyone and feel they the establishment have a great deal to learn about customer service and how to treat its patrons. Thumbs down.

We visited on Saturday 18th at about 7.30pm It was not busy by any means. It didn't start well when the manager on letting someone out of the restuarant let the door go in my wife's face. The service was very slow, there only appeared to be one menu which was quite limited. The starters did not come together, i had to wait quite a long time after my wife had recieved hers. The main courses came but only one portion of rice, the scond one again took a long time to arrive. But on the other hand the food was very good, but the portions were small. We went upstairs to the Karaoke but is was deserted. Overall not bad but probably would not choose to go there again as there are much better places to eat in Leeds

Had three course meal at new world . Starter was crab and sweet corn soup, the crab in the soup was was crab sticks. The main course was ok, The service was good ,the place was clean and tidy. Not value for money.

i cannot see the reason for those bad reviews the restaurant is really nice value for money and the staff is really nice. But try it yourself have been here many of times now and never disappointed

Wish I'd read some reviews before heading off here for this yesterday, 25/4/2013. £10 was probably too much for miso soup (probably coloured water with bits of tofu x 2, 2 gyoza (small & dry) each, & 2 fried rice dishes. It was sold as worth £38 (reduced to £36) but even on the Japanese menu this only comes to £25, and I would have disappointed to have paid that!! My wife is chinese and a fab cook herself so I hope we know a little about what we're talking about and, whilst we haven't tried the a la carte here, it doesn't seem anywhere in the league of Ho's or Red Chilli. Shame: was looking forward to it

I went with a wowcher offer for a 3 course meal for two people..... The amount of food we got was barley enough for a starter! Two of the 3 courses were set (this wasnt mentioned) and were disgusting .... After the meal that we didn't eat because it was so bad we went to the loo and it was filthy . All in all it was terrible , including the service ..... I wouldn't recommend it at all

Used a Groupon for this visit. Was pretty quiet but perhaps no surprise at 6.15pm on a Friday night? Groupon was well explained to us. We were worried that we might not get the wine included as some have referred to it as being peach juice but we did appear to get something containing alcohol! Starters were a bit meagre in portion size. For example the prawn toast was just two pieces! Surely if you buy this normally (without a Groupon) you get more than two pieces for £4.50!! Main courses were acceptable. Not much atmosphere although it improved when more people came in, many who seemed to be taking the 'hot pot' option. All in all not bad although we will not be in any real rush to return.

Me and my boyfriend visited here on Saturday 6th April 2013 for a 3 course Japanese lunch for two (a Wowcher deal I'd bought for about £9?). This was a set meal deal with Miso soup to start, two Dumplings each and dip, but you could choose a main of your choice from a few options, we chose a friend rice dish each. The dumplings and main were fine and the portions were what you would expect at lunch time, but the soup was awful, it just tasted like hot water and had white bits floating in it which im assuming were Tofu? I've never had this soup before, so im not sure what its supposed to taste of, but it didnt really taste of anything at all? I believe on an evening this place has two additional floors which are Karaoke bars and the ground floor is the restaurant. The other bad thing was that the toilets do look like nightclub toilets (they were down in the basement), but the restaurant itself was nice and clean and the staff nice too. I wouldn't be in a hurry to go here again, unless it was a cheap meal deal, the location isn't ideal either, right next to all the takeaways and bus stops on Briggate, everyone walking past just staring in. I think its more of a party venue, not a quiet sit down meal place.

I was in Leeds just to pick up a few bits and bobs and met a friend I hadn't seen in a long time. We decided to go to the New World Cafe, which was our first time and certainly won't be our last! The staff were extremely friendly and fully attentive. The meal was absolutely fantastic...I had the rack of spare ribs and chips and got through most of the pitcher of beer...mmm mmmm...anyone who hasn't tried the ribs is missing out!I will be going again for Easter, that's for sure!

My wife and I booked a table at the New World Cafe and Restaurant using a Living Social voucher. On entering we found the place not too busy but we were encouraged to see quite a few Chinese diners, which is normally a sign of good authentic food. We were greeted in a friendly manner and seated quickly. The waiter explained what was included in the offer and left us to choose. We chose to share the starters of Chicken Lettuce Wrap and Salt and Pepper Spare Ribs which arrived promptly. The spare ribs were nice but extremely salty, a lot too salty in my opinion, as was the Ho Sin sauce which accompanied the Chicken Lettuce Wrap. We often have these two starters but I've never experienced such saltiness before. The main courses arrived and we were disappointed because the food didn't have the taste you'd expect from fresh ingredients, and the fried rice we ordered was , you've guessed it, salty. The food was OK I suppose but we didn't eat it all. Normally if we can't eat the whole meal but have enjoyed it, we ask to take it home but didn't bother this time, which says it all really. A lot of the Chinese diners were having the Hot Pot which looked interesting but I can't comment on that really. Perhaps that's the one to try if we ever return which I think is unlikely. All in all the I found the food was struggling to be average but I have to say the service was efficient and friendly. Maybe we were just unlucky and picked a bad night, but restaurants only get one chance to make a good first impression!!

Booked clearly mentioning using a Wowcher deal for 3 Dim Sun and a main course each - the person on the telephone definitely heard as I was asked to make sure I brought the voucher. Seated quickly and given the a la carte menu each. Spent ten minutes looking at it and had to eventually call a waiter to take the order. Asked him what the Dim Sun was as not on menu. He turned and walked off and an older man appeared and without saying anything took the menus away and left us a piece of paper with the Dim Sun Starter and 5 very basic main courses, three of which were Chow Mein. Again had to call someone to take the order. We said we were in a hurry. The staff were busy having a disagreement and throwing order pads behind the counter. I ordered pork and pancakes and my companion a Chow Mein dish. They arrived surprising quickly but the mains did arrive BEFORE the Dim Sun. I took a pancake - it was stone cold. I tested the temperature of the pork. It was also stone cold. They had forgotten to heat the food. When it arrived back it was pleasant, but the plates for (all) the food were so very, very cold that it cooled almost instantly. I gave up and just ate it. I did ask the lady (proprietor?) for some Hoy Sin sauce and it came quickly but was dumped on the table without even a spoon to take it out of the bowl. The food and quality of cooking appear generally to be of a high standard, but everything else lets the business down. There is no mention of the vastly restricted menu in the advertised offer and, while the cost was inexpensive, I felt let down and cheated. I won't be back.

Went with a Living Social deal for the A La Carte menu to include a starter, main and glass of wine. We were one of two groups in the restaurant and the staff were very attentive, but not pushy. The food was absolutely delicious and obviously freshly prepared for our order. We ordered sides of rice and noodles to share, and we polished off the lot! As a surprise for my Dad's birthday we had taken in a balloon and cake. The balloon was on the table waiting for us and the cake was brought (complete with candles, dimmed lights and a lovely rendition of happy birthday) and we had this as our pudding! We will definitely be back, even without another voucher!

This restaurant is not for everyone, and I can see why others rate it less than I do. We had a great night there.We went out as two couples and we were made to feel very welcome from start to finish as the staff were always helpful and friendly.We went for the all you can eat hotpot, which again is not to everyones taste. Of course it was cooked to perfection, as I cooked it ;o). There was a large choice of ingredients that were replenished often. The sauce was very hot!Our table had 4 individual electric cooking rings and it was a nice evening spent cooking and eating. We intend to go there again.

went last week with the taste card there the best place to eat in Leeds .... very good service booked with Rachel a table and she offer me a 30 min section karaoke booth free of charge to get the first experience in karaoke singing we loved it !!!:) it was a very good night out the hole atmosphere is very unique and modern for a chines/oriental restaurant !!!..., very good quality of food/ nice atmosphere/ very good service and the SATAY SAUCE ohhh dear god never had that before even went last summer to china and the sauce was not as good as that one!!!, .. will be back : -)

Went here as part of a Group on. £14 for starter, main and 'wine'.The wine was not wine - it was some sort of peach juice. They did seem to know what wine actually is, as saw bottles of the genuine article on other tables - so blatant misselling on that score.Starter - i ordered ribs in honey and peach sauce. What i got was deep fried tiny ribs with way more fat than meat, in a sweet and sour sauce with a couple of tinned peach halves in. Not impressed. My partner had Wonton soup, which he declared as 'ok'.Main - i had chilli chicken in kung po sauce. Not exactly overwhelmed with chicken, but edible. Just nothing special. My partner had pork char sui - pork was flavourless and a bit greasy - again nothing special.Venue - clean but obnoxiously decorated. Seems to be aimed at the student market.To conclude- don't bother, there are far better Chinese places to eat than this, and you can eat at a similar price at a Chinese buffet, and actually get a glass of wine.

We went to the New World Cafe with a Groupon offer which was quite cheap, including a glass of wine, starter and main for £7 each. It seems to be quite a new restaurant with designer chairs and decor in luminous shades of green and pink and seems popular with the young Chinese crowd in Leeds.They have a Kareoke bar upstairs for some reason, I thought these things were deeply unfashionable now!!? Whoever we booked with over the phone thought we were coming to make use of this and kept asking how long we were going to be!We arrived quite early and were served with what seemed like Peach Schnapps- I did see the waiter pouring it from a wine bottle, but it didn't taste like any white wine either of us had ever had before, which more or less made our minds up about the place before we'd even sampled the food.When it came my other half had a honey and peach rib starter, which was a few small ribs in sweet and sour sauce with a couple of peaches in it- definately not honey and peach! This seemed another sort of cop-out. My food was fine, but I think the vermicelli noodles had been deep fried rather than cooked, which meant the Chiar Sui was very greasy. Overall the food wasn't bad, but wasn't anything we've not eaten before.I couln't say the New World Cafe was particularly cheap, nor desperately expensive, but with a glass of Coke at £2.70 (are we not in a recession?) and lots of other Chinese eateries in Leeds you can do much better than this. Yes, its clean and tidy and the service is fine, but really the management have shot themselves in the foot trying to squeeze a few more quid out of the meal with some hooky 'wine' which doesn't give me the fullest confidence in their approach to business.

We went here (myself and husband) on a Fri night with a Groupon voucher so this was a very cheap meal that also included a glass of wine each. Now I was expecting cheap house wine not anything expensive and that would have been absolutely fine. However we were served what I can only describe as flat lemonade with possibly a drop of wine in it! I immediately questioned which wine it was and was told 'house wine'. I asked to see the botte and after a lot of discussion behind the bar I was eventually bought an empty bottle of wine which meant nothing. To be fair though after that the waitress said we could try another wine instead which was better and she brought us 2 glasses of that instead which was actually wine so that was good! It wasnt just us either, the party of 4 next to us ordered red wine which we watched the staff pour and it frothed! They also sent it all back. In regard to the food we ordered the honey and peach ribs and chicken with lettuce wrap for starters, both were very nice. For the mains we had crispy chilli beef and chicken with mushrooms, again these were good too. Nothing spectacular and not massive portions but enough for the price definitely. Of course our first impressions were soured with the fake wine so it has put us off a little but this is a good restaurant and even without a voucher the prices were very reasonable. It is just a shame that the restaurant obviously thought they could get away with passing lemonade/water whatever it was off as wine as because of this we probably wouldnt return.

We went to the New world cafe a couple of weeks ago and it was good. We got a groupon deal so dinner was incredibly cheap, but the regular pricing didn't seem too steep anyway.We shared the mixed platter for our starter which was lovely, made up of spring rolls, salt and pepper ribs, prawn toast and crispy seaweed. For our mains we got crispy chilli Beef, pork with ginger and spring onions, singapore style rice noodles and special fried rice. It was WAY too much food as they are very generous with their portions. We were also given a complimentary vietnamese salad which was GREAT really fresh and zingy.All of the food was fresh, well seasoned and came out steaming hot.The service was brilliant and the staff were very friendly, we will definitely go back.Just as a side note, this isn't a romantic date night kind of place. It's great for a family meal or a casual meal to end a day of shopping in Leeds.