Red Hot World Buffet, Leeds

Buffet.... Not my usual favourite sort of cuisine as I quite like being waited on and having my meal brought to me. I also end up over piling my plate and having to be rolled out of the door! As everyone in Leeds seemed to be going wild for the Red Hot buffet; my boyfriend and I decided to give it a go. Donning our slouch jeans with plenty of give; we headed into the city.

The restaurant plays on the theme that there are food from all over the world, to carry on this travelling theme, the restaurant entrance is done out like an airport check in. Despising airport lounges I thought this was a rather odd way to go, but they way they have done it is pretty cool. As you go through the check in, you go through a lounge that has airport chairs and then finally you end up in the inside of a plane. Once you have been on the “plane” you then end up in the dining room. This took my breath away as it is lavishly decorated and done out to a very high standard. There are chefs manning various stations, these are immaculately turned out and dressed in whiter than white chef outfits. The food is presented in a fabulous way and there are ice sculptures and decorative stands around the food. It looks like the Harrods food hall; you could wonder around just looking at everything, it is presented so well.
The restaurant is always busy and there were various hubs of activity around the most popular meat stands.

The quality of the food is never going to be spectacular but the choice was amazing and it was hot and tasty. The whole buffet is supposed to wow you with how it is presented rather than it tasting like it has a Michelin star. It is novelty having a chef create you something in front of you and how often do you get to have a meal of sushi, pizza, steak and pasta, all on one plate?
The deserts were my favourite though and they had an ice cream stand that would make Willy Wonka jealous! Various tubs of sprinkles, chocolate bits, sweets to add to your glutinous mountain of ice cream.

The over attentive staff were pleasant but seemed to be geared to get you out of the restaurant. As soon as my knife touched the plate, someone whipped my plate away quicker than Paul Daniels could. The staff seemed to rove the dinner hall like zombies, all them had eyes fixed on your dinner table, desperate to clear your plate. I’m not knocking this very efficient service; it was just amusing to watch.

For the evening buffet the price is £12.99. The share of a bottle of wine meant that the total bill came to £20 a head.

After having a few laps of the room and enjoying seeing all the food, “ooohing” and “ahhing,” when it came down to trying the food, it was not that great. It was tasty and I enjoyed it but it was not that fantastic. You cannot expect something that is cooked and then kept warm under a few bulbs to taste amazing. I also was a bit disgusted when I saw some men grabbing the chips with their fingers and eating them and then having a bit of a cough near the food. It did not put me off and I’m not a snob as my boyfriend kept calling me, but I do not like to see this sort of behaviour. Nevertheless, I’m glad I went to the restaurant so that now I know what everyone is talking about!
I would go back the restaurant again though, for a cheap meal it is not badly priced and there really is so much choice. I’d definitely recommend it if you have not been. The restaurant is great for children too as there are so much choice they can start to try new things and the staffs are very children friendly.
A nice experience but a very greedy one!