Cora
Boston Spa, West Yorkshire
Cora is the third in Liz Cottam’s stable of restaurants following on from Home and The Owl in Leeds. This one, in smart Boston Spa, operates as a restaurant and a morning bakery, the counter piled high with bread and pastries to take out or eat in with tea, coffee or perhaps a Mimosa or Bloody Mary. Adam Rasburn transferred here from head-chef roles at the Man Behind the Curtain and, more recently, Home. Cora is not as edgy as either of those two places. This is, after all, a relaxed neighbourhood eatery, but Rasburn’s experience and creativity make it feel like high-end dining, while using modest ingredients and keeping it fairly priced. This is illustrated in a starter of thinly sliced beef bavette, lightly cured in Thai spices, topped with shavings of daikon and breakfast radish, and finished with a coriander emulsion. Another dish uses fennel compressed with lemon and olive oil, prettily garnished with pea shoots and wildflowers then given a bold kick from a powerfully flavoured dashi. Elsewhere, roast chicken breast comes with a cream sauce, seasonal spring asparagus and diced Jersey Royals flavoured with herbs and garlic oil, while a soothing dish of slow-poached trout involves diced courgette and a light caviar and dill sauce. Desserts are fabulous: a dark chocolate tart layered with dark and white chocolate ganache, flavoured with lime and decorated with flower petals, cocoa nibs and lime sherbet; a heavenly tart filled with a sharp blueberry and fennel curd, cleverly balanced by the sweetness of brown-sugar Italian meringue for a superb sour/sweet hit. In all, it is a beautifully balanced menu of well-executed dishes, ambitious and sophisticated without being intimidating. Just remember that Cora is a cashless business.
Dining Information:
Dog friendly, Credit card required, Deposit required
162 High Street, Boston Spa, West Yorkshire LS23 6BW
01937 534276
