Azucar in Leeds

First up, there's the people from Viva Cuba, one of Leeds's most established tapas restaurants. Then there's the team behind Oracle, an upmarket waterfront bar that single-handedly made Brewery Wharf a credible spot. Next there's Robert "Skippy" Jupp, a high calibre bar manager who commands much respect among the city's more serious cocktail makers. Finally, there's Howard Marks, former marijuana smuggler extraordinaire and author of the best-selling autobiography Mr Nice, once described by the Daily Mail as "the most sophisticated drugs baron of all time".

Sticks out like a sore thumb really, doesn't he? And perhaps that's the point. After all, lots of businesses have shareholders but not many are talking points in themselves. In truth, Marks's influence over the place seems to boil down to very little – an involvement in the decoration and the potential for fans to spot him drinking at the bar – but his reputation must have done wonders for getting the word around. That he's apparently no longer a shareholder is unlikely to make any difference to the actual business now.

Azucar was formerly Battered, a swanky fish and chip restaurant from the same team behind Oracle. Though that sank without a trace, Oracle's success proves they know a thing or two about city centre hospitality. And Viva Cuba must surely take the lion's share of the credit, as the bohemian dcor and South American tapas menu of this new venture borrow heavily from the much-loved Kirkstall Road restaurant.

As for Skippy, who is credited with the overall approach of the bar and creating the drinks menu, he too has clearly played a big part – Azucar's rum and tequila-fuelled cocktail list is a huge draw, which is vital given that the place feels more like a drinking den than a place to come and dine.

And there we hit upon the problem. For all the promising credentials, Azucar comes across as a bit mixed-up.

Is it a bar that serves food, or just a restaurant with a lot more atmosphere than most – and some rather good cocktails to boot?

If I had to guess, I'd say the latter is what they aspire to. But the former is the fairer description.

The clues are there from the very beginning – lighting that's a little too low and music that's a lot too loud. Perfect for a cocktail-filled first date but not so hot if the food is intended to be taken seriously. Then there's that welcome: friendly, but just a bit too casual, so you end up hovering awkwardly wondering whether you should go ahead and sit or wait around to be seated.

We take a seat near what appears to be a pulpit, and later proves to be a DJ booth, and scan the list of South American-influenced tapas. Anyone who's been to Viva Cuba will get a powerful sense of dj vu at this point, though this is no bad thing. It's worked before, so why change it?

Feeling ambitiously hungry, we order a few dishes from each of the fish, meat and veggie sections.

The garlic king prawns, served in their shell and pleasingly fat, are the best of our seafood choices, with a good dish of deeply flavoured anchovies a close second. The smoked fishcakes are a massive let down however. There seems to be almost no fish among the potato.

Of the more carnivorous dishes, it's the simple plate of cured meats with bread and olives that comes out top. The "fejuada", a Brazilian stew of red meat, spicy sausage and beans, is tasty but overcooked so the sauce is rich but the meat is dry. And, of the potato croquettes served with Spanish ham and cheese, only the ham and the cheese are a treat and sadly there's not much of either. Some vegetable croquettes are a little better but nothing to write home about, whereas the cheese-stuffed jalapeno peppers are spot on – great drinking food.

By now we're filled to the brim with breaded fried things, but feel the need to see how they perform at puddings. We order the only two things that aren't ice cream – a rather nice rum and raisin brownie and a straightforward "creamy lemon pot".

The bill, including a couple of bohemian beers, two very nice mojitos, coffee and service, comes in at 72, which isn't bad from a quantity point of view – we're well and truly stuffed. It's just a shame that so much of it was mediocre. Perhaps we should have had a couple more mojitos before we started.

Azucar has good people behind it, and lots of potential. If they really wanted to, say by taking a more disciplined approach in the kitchen, they could make themselves into something special. Until then, think of Azucar as a place for rum and nightlife first, and food very much second. That way you'll more than likely love it. But visit on the strength of the puzzling rave reviews out there and you'll be rather disappointed.

Azucar, 5 Brewery Place, Leeds, West Yorkshire – 0113 243 5761.

YP MAG 15/5/10