Each participating restaurant has menus priced at £5, £10, £15, £20 or £25.
It's safe to say that we've all been feeling the pinch lately, but there's going to be ample opportunity to taste test some of Leeds' finest without breaking the bank this month thanks to the return of Eat Leeds Restaurant Week.
The week-long, city-wide event is back after a three year hiatus and bringing together new openings and long-time favourites across the city centre with a week-long foodie offer like no other.
Masala king prawns and celeriac shawarma from The Wardrobe. / Image: The Hoot Leeds
Eat Leeds Restaurant Week is all about showcasing the city's foodie scene in an affordable way.
Starting on Monday 15 August and spanning across the week until Sunday 21 August 2022, there will five different price points, starting at £5 and working up to £25 in £5 intervals, so that those looking for a quick bite or a sit down meal can take advantage of this offer.
Each menu is designed to offer a taste of the restaurant's signature favourites or a taste of standout dishes- and there's options for every night of the week to choose from.
Calamares from Ambiente. / Image: The Hoot Leeds
The Wardrobe has both a £20 and £25 offer, depending on whether diners choose to dine with two or three courses from their one-off menu.
Expect juicy buttermilk chicken in taco form with ranch slaw and chipotle mayo; goat's cheese bon bons with honey dressing; masala king prawns with mango chilli salad and vegan alternatives like the celeriac shawarma with hummus and flatbread- and that's just the starter plates.
Buttermilk Chicken Tacos from The Wardrobe. / Image: The Hoot Leeds
Ambiente is serving up a whopping three plates and a drink for £20, with a specially-crafted menu with all the Spanish-style small portions we've come to know and love.
Cooked inside one of Leeds' only Spanish-made Josper Charcoal oven, food here is roasted, grilled, steamed and smoked at 500 degrees to tenderise and produce that smokey charcoal texture synonymous with authentic Spanish cooking.
Classic dishes like Patatas Bravas and Calamares are bound to make an appearance on the table between signature meat dishes like the Albónigas con Tomate, the beef and pork meatballs with a smokey chorizo and tomato stew. Ideal for those sharing with large groups of foodies, there's a range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options on the menu too.
The Calamares Veganos offers a vegan take on the classic calamari dish. Think seaweed-marinated pieces deep fried to keep that crispy seafood texture, served with Ambiente's own soy batter with aioli seafood for dipping.
Beef and pork meatballs from Ambiente. / Image: The Hoot Leeds
Meanwhile Meat Stack, the newly-opened cult indie burger joint from The Toon, will be joining Eat Leeds Restaurant Week and bringing their classic West Coast beef burger to the menu.
In true American diner style, the restaurant will be serving up thick Biscoff, chocolate and strawberry milkshakes, amongst other tempting options, to pair with fries loaded with red Leicester, parmesan and creamy queso sauce.
West Coast Beef Burgers from Meat:Stack / Image: The Hoot Leeds
Best of all, this is only a taste of what's to come for Eat Leeds Restaurant Week.
So far, a number of restaurants across Leeds have signed up to this exciting foodie offering and will be promising a special offer priced at £5 - £25, including the likes of I Am Doner, Manahatta, Playroom, Rola Wala and Gusto.
The Smithfield is finally here - and we're pleased to report that it's every bit as special as you were hoping.
This newcomer to Leeds has taken over the site that was home to The Reliance for more than two decades.
The team's transformation of the site started with a paint job - probably the most-talked-about paint job in the city - taking the site's exterior back to its memorable dark red.
That move immediately won over fans of The Reliance, with one person writing: "Seems the team here held the Relly in high regard and rightly so! Hopefully they can recapture some of its magic."
But the efforts to recapture the essence of the iconic old venue go way beyond that.
The Smithfield, a collaboration between Crooked Brewing and Chef James Donovan, is setting out to mix up relaxed hospitality with simple dining.
It's all about connection - to seasonal food, to the heritage of the building, and to the community that will make connections here.
Co-founder Steve Dawson outside The SmithfieldThe Reliance has been reborn as The SmithfieldWayward WinesThe dining room
If you're wondering what sort of things will be on the table, allow us to enlighten you.
There are sharing plates like grilled leeks on romesco, pigs head croquettes (a must-order), and whipped cods roe with radishes, all served on charming mismatched plates.
The bigger dishes include a comically massive pie for sharing, packed with chicken, leek, and tarragon. It's a mighty thing, especially paired with their crispy-edged chips.
You can also order a whole wild Cornish seabass for a real feast, or a fantastic beef sirloin with wild garlic butter.
There's a fantastic selection of natural wines from Wayward Wines, as well as (unsurprisingly) great beers.
Steak, pie, and charred leeksA spread of the plates at The SmithfieldSticky toffee puddingThe Smithfield has taken over the old The ReliancePigs head croquettes with gribicheThe chicken and tarragon sharing pieA sharing pie and chips at The SmithfieldBeef sirloin with wild garlic butter, and purple sprouting broccoli with ricotta and mintWild Cornish seabass with kohlrabi, fennel, and chervil - plus an orange wine from Wayward WinesThe Smithfield is now open
Steve Dawson, co-founder of Crooked Brewing, and his business partner chef James Donovan, were drawn to the old The Reliance site and are seizing the opportunity to contribute to the area's dining legacy.
While Steve's focus is on creating a social meeting point, James will focus on the casual, social dining, taking inspiration from the building's reputation as a cutting-edge gastro pub.
They'll be sourcing seasonally and locally, with menus that will change with the seasons.
The space itself inside is still familiar - those huge windows are the stars of the show, with the bar still standing centrally, while the dining room at the back is stripped-back and simple overlooking the open kitchen.
It's very early days for The Smithfield - they're just out of their soft launch period and gearing up for their first 'proper' weekend.
On their soft launch period, they wrote: "We were so grateful to welcome friends, neighbours, and the Leeds hospitality community to The Smithfield. Seeing the bar and dining room full after weeks of cleaning, painting, and graft has truly made it all worth it.
"A huge thank you to everyone who came along, showed their support, and has made this journey possible. Not least the Kitchen and bar teams, whose incredible service has kept the plates coming and the drinks flowing."
We feel pretty confident in saying Leeds will be very proud to have The Smithfield in our city.
In pictures – Mexican restaurant Madre opens up in Leeds at last
Daisy Jackson
Madre is one of those few restaurants that has been making us jealous of Manchester for years - but finally, it’s Leeds’ turn.
A couple of months after the launch of Salon Madre, a colourful pool hall and taqueria, it’s time for Leeds to welcome its sister restaurant.
Madre will open its doors on Wellington Place this week, promising to educate us all in the art of ‘sobremesa’, which means to linger at the table long after the meal is over.
And trust us, after popping in for a sneak peek today, you won’t be in a rush to leave this place.
The unit has been totally transformed by the Madre team - it’s all jagged angles on the tables and soft curves on the walls, with a colour palette that goes all the way from deep terracotta to neon green.
From an open kitchen you can see the team constructing tacos and piling oysters with jalapeño mignonette and salsa brava.
The menu is split neatly into four sections - snacks (elote, wings, Caesar salad and guac); raw (oysters, tuna tostadas, and aguachile); tacos (including birria); and parilla (wood-fired dishes like BBQ octopus and slow cooked lamb breast).
Click through the gallery below to see inside Madre Leeds
Madre LeedsA selection of the Madre Leeds menuDishes at Madre in LeedsMargaritas are a mustBeef birria tacosFire-roasted mushrooms with egg yolkMadre opens in Leeds this weekBone marrowMadre on Wellington PlaceOysters with salsa
Pull up a seat at a tile-topped table and you can expect to dig into everything from rich Oaxacan-inspired moles and salsas to Baja-style mariscos and Sonoran grilled meats.
Pop down on a Tuesday and you can take advantage of Madre’s two-for-one taco deal - we can’t really think of a better evening than tucking into dinner at Madre before heading across the road for happy hour margs and a game of pool at Salon Madre.
Madre is brought to the city by the teams behind London’s famous Breddos Tacos and esteemed Liverpudlian eatery Belzan.
Sophie Smith -
3rd August 2022 
