Eats

‘The pub that refused to die’ – reborn Leeds pub receives glowing national review by Jay Rayner

High praise indeed.

Clementine Hall - 26th January 2026

Food critic Jay Rayner headed to Leeds for his latest restaurant review for The Financial Times, with his sights set on one of the city's newest pubs - The Highland Laddie.

Having only opened in May last year, The Highland Laddie has practically received a stream of praise ever since.

From the team behind the beloved Empire Cafe, it's a pub unlike any you'll find in the city.

Charming interiors and cosy fires matched with stellar food that rivals that of any restaurant in the city, it's no surprise that The Good Food Guide rated the Laddie has the Best Pub in Britain for 2025.

And now Jay Rayner, one of the country's most rated critics, has jumped on the Laddie-loving bandwagon.

The review is glowing in every aspect, stating that "The Laddie, as it’s now being called, answers all those miserable questions about whether a pub is actually a restaurant in disguise, by making them feel irrelevant."

After making himself comfortable, Rayner continues to order a myriad of delicious things off the menu.

"Some of the food is purely comforting", he remarks before claiming "the must-have is the lyrically described “Sliced ham from the fire, dinner roll, butter & mustard”.

"It starts with the delivery of a laminated mustard menu. There’s Colman’s or Taylors English, Grey Poupon wholegrain and five types of Dijon, among others. More restaurants should have mustard menus. We are pointed at the Händlmaier Sweet Bavarian, a jar of which is delivered to the table.

"It eases the cheek-pink slices of still warm, thick-cut salty ham on their way as I fold them into the sweet springy block of bread with its butter-brushed crust. It is a dish ripped gently from the pages of The Darling Buds of May and made heavenly reality."

High praise indeed from Mr Rayner who finds joy in his experience til the very end, "At the end, the bill comes with a couple of Fruit Salad sweets, a ’70s classic.

"It’s a shameless clapback to an imaginary back-in-the-day, for nothing then was ever as good as this. But let’s not quibble with wonky nostalgia. Let’s just celebrate a present which has found space for the Highland Laddie amid the high-rise clutter."

You can read the full review here.

Featured image - The Hoot Leeds