Now that the weather's turning, it's definitely starting to feel like Sunday roast season.
Don't get us wrong, we love a good Sunday roast at any time of the year. Pink roast beef or crunchy pork with crackling, giant fluffy Yorkshire puddings, and bountiful jugs of gravy are welcome in any season, they really come into their own once the nights start to draw in and there's that winter chill about.
Strong meat choices are always important, but we've also kept our eyes peeled for the best veggie and vegan roasts Leeds has to offer too.
No matter what your roast preference, trust that we've got you covered - and keep reading to discover where your next Sunday scran is coming from.
Image: Banyan Bar
Banyan
If there's anyone who knows how to put on a proper Yorkshire roast, it's Banyan. With a handful of Leeds-based restaurants, the chain offer a roast every Sunday with either topside or half roast chicken and served with carrot and swede mash, roasties, 'Banyan best' gravy, Yorkshire puds and seasonal gravy. Plus, you can get bottomless booze: what's not to love about that?
Grand Pacific
If you want a fine-dining Sunday roast set to the beat of a classical string quartet: look no further than Grand Pacific inside the Queens Hotel. Serving beef or chicken, roasts come as a grand self-serve platter, silver spoons included. Think savoy cabbage, roasties and creamy mash, giant yorkshire puddings and gravy so delish, you could drink it as a starter.
Offering a good mix of veggie, fish and meat dishes, Shear's Yard has one of the best-looking Sunday roast menus in town. Think truffled leek and potato wellington, tikka marinated cauliflower, or overnight-braised shoulder of pork, and we think you get the idea.
The restaurant has only got a sample menu listed, but trust that you can get a solid roast with all the trimmings or a more adventurous main - with plenty of good options for all dietary requirements.
For a truly indulgent Sunday roast, you can't go wrong with Gaucho. The Argentinian steakhouse is known for its melt-in-the-mouth, wet-aged steaks, but it also serves up a killer Sunday roast with bottomless meat and wine every weekend.
If you're coming here, it makes sense to go for the beef - sourced specially from premium Black-Angus cattle and bred at hand-selected farms in the southern Argentinian province of La Pampa. Cooked in its own dripping, each cut comes topped with crispy roast potatoes, glazed carrots, buttered greens, perfectly stacked Yorkshire puddings and lashings of gravy.
The Mustard Pot
This Chapel Allerton eatery has one of the most popular roasts in the city - and for good reason. Every weekend, you'll find a choice of 12-hour Yorkshire beef rump, Yorkshire rare breed pork loin with crackling, or a Mustard Pot nut roast served with giant Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, mixed seasonal veg, creamy leeks and gravy.
The menu's pretty big, too, so if you don't fancy a roast you can tuck into other pub favourites like fish and chips, lentil shepherdess pie, beef burger or steak.
Dating all the way back to 1822, The Tetley is housed in an old brewery first bought by Johnathon Tetley for just £400. Full of history, as of this summer the kitchen is headed by Connaire Moran, an experienced chef formerly of The Owl and The Reliance.
Options include beer-rested roasted sirloin of beef, roasted pork belly with sage and apricot stuffing, roasted chicken and nut roast. All come served wtih heart trimmings including crispy roasties, loads of gravy, carrots, seasonal greens, and massive Yorkshire puddings.
Sunday lunch with pies? SIgn us up. Think your chocie of big, meaty (or veggie) shortcrust pie, served on a bed of mash then topped with a Yorkshire pudding filled with roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes, carrot and swede mash, pork scratchings, and a pig-in-blanket.
Wapentake Leeds
This cafe bar in Kirkgate keeps it simple on Sundays, with two choices listed on its menu. Choose from either their 'meat roast' with mash, wedges, carrots, broccoli and Yorkshires with gravy, or their "veggie or vegan" roast.
Featured in the Michelin guide and the good food guide, the Ox Club's fire cooking is legendary in Leeds. When it comes to Sunday roasts, they don't disappoint. Think roast rump cap of beef with bone marrow gravy, wild garlic and sage porchetta with smoked trotter and fennel gravy, or roast breast of guinea fowl and confit leg with tarragon gravy - then tell us you're not hungry.
As for the non-meat eaters, there's coal-roasted celeriac with pearl barley risotto and truffle gravy, or a truffle cheese pie served with comte, and truffle gravy. Divine.
Image: The Beehive at Thorner
The Beehive
Located in the rural village of Thorner, for a proper country pub experience you can't go wrong with The Beehive. Think roast Yorkshire 28-day matured sirloin, English pork loin, or chicken breast, served with a variety of different accouterments.
The team here know that people love Yorkshire puddings, so they've made it an option to add more on for just 25p each. We'll take a whole plate, please.
Image: Whitelock's Ale House
Whitelock's Ale House
Often hailed as Leeds' oldest pub, Whitelock's also serves up a cracking Sunday roast dinner. Whether you're after a roast beef topside, leg of lamb or pork loin, trust you will find them all here served with a Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and gravy.
Cauliflower cheese can be added on as an extra, and as for veggies and vegans there's a lovely nut roast option - also served with all the trimmings.
The ultimate roast takeaway for those who don't want to faff about with washing up, Man V Roast delivers to Headingley, Burley, Kirkstall, and Hyde Park. Choices include beef, chicken, and pork, all served with gravy, roasties, Yorkshire puddings and veggies.
Feature image - Banyan Bar
Feature
Suburb guide: Ten things to do in Headingley at the weekend
From completing the infamous Otley Run to sipping on a glass of natural wine, there's so much to do in the vibrant neighbourhood of Headingley.
Sandwiched between the two largest universities in Leeds, Headingley is known nationally as the playground of the young professionals, and internationally as the place in the North to watch the cricket.
Just minutes away on the bus from Leeds City Centre, Headingley is a great place to visit on the weekend with plenty of brilliant independents to support from coffee shops to restaurants.
So, here's ten things to do in Headingley over the weekend...
Watch a game at Headingley Stadium
St Michael's Lane, Headingley
Home of Yorkshire Country Cricket Club and Leeds Rhinos, Headingley stadium is the main reason that this little suburb is known worldwide. In the winter, Leeds Rhinos season will keep you entertained, whilst the summer usually sees international test matches on the pitch.
This is the ultimate crowd-pleasing event for anyone interested in sports, and for those that aren’t- there’s plenty of food, drink and activity options within walking distance instead.
Drink a glass of wine at Bottle Chop
14 Weetwood Lane
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Maybe our favourite wine bar in the whole of Leeds, Bottle Chop is a pastel pink paradise serving up a huge selection of natural wine, craft beer and irresistible deli bits.
Stop by for a couple glasses and dive into a charcuterie board alongside it, it's the perfect afternoon activity if you ask us.
If you're looking for some authentic Japanese cuisine in an elegant yet casual setting, then get yourself to TADA.
It's a fantastic independent restaurant serving up fresh sushi and the most comforting bowls of ramen ever. The staff are always lovely and happy to guide you with what to order on their extensive menu.
Watch a film at Hyde Park Picture House
Brudenell Road
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Now this is a proper bit of Leeds history. The Hyde Park Picture House is a Grade II listed building that dates all the way back to 1914 and is known for being the last gas-lit cinema in the whole of the UK.
They are community focused and are determined on providing an inclusive space for everyone to learn and discover. Showing a selection of bigger as well as indie films, it's a great spot for cinema lovers to stop by and immerse themselves into a flick.
Shop vinyls at Vinyl Whistle
12 Otley Road
Image: The Hoot Leeds
If you're into vinyls, then Vinyl Whistle is the spot for you. Not only do they stock plenty of records for you to browse, but they also host open decks and gigs for you to get involved with.
Oh and they serve great beer and banging coffee too, what more could you want?
Tuck into traditional Mexican food at Lupe's Cantina
204 Cardigan Road
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Lupe's Cantina is one of those 'if you know, you know' sort of spots and now thanks to us, you do know.
It's a family-run restaurant that's been feeding the people of Leeds for a decade, using traditional recipes passed down from head chef Rudy's family. Here you'll not only find your classic tacos, margaritas and guacamole but it's the standout dishes like the mussels in a creamy chipotle white wine sauce that'll have you going back time and time again.
Get your caffeine fix at one of the many coffee shops
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Okay we might be cheating with this one, but there's so many great coffee shops in Headingley that we couldn't just choose one.
From the experimental brews at Caffeine Addict to a cosy catchup at Loaf followed by a bagel and brew at Fika North, you're really spoilt for choice if you're looking for that morning pick me up. Trust us, just take a stroll through town and you'll find a cracking coffee in no time.
Enjoy some award-winning food at The Swine Bistro
77A Otley Road
Images: The Hoot Leeds
This beautiful restaurant is loved by Leeds locals and it's not hard to see why, run by chef couple Jo and Stu Myers who are basically legends at this point for providing the city with fantastic seasonal food at an affordable price point.
Complete the Otley Run
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Yep, it wouldn't be a Headingley guide without the Otley Run now would it.
It is a true rite of passage to any students who find themselves in Leeds during their studies and a firm favourite for societies and clubs from the various student unions across the city.
Starting at Woodies, the route takes you through fourteen boozers from Far Headingley, into Headingley itself, then towards Hyde Park before heading right into the centre of town – if you get that far.
Officially the route hosts the first eight pubs in Far Headingley and Headingley: Woodies, The Three Horseshoes, New Inn, Headingley Taps, Manahatta, The Box, Skyrack, The Original Oak before runners move onto Hyde Park pubs like The Hyde Park pub, The Library, Pack Horse, The Eldon and The Fenton before arriving at the final pub: The Dry Dock in the city.
Take a look inside the huge Tulip Festival that’s just opened in Yorkshire with over one million tulips
Clementine Hall
Farmer Copley's Tulip Festival is back and it's just as beautiful as we remember.
Spring has officially sprung and with it, so does Farmer Copley's iconic Tulip Festival that officially opened last Sunday.
Based in West Yorkshire, nestled between Pontefract and Featherstone, the Copley family really know how to get you feeling ready for the season ahead.
Just moments after entering the festival, we can assure you that winter will feel like a distant memory.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Spanning over 8 acres, Jack and the team have planted over 600,00 tulip bulbs consisting of 100+ different varieties of all shapes and colours that arrived directly from the Netherlands.
In addition to the 500,000 planted last year, that means there's over one million tulips to enjoy - now that is pretty impressive if you ask us.
Varieties include Carnaval de Rio, Tom Pouce, Gavota, Lily Flowering Mix, Blushing Appledorn, Wedding Dress and Rodolfo.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The festival includes five sections that have been split by 5 metre walkways enabling the best customer interaction in the field.
There's two dedicated pick your own areas where a mix of bulbs have been planted to ensure that visitors have a wide range of tulips to explore, pick from and create the perfect bunch of tulips. How lovely is that?
Of course there's plenty of photo opportunities, fairground rides and a bar to enjoy the view with a tipple or two.
This really is the perfect family-friendly day out and with the weather looking gorgeous (for now), we'd take the opportunity to see the tulips looking their best whilst you can.
The festival is on until Sunday 3 May 2026, with tickets starting from just £9.
To find out more and to book your ticket, take a look at Farmer Copleys website. We'll see you in the tulip fields.
Georgina Pellant -
5th November 2021 
