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
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10 brilliant new bars, restaurants and cafes that have opened in Leeds recently
Leeds has welcomed a whole host of new places to eat and drink recently, and there’s a lot to get excited about.
We all love our food and drink, and it's safe to say we love writing about it.
So please, allow us to indulge by telling you all about our top 10 favourite new openings that have popped up in and around Leeds over the past few months.
But fair warning, continuing to read on may cause extreme hunger...
Rotisserie Club
22 Wellington Street, LS1 4EA
Images: The Hoot Leeds
A new rotisserie chicken spot has landed in the city centre, serving everything from full and half roasted birds all served with their crispy house dripping roasties, as well as viral chicken Caesar wraps and rice bowls.
Dip or drench your chicken in their range of sauces and you’ve got yourself something worth licking your fingers over.
From the team behind Domino Club and Roland's comes Paper Plane, your newest cocktail bar that is a love letter to an analogue time where everything was made by hand.
The interior is inspired by 1970s Hollywood and Japanese listening bars complete with music played exclusively on vinyl to match, and the menu is perfectly curated, coming alongside its own martini menu served straight from the freezer.
After multiple pop-ups around the city, Acai Social Club has finally found a permanent home in Leeds, meaning getting your acai bowl fix is about to get a whole lot easier.
And the best bit? Unlimited toppings. There's also matcha, coffee and smoothies on the menu, plus new toppings dropping every week to keep things interesting.
Tahin
10 Kirkgate, LS1 6BY
Images: The Hoot Leeds
One of the city’s favourite Turkish takeaways is back in the city and we couldn’t be happier for their return.
Formerly located in The Core, Tahiis a family-run takeaway that is whipping up the freshest dishes for you to eat on-the-go. Even at 4pm they’ve got queues out the door for authentic Turkish flatbreads Pide, Za’atar, Shawarma and more.
With fresh chicken and lamb ready to be shaved, warm, welcoming faces to greet you and prices you just can’t turn down because most dishes are under a tenner.
Alfonso's Deli
New Road Side, Horsforth, LS18 4QD
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Famed for its toasted Cuban sandwiches, coffee and stacked deli subs, Alfonso's Deli has made a name for itself for serving some of the best sandwiches in the city.
And now they’ve opened a second site in the suburbs with Horsforth providing all the good stuff we know and love it for, plus fresh bakes which they’re making downstairs - oh, and you can also get yourself a cigar.
If you don’t know about Burgerism then get to know. The cult burger brand is famed over in the North West for their juicy, crunchy-around-the-edges smash burgers and now they’ve brought them to Meanwood.
Rizia's Bottega
114 Bolling Rd, Ben Rhydding, Ilkley LS29 8PN
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Rizia's Bottega, on Bolling Road on the outskirts of Ilkley, officially opened at the end of August following a soft launch, serving authentic schiacciata sandwiches, colourful salads, and light Sicilian breakfasts.
The new neighbourhood spot comes from the team behind Ilkley favourite Emporio Italia and has been created as somewhere locals can pop in for their morning coffee, sit down for a bite to eat, or pick up some high-quality Italian treats to enjoy at home.
One of Manchester’s most popular brunch spots, which always has queues down the street, has made its way across to Leeds at last.
Bruncho has opened on The Headrow, bringing its hit products like French toasts, Middle Eastern brunches, and iced matchas, to Leeds city centre.
Bruncho has also made a name for itself with its viral creations, including Labubu Dubai pistachio French toast (how many 2025 buzzwords can you get in one menu item?) and its collection of drinks served at -86°C. We're sure that their weird and wonderful creations will go down just as well here in Leeds.
Vietnamese powerhouse Pho opened a permanent spot on Boar Lane and it's serving up the likes of beef brisket pho, crispy spring rolls, three meat combo rice bowls, and chicken curries - yum.
Mandy's Barbecue
3 Sheaf St, Leeds LS10 1HD
Images: The Hoot Leeds
A new Yorkshire barbecue spot has taken over the kitchen at The Attic near Aire Park serving up sourdough sarnies by day, with fillings cooked over fire. Expect your lunchtime to be levelled up with BBQ rump steak, Korean chicken and plenty of other local produce on the menu. Then, come evening, things switch up with small plates - including jerk mackerel, BBQ sirloin with kimchi, and lamb neck.
Featured images - The Hoot Leeds
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Inside Leeds’ newest cocktail bar inspired by 1970s Hollywood and Japanese listening bars
Clementine Hall
If you're a fan of a swanky cocktail, then this spot is the place for you.
When we heard earlier this year that a new bar was on the horizon from the team behind some of the city's best hospitality venues, we couldn't quite believe our luck.
Paper Plane is the newest venture from hospitality group Palagander, who run The Domino Club, Roland's and The Woods over in Chapel Allerton.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
But Paper Plane might just be their best spot yet, based in the beautiful Grand Arcade this cocktail bar is offering something different to anything else we've seen in the city.
Stepping through the doors here and you'll feel like you've been whisked to time gone by.
The bar is dubbed as a a love letter to an analogue time where everything was made by hand.
The interior is inspired by 1970s Hollywood and Japanese listening bars, complete with music played exclusively on vinyl to match.
The menu is of course perfectly curated, made up of signature serves and classics alongside its own martini menu served straight from the freezer.
Every single detail has been thoroughly thought through, from the bar equipment coming straight from Japan to the bespoke wooden seating.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
As you take a seat, you'll be greeted with a paper menu that you're asked to order with. Everything is table service, the staff you can tell are truly passionate about their job, and everything just feels that little bit special.
The space is perfectly sized, seating around 40-50 guests and bookings will be taken over the phone rather than online.
In an age where everything feels so digital and fleeting, Paper Plane is a welcome reminder of proper connection and long lasting moments.
We think this new spot is going to go down an absolute treat, and it's a welcome addition to the city's nightlife scene.
Georgina Pellant -
5th November 2021 
