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The best places to get a vegan roast dinner in Leeds
Vegan Sunday roast dinners can be hard to find in Leeds, so we've put together a collection of our favourite plant-based roasts to take out the research for you.
Because your vegan mates deserve just as many foodie option as meat-eaters on a Sunday.
It's no secret that in Leeds we love a good roast dinner. So much so, we at The Hoot are dedicated to shouting out our favourite options for Yorkshire puds and roasties every single week- and since starting we still haven't exhausted our list.
Surprisingly, there's not as many vegan-friendly options as you'd think. Nut Roast isn't always plant-based, so it can be a struggle to find a vegan option on a Sunday when you're out for a roast dinner.
That's why we've rounded up our favourite spots- so you never have to have that dreaded feeling of 'am I going to be able to eat this' moment again.
Locally known for championing all things Yorkshire and vegan-friendly, Wapentake is a safe choice for anyone looking for plant-based food. Their vegan roast has been well received, given you can still get gravy, mash, yorkshire puds and all your fave veggies included. They can cook to suit different dietary requirements too, including gluten free and vegetarian- a sure sign everything is fresh and delicious.
This is the place to come for a roast dinner that actually feels like a vegan roast. This isn't just a place where you'll get a few sorry-looking veggies and potatoes, Crowd of Favours champion their vegan crowd with a Baked Celeriac steak offering and all the usual tasty trimmings.
The Kirkstall Bridge Inn isn't advertised enough when it comes to their vegan friendly dishes, but we've become well accustomed with the pub's menu throughout Veganuary and found plenty of options available. A review of the vegan roast on TripAdvisor puts it better than we could: "What a wonderful change to have a decent Vegan option on a Sunday that isn't a nut roast or just vegetables, fantastic food in a lovely setting would highly recommend. Food is fresh and home cooked"- vegan Yorkshire puds included.
Find out more about the Kirkstall Bridge Inn here.
The Brunswick
Image: The Brunswick
Easily known as one of the best roast spots in town, The Brunswick makes Sunday the best day of the week with a vegan roast served with roast potatoes, maple syrup glazed carrots, cabbage, gravy and even a mini Bloody Mary- what more do you need?
Heaney & Mill describe a place at their table on a Sunday as "Sunday service at the alter of the holy roast", so clearly these guys take their dinners seriously. They offer a fully veggie roast dinner with a Leek and Cheese Wellington- but there's vegan options that slightly vary from the veggie menu upon request. This is a great option if you're looking for somewhere that will please the meat-eaters, veggies, gluten-free-eateres and vegans in your life.
There's another new opening in Farsley - this time an incredibly cool listening bar and cocktail bar.
Tucked away in Sunny Bank Mills, Pardon Me is a bar built around 'music, atmosphere, and detail'.
Bartenders here create well-made cocktails and pour natural wines in front of a wall of vinyl records, while a playlist of hip hop, soul, jazz, funk, deep house, and disco soundtracks your evening.
The stylish space features a considered sound system that's been built around Danley speakers.
Pardon Me has opened with the intention of creating a space where 'sound sits at the centre, and everything else supports it'.
It's been launched by Scott Rapson, who grew up in the Scottish Highlands and fell in love with music around the time of the arrival of hip hop in the early 80s.
He then spent time travelling for raves, and visiting venues like Glasgow’s Sub Club and London’s Plastic People, giving Scott an appreciation for how 'music can shape a room, not just fill it'.
Scott and his partner Laurie have then spent the past three years travelling Europe, visiting listening bars across the continent to shape the foundations of Pardon Me.
Inside Pardon Me in FarsleyCocktails at Pardon Me
They say that sound, look, atmosphere, service and style are treated with equal importance.
Whether it's for coffee during the day, or drinks into the evening, they want Pardon Me to be a place to spend time, looking out across Sunny Bank Mills.
Scott says he's built the bar with the support of family and friends, plus Laurie helping to bring the idea to life, already finding a warm welcome within the Farsley community.
Pardon Me is open now at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley.
Posh bakery chain Gail’s is finally coming to Yorkshire
Daisy Jackson
Gail's has finally set its sights on Yorkshire for the first time, with a new bakery set to open this year.
It's one of the UK's most famous bakeries, launching in London in the early 1990s to supply restaurants, before opening its first retail site and cafe in Hampstead in 2005.
Gail's founders set out on a mission to bake bread as it used to be baked: by hand, using quality ingredients and time-worn artisanal methods.
While Gail's has expanded aggressively into the north, opening around a dozen bakeries in Greater Manchester and its surrounds, it hasn't made the journey across to Yorkshire just yet.
All that looks set to change, with job ads now listed for roles within a brand-new Yorkshire branch of Gail's.
Based on the job advert, Gail's is heading straight to the spa town of Harrogate - which is a fairly predictable move.
It looks like Gail's is heading for HarrogateGail's will make its Yorkshire debut
When it does open, you'll find loaf choices including classic white and brown sourdough, Gail’s ‘wasteless’ loaves (made using a specially-created recipe designed to incorporate unsold bread crumbs), alongside seeded varieties, baguettes and batons.
Must-tries include Gail’s famous cinnamon buns, still-warm cheese and ham croissants, chocolate chip cookies, and – given the weather we’re having this week – iced coffees, all day long preferably please.
Gail's has now confirmed the opening, with a spokesperson saying: "GAIL’s is excited to confirm it is opening a new bakery in Harrogate later this year. The opening will bring GAIL’s craft baking to the community, including creating a number of craft baking, barista, and management roles.
"We will also be donating surplus baked goods through our Neighbourly partnerships. This is part of our ongoing commitment to giving back to the communities we serve and improving access to quality food and drink on the high-street."
But given the number of fantastic local bakeries all over Yorkshire, the question is, does anyone want Gail's?
Sophie Smith -
5th January 2023 
