Masala fish and chips, curried paneer pizza and make your own curry sauce.
Nestled just outside the city centre in the suburb of Sheepscar, this is a true hidden-gem spot just waiting to be uncovered.
The Sheepscar Bar and Grill is home to a one-of-a-kind menu that effortlessly fuses traditional pub grub with the best spices from Indian cuisine.
We're talking masala pizzas and mouth-watering mixed grills, all hidden amongst a huge menu of curried meats, sauces aplenty, seekh kebabs and so much more.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
The Curry Your Way! menu is all about putting together the ultimate personalised curry. Choose from chicken, lamb, king prawns, keema and paneer as your main ingredient before adding your favourite traditional sauce like balti, korma, rogan josh or bhuna- and finally choose your level of spice.
There's a mild 'Gora Style' which is for "when you like biryani but prefer to be mild; the mid-range 'Apna Style' for "when you want to push but not over the edge" or opt for the hottest 'Chak de Phatte', "when you think you can eat like the locals".
Alternatively, there's plenty of curry dishes that come exactly to the chef's order- and most of these are vegetarian. Think paneer saag spinach and chana masala chickpea curry, both of which prove that you don't need to include meat in a curry to taste the individual flavours of a curry.
This said, if you are looking for a carnivorous offering, the mixed grill should be your go-to.
Marinated for 48 hours and cooked on The Sheepscar's renowned indoor coal barbecue and traditional clay oven, helpings of tender chicken tikka, lamb chips, seekh kebabs, chicken wings, and fish pakora are all available as servings that cater for up to four people at a time.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
If that's not enough, you can order your choice of grilled meat on a freshly-made thin naan bread. as a lunchtime treat or light dinner option. Served with spicy rice or chips, salad and mint sauce, this is the all-in-one meal suffice for any occasion.
There's also some incredible pizza offerings available too. Butter chicken, tandoori achari paneer or even the meaty mixed grill can be served on fresh pizza bases, toasted with tomato sauce and topped with gooey melted cheese to provide a modern fusion dish unlike anything you've seen before.
Of course, there's all your usual dipping sauces, chips, rices, raitas and salad to choose from, including the likes of chilli chips coated in fresh spices and five different types of naan bread.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
If you're looking for an authentic Indian cuisine that swaps long curry menus for one-of-a-kind dishes with a twist to spice up your usual order, this truly is a hidden gem just waiting to be uncovered.
The Sheepscar Bar and Grill is open every weekday from 5pm - 10/10.30pm whilst the weekends see earlier trading hours of 1pm - 10/10.30pm.
The foodie-favourite restaurant and bar is now under new management.
The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that Woodside has sadly been closed for a few months.
We certainly have, and ever since December we've had a Woodside Sunday roast-shaped hole in our hearts that's been gasping for one of their glorious Marmite glazed parsnips.
But luckily, it has now been confirmed that Woodside isn't going anywhere as Superfriendz, the team behind Headrow House, Belgrave and many other top Leeds spots will be taking over. Hallelujah.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Woodside opened at the end of 2024 from the owners of The Brunswick and The Melbourne.
Labelling itself as a 'neighbourhood eatery and bar', Woodside quickly became a favourite amongst Leeds foodies and was known for its smoked meats, great cocktails and stellar Sunday roasts (do I need to talk about the parsnips again).
The menu was fresh and innovative, with oysters topped with kiwi granita and an incredibly garish banana split standing out as highlights.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
We hope that the new management continues to maintain Woodside's brilliance, but mainly we're just so glad that it's sticking around.
Superfriendz take care of a whole host of spots in the city, including proper Leeds favourites Headrow House, Belgrave Music Hall and Waterlane Boathouse.
Announcing the news to Instagram, Woodside said: "After a longer-than-expected winter break, Woodside is back and will reopen on Thursday 19th March!
"Your favourite neighbourhood bar and eatery returns with the same warm welcome, but an all new management team.
"We can’t wait to see you so keep your eyes on our socials for news on great food and drinks, big screen sports, quizzes and more.
"We’d also like to thank Sam and the original team for all the hard work that went into setting-up the venue. We hope we can do it justice."
Horsforth Brewery to takeover and save beloved Ilkley tap house
Clementine Hall
A renowned brewery have announced that they will be taking over the reigns of a popular craft beer bottle shop in Ilkley.
Fuggle & Golding opened in 2015 on Leeds road in Ilkley and quickly grew a loyal following with locals and visitors alike.
Sadly they announced last month that their last day of trading would be Saturday 28 February, news which was met with huge disappointment.
However this is no longer the case, as Horsforth Brewery is set to reopen the venue on Wednesday. Hooray!
Announcing the welcomed news to Instagram, Horsforth Brewery wrote: "When we saw they were going to close we were determined to not lose another great venue from the local beer scene.
"We owe a massive thank you to George and the landlord for getting a deal across the line in quick order.
"We’re going to take a few days to put our stamp on the place and then we will be open on Wednesday!"
"Obviously we will be stocking our beers here but as anyone who knows will know, we love the beer scene so we will continue to have a good amount of guest beer on as well. We’ll even been joining in with the biggest beer launches from around the country.
"Want to know the best news? We’re doing this solo. No outside interests, no investors, no debt. In the current climate being able to organically grow like this is so so hard and it’s thanks to all our team that we’ve been able to do this.
"We’ve always been determined to grow our business in a healthy and sustainable way; it may have (absolutely has) been tough over the years but we’ve got ourselves in a position to take us to the next level in a sustainable way."
Sophie Smith -
26th May 2022 
