Located in the leafy suburb of Roundhay, Chophaus have been cooking up a storm just in time for the festive countdown.
The popular steakhouse have already been celebrated this week for the launch of their exotic Caribbean menu from top chef Dom Taylor, but Chophaus have now added their Christmas menu into the mix- making that all-important decision of what to eat near enough impossible.
The set-courses can are served throughout the day from the same meat-lovers menu with all the trimmings.
For starters, a taste of all your festive favourites will get your stomach growling and your mouth watering.
The restaurant is located in Roundhay, a short bus journey from Leeds city centre. / Image: Chophaus
The Ham Hock Terrine is complemented by cranberry and port chutney, piccalilli on a bed of crispy breads: giving you a hint of flavour without overwhelming the palette.
Kiln Smoked Salmon with lemon pepper cream cheese, beetroot, clementine and crayfish dressings is also a small bites option on the starter menu, along with Spiced Parsnip and Yellow Lentil Soup.
Chophaus are locally-famous for their sensational steak menu, so their festive options wouldn't be complete without a few sizzling meats.
Choose from either the Salisbury Steak with roasted chestnuts, rainbow carrots, crispy parsnips and porcini jus or the Yorkshire Steak with roast chestnuts duxelles, Bordelaise sauce and crispy parsnips.
The pig in a blanket has to make an appearance somewhere, so where better than on the Turkey Roulade. / Image: Chophaus
Both are served with sage and garlic roasted potatoes and herb dressed greens, so there's no worry of losing out of those carbs.
Seafood lovers however may wish to swap their steak for a Baked Cod Thermidor. The beautifully-presented dish is served with spuds and greens, as well as Samphire, Parmesan and crayfish dressing.
The potatoes here deserve a review of their own: fluffy and flavoursome. / Image: Chophaus
Of course, it wouldn't be a Christmas menu without a turkey or two in sight and Chophaus have not disappointed.
The Turkey Roulade has the full festive works plated up with cranberry and leg stuffing, pig in a blanket, root mash, cranberry sauce and port jus.
For dessert, the Dark Chocolate and Orange Tart will give any lovers of a Terry's Chocolate Orange the perfect post-meal palette cleanser, but there's also Christmas pudding, a Yorkshire cheese plate and Rum and Raisin Panna Cotta on offer too.
The chocolate tarts are bursting with flavour. / Image: Chophaus
To see the full menu and make a reservation, visit the Chophaus website.
Food critic Camilla Long visited Leeds for her latest review for The Times with her sights set on Horsforth's finest - Bavette Bistro.
Ever since opening back in 2024, Bavette Bistro nestled in the leafy suburb of Horsforth has made waves across the country for its sheer brilliance.
It's pretty much received five star reviews across the board and been handed awards from left, right and centre. And rightly so.
The Good Food Guide crowned Bavette the best local restaurant of 2024, and Michelin handed them a well deserved Bib Gourmand - so it's safe to say it's not just us who think it's really something special.
So it was only a matter of time until The Times popped in for a review, and this one is truly glowing.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The review labels Bavette as "warm, unmannered and unpretentious" as well as "authentically French".
Long describes the food as "gorgeous, confident, surprising" with a menu that "isn’t too long" and "filled with sturdy, noble dishes, whiffing mightily of the sea and the soil."
It continues: "All of it made with generosity and cheer, served fast by nimble waiters, with a long, if slightly eccentric, wine list. To bang out French dishes with this much fiddly detail and to do it to a full room is not easy. Yet all four courses came in under two hours, for about £75 a head, which in London terms is nothing.
"It’s not that this place was perfect, it’s that it was decidedly not perfect. A bit too much chat about the menus; the oeufs in the meurette not quite runny enough. But the point is: it didn’t matter. All of it came charmingly together. It felt relaxed, just right."
The review is then wrapped up with a pleasing five stars, the cherry on top of the cake.
It's a review only restaurants can dream of, and we can't think of a more deserving team - congratulations Bavette.
Team behind Headrow House and Belgrave to take over and reopen Woodside just one year after opening
Clementine Hall
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."
Sophie Smith -
19th November 2021 
