SquareMeal has released its annual list of the best places to eat in the country, and one of Leeds' best eateries has made it onto the list.
The restaurant guide's annual list of the best places to eat in the country is based on reviews from its food critics and thousands of user votes.
Presenting its list for 2024, which doesn't include London, SquareMeal said the awards had been months in the making and says it includes the "highest calibre of restaurants yet".
One restaurant in Leeds, and the only one in West Yorkshire, has made it onto the list at number 97.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Tharavadu, located on Mill Hill, specialises in Keralan cuisine and is famously favoured by former India cricket captain Virat Kohli.
SquareMeal said about Tharavadu: "Tharavadu is a well-respected Indian restaurant in Leeds city centre, serving a wide-ranging Indian menu that focuses on Keralan cuisine. Kerala's long coastline has long made it one of the more multicultural regions of India, as traders have visited via the ocean for many hundreds of years.
"As well as growing lots of rice, Keralan cuisine also blends influences from all of these trading peoples, and the menu at Tharavadu reflects that.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
"Inside, this is no mere Indian takeaway. The restaurant has been neatly designed, with rich wood tones contrasting against cool grey walls. The natural herringbone wood floors and solid wood tables give the restaurant a flexible feel - it's smart enough for more formal occasions and celebrations, but still relaxed enough to drop in with a friend for a bite to eat."
Five North Yorkshire restaurants were included in the list, Myse in Hovingham, The Angel at Hetton, The Abbey Inn Byland and Skosh and Roots in York.
Bench in Sheffield was also included in the list, and came in at 67th place.
Find out more about SquareMeal's UK's Top 100 Restaurants for 2024 here.
A Leeds pizza takeaway has received a glowing review from popular review duo.
Edges Pizza opened up their first permanent spot in Leeds back in June this year, after making a name for themselves slinging out pizzas at multiple pop-ups across the city.
Owners Grace and Edge from Harrogate opened Edges Pizza two years ago, taking inspiration from trips to New York over the years.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Their pizzas are a love letter to the class New York slice, think thin and crispy rather than chewy and floppy. But above all else, think absolutely delicious.
And now, they've caught the attention of a major review page, with Bite Twice Food Reviews (a page with almost 300k followers) paying Edges a visit.
The food review duo of Gerry del Guercio and Paul Delany popped up in Holbeck beneath the arches to get their hands on a pizza, and the outcome is brilliant.
In the video, Bite Twice said that the pizza is 'f**cking exceptional' and up there with 'one of the best pizzas in the UK'.
Before even taking a bite, they said: "On aesthetic, I don't think anywhere in the UK is doing pizza like this".
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Then after the first bite, they go on to say: "There are very few pizzas in the UK that create this, I’m a little bit blown away".
As Londoners themselves, they go on to say that Edges is 'easily hitting with the best that we’ve got down south'.
And if that's not high praise enough, they sign off the video saying: "Leeds has got an absolute gem. I give this a stamp so hard my foot went through the pizza. Edges. Don Level."
The 42-year-old Kirkgate Market stall serving freshly shucked oysters for £1.90 a pop
Clementine Hall
Tucked away in Leeds Kirkgate Market you'll find a wonderful seafood stall selling freshly shucked oysters for £1.90 each.
It's places like these that remind us why we love Leeds so much.
Established in 1880, Hayes Seafood is widely regarded as the oldest trader within the historic Kirkgate Market.
For the past 42 years, it has been run by Cliff and Michelle, the loveliest couple who welcome every customer with open arms.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The menu here is small but perfectly formed, focusing on fresh, ready-to-eat seafood that you can enjoy with a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of mayonnaise at most.
Delivered fresh every morning, there's pre-cracked crab shells, brown and white crab meat, cockles, crawfish tails - all perfectly prepared for you to eat at their bar or high tables opposite.
But, it's the oysters that you'll see people queueing for. And rightly so.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Everything here is prepared to order right in front of you, and for no extra fee. You can choose from two types of oysters: super salty Lindisfarne oysters or the slightly sweeter English Loch Fyne.
We recommend having a couple of each, pulling up a stool right by the counter and getting stuck in. If you ask Cliff nicely, he might tell you a bit about the history of the place - but you may have to order a couple more oysters for that.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
You're left to dress them yourself, whether you prefer dash of fiery tabasco or a few pickled shallots. But to be honest, they're delicious just as they come.
This spot is a real piece of Leeds history, and the queues at lunchtime as well as the repeat regular customers proves just how special it is.
All it's missing is a champagne stall next to it...now wouldn't that be perfect?
Clementine Hall -
25th January 2024 
