Neighbourhood Leeds restaurant hailed as ‘charming’ and ‘delightful’ by national critic Jay Rayner
Food critic Jay Rayner headed to Leeds for his latest restaurant review for The Financial Times, with his sights set on Horsforth’s finest – Bavette Bistro.
Since opening last year, Bavette Bistro nestled in the leafy suburb of Horsforth has made waves across the country for its sheer brilliance.
The Good Food Guide crowned Bavette the best local restaurant of 2024, and Michelin recently awarded 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 til national critic Jay Rayner popped his head in, and his latest review in The Financial Times is nothing short of glowing.
The review praises the food as ‘big, fat French classics, executed with vigour and a kind of precision that is so carefully disguised it just looks like the application of seriously good taste’.
Rayner showers head chef Sandy Jarvis in compliments and rightly so: “He approaches everything with finely calibrated largesse”.
“It is all delightful; a glowing, middle-class Parisian Bistro Paul Bert fantasy of French bourgeois life made real, to be lubricated by the country’s more idiosyncratic wines”.
Very high praise indeed.
Aside from the food, the review touches on Bavette’s excellent service and atmosphere: “Service is charming, because effortless charm is the currency here. In July, the Good Food Guide will announce the winners of its latest local restaurant awards, to be measured against the national standard by Bavette.
“Not that the diners here, leaning in over their plates, elbows on the table, seem to care. They’re just enjoying the special occasion of everyday.”
It’s a review only restaurants can dream of, and we can’t think of a more deserving team – congratulations Bavette.
If you haven’t visited Bavette yet, then book your table here.
Read more: Bavette in Leeds has been named the best local restaurant in Britain
Featured image – Bavette Bistro