The Good Food Guide has listed the 50 best Sunday roasts in Britain for 2024, and a Leeds favourite has come up trumps.
It is absolutely no surprise that us Leeds lot love a roast.
A proper Yorkshire pudding, crispy roast potatoes and lashings of thick gravy – when it’s done right, you just can’t beat it.
And now, a Leeds restaurant is being celebrated for serving one of the UK’s best ever Sunday roasts by The Good Food Guide, what an accolade.
The Ox Club was the only Leeds venue to make the top 50 list, and we can absolutely see why.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Famed for their tender roast rump cap of beef with bone marrow gravy as well as their black pudding and onion porchetta with pig trotter gravy, this is a roast that you'll be thinking about for the entire week ahead.
The real star of the show (in our opinion) are the Pomme Anna potatoes, layers of soft fondant potatoes with a crispy, crunchy outer edge. You won’t find a better potato in the city.
The Good Food Guide’s search for the Best Sunday Roast shows the importance of shining a light on the restaurants, pubs and cafes that are the backbone of the British dining scene.
After 18,000 public nominations, they came to the conclusion that a Sunday roast is by far Britain's favourite meal - with a whopping 75% of Good Food Guide readers saying so.
So it's safe to say that making the top 50 list is quite an achievement, and we're sure that people will be flocking to The Ox Club to try their incredible Sunday offering after hearing this brilliant news.
The Reliance, a much missed North Street site, is being brought back to life as The Smithfield.
The Smithfield is set to be a new social eatery and pub focused on seasonal, produce-led dining.
Set to open its doors to the people of Leeds in early April, The Smithfield will pay homage to the local area through both its produce and people.
The venue will focus on proper plates of seasonal ingredients, pairing a relaxed dining style with a strong sense of community. Sounds pretty brilliant if you ask us.
Building on the legacy of North Street, The Smithfield is a collaborative project between Yorkshire brewery Crooked Brewing and chef James Donovan.
Images: Supplied
Steve Dawson, co-founder of Crooked Brewing, has long admired The Reliance and want to build on its established legacy.
“What The Reliance was doing was cutting edge for its time,” says Donovan. “We want to bring that same vision and energy into Leeds in 2026. Our aim is to pick up the culinary torch that The Reliance left behind and continue its legacy of great food in Leeds,” adds Dawson.
The Smithfield takes its name from Church Street’s historic connection to the Smithfield cattle market of the early 1800s, once located on what is now Lovell Park.
“We really want the people around us to feel that The Smithfield is their space,” says Dawson. “We want to give them a place at our table.”
We'll keep you updated with an opening date as and when we know, but we're very excited indeed.
Viral brunch cafe Acai and the Tribe is coming to Leeds city centre this spring
Clementine Hall
Leeds health nuts assemble, because acai bowls and superfood smoothies are coming to a city near you.
Incase you've been living under a rock for the past year or so, you may not be clued up on the whole acai bowl trend that has been sweeping up the nation.
Acai is a super berry grown and harvested in the Amazon rainforest, and not only is it absolutely delicious but it has a myriad of health benefits.
Acai and the Tribe first opened four years ago in Manchester, and ever since then it's only gone from strength to strength opening up three other locations across the country.
Images: The Manc Group
Next stop? Leeds. And we couldn't be happier about it.
So, what can we expect from this aesthetically-pleasing and ultra trendy female-owned business? Well, loaded acai bowls that look almost too good to eat, superfood smoothies, coffees, matcha and savoury options like avocado toast.
Announcing the very exciting news to Instagram, Acai and the Tribe said: "You asked, we listened. LEEDS… your new lifestyle arrives soon."
They will be opening on 88 Vicar Lane as part of the Vicar Lane regeneration scheme, which has already scene some great new restaurants being announced such as Sticks'n'Sushi and Dishoom.
It seems like this part of town is suddenly going to be the place to be, and we're very happy to see it.
We'll keep you updated with opening dates as and when we know more but for now, you can find out more about Acai and the Tribe here.
Clementine Hall -
21st November 2024 
