Five Michelin tables around Leeds, and the one to book first

A deep-fried pig’s head with sauce gribiche costs £13 at Bavette in Horsforth, and it’s the sort of plate that explains the whole Leeds entry in the Michelin Guide. No restaurant in the city holds a star. What the inspectors list instead is two Bib Gourmands and three “selected” rooms, and every one of them is a bistro, a grill or a dining pub. That makes the top end of Leeds unusually cheap to try.

Book Bavette first. It is the most decorated of the five: a Bib Gourmand in 2025 and again in 2026, and No 16 in the Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants for 2026.

How we chose: every restaurant on the Michelin Guide’s 2026 Leeds page within 12 km of the city centre, priced from each restaurant’s own current menu.

Bib Gourmand

Bavette

Sandy Jarvis, who grew up in Leeds, cooks; Clément Cousin, from Anjou, runs the room. They met working in London restaurants and opened on Town Street in Horsforth, which the inspectors call an unlikely spot for a bistro this French. Order the house bavette with frites if it’s on, or the 250g rump au poivre at £39 if you want the big plate. The cheaper way in is lunch on Friday or Saturday, when moules mouclade is £14 on the sample menu. The wine list carries the Cousin family’s own Anjou Cabernet Franc.

Town Street, Horsforth · rump au poivre £39 · closed Mon, lunch Fri–Sun · book

Prashad

Over two floors of a former pub in Drighlington, a village in Bradford’s district on the Leeds border, a family kitchen led by head chef Minal cooks Gujarati vegetarian food. The inspectors single out the Chole, a chickpea curry with cinnamon and star anise (£17.75), and the breads, so order rotli by the stack at £1.25 each. The Maharani Thali at £29.50 covers two starters, four curries, dhal, rice and dessert. Come Tuesday to Thursday, or any time on Sunday, and the fixed-price menu is £52 for two. A seven-course tasting menu runs at £64 a head.

Whitehall Road, Drighlington · Chole £17.75 · closed Mon, lunch Sat–Sun only · book

Selected by the inspectors

Ox Club

Everything at Ox Club goes near a wood-fired grill imported from the US, in the old mill that also holds Headrow House’s beer hall. Start with the crispy pig tails at £5.75, which the inspectors name for their gochujang glaze, then share the 800g côte de boeuf at £90 between two, or keep it to the 400g sirloin on the bone at £48. Head chef Tom Hunter was a sous-chef at the old Reliance on North Street.

The Headrow, city centre · pig tails £5.75 · closed Mon, Sun lunch only · book

The Smithfield

James Donovan, who cooked at Rochelle Canteen in London, runs the kitchen at Crooked Brewing’s first dining pub (the brewery is at Leeds East Airport), and within months of opening it was in the guide. The inspectors name the crab crumpet with bisque (£14) and the braised hogget shoulder; on the current menu the shoulder is mutton, at £28. Start with the pig’s head croquettes at £5.50, which the Good Food Guide’s first look calls must-order. Eat in the back dining room rather than the bar.

North Street · mutton shoulder £28 · parties over six email to book · book

Forde

Matt Healy grew up in Horsforth and came home to open this small-plates bistro on the same street as Bavette. The menu suggests three plates each. The inspectors tell you to order the chorizo cooked in Breton cider (£9.50) if you get the chance, and to add Maisie’s Catalan Bread, tomato pulp and garlic oil on toast, at £7.50. The tajin-roasted half chicken at £22 is the most filling plate on the list.

Town Street, Horsforth · chorizo in cider £9.50 · closed Mon–Tue · book

Just outside the radius

Michael O’Hare’s In Lamentation, a 16-seat room in Boston Spa about 16 km north-east of the centre, joined the guide in 2026. It’s a different kind of evening from the five above, and a train and taxi rather than a bus.

Checked October 2026.