Seven Leeds dining rooms to book, from a 1991 basement to a pub grill

French onion soup, a confit pork belly with celeriac and apple mash, and a half bottle of wine each: that’s the early-evening Menu du Soir at Sous Le Nez, £47.50 a head with the wine, in a basement on Quebec Street that has been serving French food since 1991. It’s the right place to start a list of Leeds dinners, because most of the city’s best cooking is like it: unflashy, specific and not on Michelin’s list.

Book Hern first if you’re new to the city; the two-course lunch at £25 is the cheapest way into a tiny room that is full most nights.

How we chose: Leeds restaurants in the Good Food Guide’s 2026 Leeds list or praised by a national critic this year, priced from each restaurant’s own current menu.

Sous Le Nez

Jay Rayner named this basement among his three favourite British restaurants on an LNER podcast, and his line on it was fair: “Nothing on the menu will surprise you but it is done very very well.” Go for the Menu du Soir, three courses for £38.50 without wine, Tuesday to Friday from 5.30pm to 7pm and at Saturday lunch. The house claret is £34.50 a bottle.

Quebec Street, by City Square · Menu du Soir £38.50 · closed Sun–Mon · book

The Empire Cafe

Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton reopened an old city-centre caff on Fish Street, kept the line “Feeding Leeds for over 120 Years”, and put a rotisserie they call the Wall of Flame at its heart. Order the rotisserie chicken piled onto dripping “schmaltz” potatoes, and eat it in the windowless basement dining room. The menu changes too often for the cafe to post prices online.

Fish Street, off Briggate · prices not published · closed Mon · book

The Highland Laddie

The same team reopened this flatiron pub on Cavendish Street in spring 2025, and within months the Good Food Guide made it the No 1 in its 100 Best Pubs; it is also No 30 in the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs for 2026. The grill is eight feet long and built into an old fireplace, and the order is bone-in Sykes House Farm sirloin, sold by the inch. At the bar, get a half-pint of shell-on prawns or a sausage roll baked to order with homemade brown sauce.

Cavendish Street · prices not published · closed Tue, food Wed–Sat 12–3 and 5–9, Sun 12–5 · book

Hern

Rab Adams, trained at Cordon Bleu and in Gordon Ramsay’s kitchens, cooks behind a shopfront in Chapel Allerton with no menu outside and barely a sign. Dinner is either a short carte, where the pork collar with peppercorn sauce is £30, or a set menu for the whole table at £70. Lunch is two courses for £25 or three for £30, and it’s the best-value booking in this list.

Stainbeck Corner, Chapel Allerton · lunch from £25 · book

The Swine Bistro

Jo and Stuart Myers ran The Swine That Dines as a 20-odd-seat room near the centre, then moved to a 40-cover bistro in Headingley, a short walk from the cricket ground. The Good Food Guide put it in its 100 Best Local Restaurants for 2025. Order the lamb ragù with gnocchi, lemon and sage (£25), or come for the set lunch, two courses and a glass of house wine for £20.

Otley Road, Headingley · lamb ragù £25 · Wed–Sat, Sun brunch · book

Zucco

The Leggiero brothers modelled Zucco on London’s bacaro-style bars: high stools, subway tiles, a chequerboard floor and small Italian plates priced kindly. The baccalà ravioli with sage and white wine is £16.90 and Nonna’s polpette with spaghetti is £17.90. Finish with the tiramisu at £8.90.

Meanwood Road, Meanwood · polpette £17.90 · book

Kendell’s Bistro

Kendell’s on St Peter’s Square does the French classics straight: escargots at £12.90, gratinée lyonnaise at £12.50 and confit de canard at £27. The early-evening set menu runs from 5pm to 7.30pm Tuesday to Thursday, and to 6.30pm on Friday and Saturday, which suits a pre-theatre booking.

St Peter’s Square · confit de canard £27 · closed Sun–Mon · book

Checked October 2026.