Bramley Restaurant Guide

This “reliable Leeds stalwart” has served up “good Italian cooking” for 46 years under two generations of the Dammone family. Founder Salvatore’s sons John & Gip retired in summer 2023, but the new owners have promised to carry on their traditions, with the same staff in place.

This “authentic local Italian with a difference” benefits from an “excellent variety of imaginative small plates” and “enthusiastic service led by the family owners”. One of “the most enjoyable dining experiences in Leeds”, it’s “worth the trip out of town” to Meanwood.

This “buzzy but very noisy” Hispanic quartet (in Marylebone, Farringdon, Victoria and Canary Wharf) offers a “good range of tapas” and “interesting wines by the glass and the bottle”. They still have plenty of admirers as a “reliable” option, even if they “no longer provide the novelty or the high standards they once did”.

This “wonderful canalside restaurant, flooded with light” was originally at Kirkgate Market, moving to the Mustard Wharf development two years ago, where it is “a great addition to Leeds” – “the food is delicious but the relaxed atmosphere is also a key to its success”. Liz Cottam, a MasterChef semifinalist, and Mark Owens (ex-head chef at the Box Tree) also run Home at Brewery Wharf.

This “vibrant and busy” basement venue with an “interesting French menu” is a “longstanding favourite”, whose “very good lunch” makes it an “ideal and consistent business brasserie”. Opened in 1991 and still run by founders restaurateur Robert Chamberlain and exec chef Andrew Carter, its many fans are happy that it has “not changed in 20 years”.

“Just like going back to the 1970’s… but on a larger scale!” – this city-centre veteran has grown over the years as well as spawning a national chain. The “old school Indian food is very tasty with large portions and the biggest naans anywhere”. The menu features ‘Chef’s Challenges’ for the Big Man (quantity) and for the Brav (heat).

2022 Review: “It’s still got it serving top noodles!” – this well-established Japanese canteen in the Merrion Centre continues to please its small but ardent local fan club.

“A craft beer pub with fabulous Indian vegetarian street food. What’s not to like?” agree fans of the Manchester-based operation whose formula is equally popular in Leeds. It’s “great to be able to take meat-lovers to a veggie restaurant and know they’ll enjoy it!”.

“The Dead Hippy burger is a dirty, dirty legend” – the best-named burger on British menus and “if not the easiest burger to eat definitely the tastiest” (especially when chased down by a boozy “hard shake”) – at the “cool” chain founded 15 years ago by Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis. The expansion of recent years seems to have ground to a halt with the closure of branches in Boxpark Croydon and Clapham Old Town, with a new strategy based around boosting sales via a national network of delivery kitchens launched in 2023. Top Tip – “root beer is available if you want a bit of real Americana!”

2022 Review: This large, smart and impressive venue from D&D London, on the fifth floor of the new Trinity Leeds shopping centre, is enclosed in floor-to-ceiling windows with great views over the city, oak and marble interiors and an open kitchen. The cooking is generally considered “good” or better, with a decent set menu as well as more lavish à la carte and tasting menu options.