Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Saltaire
Hardens guides have spent 31 years compiling reviews of the best Saltaire restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 41 restaurants in Saltaire and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Saltaire restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Saltaire Restaurants
1. The Angel
British, Modern restaurant in Hetton
“Once upon a time, The Angel at Hetton was often acclaimed as the first country gastropub”. Having then started to sink into relative obscurity, it was purchased by Michael Wignall in 2018, who introduced cuisine that’s “now much more refined, not to mention much more fancy schmancy. But by god, it’s good”, as report upon report attests to “an experience that gets better and better… even if the prices are rising accordingly!” Change has also come to the building, where “some might say that the guts have been ripped out of a traditional pub”. Indeed, to some tastes, “the new decor is a little too austere for the building and rural location”. Solid ratings, though, bolster fans who are “impressed by the uncompromising confidence of its contemporary approach and reassuring choice of solid, well-crafted wooden furniture. And open fires add a visual warmth even if you are not seated close to one”.
2. Prashad
Indian restaurant in Leeds
137 Whitehall Rd - BD11
“Consistently good” since its launch in 1992, and now run by the second generation – this West Yorkshire staple’s Gujarati cooking (“fresh ingredients are the key”) remains sufficiently impressive that no one misses the meat (“husband still hasn’t realised this is a vegetarian restaurant!”).
3. Aagrah
Indian restaurant in Shipley
4 Saltaire Rd - BD18
“Consistently good” Kashmiri food has made Mohammed Sabir’s Shipley-based chain a Yorkshire “stalwart” for 45 years. There are now 10 branches across the county, and the 10-year-old Tarka range of sauces for the home cook.
4. Waterside Bistro
British, Modern restaurant in Shipley
Unit B, 7 Wharf Street - BD17
“Top-notch food at very reasonable prices” is the attractive deal at this “relaxed and friendly” bistro on the Leeds & Liverpool canal. Chef-partner Paul Huddleston has worked for Marco Pierre White and at Alain Ducasse’s palatial Louis XV in Monaco, and applies his skills to the best of British ingredients. It’s “not quite cheap” (by Shipley standards, anyway) “but excellent value”, with a five-course taster menu at £40.
5. Mumtaz
Indian restaurant in Bradford
386-410 Great Horton Rd - BD7
This family-run Kashmiri institution began life as a street stall in 1979 and has grown into a 500-cover mega-restaurant with a branch in Leeds and a national brand of ready meals. The “exceptionally good” menu is sharply focused on Kashmir’s traditional strengths of lamb and chicken (including highly authentic slow-cooked lamb trotters), backed up by vegetables and paneer and just a couple of seafood dishes.
6. Akbar’s
Indian restaurant in Bradford
1276 Leeds Rd - BD3
From a 28-seater in the town, Shabir Hussain’s curry house has grown into a 10-strong northern chain. Limited feedback this year, but still recommending it for a “cheap ’n’ cheerful” pit stop.
7. Shibden Mill Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Halifax
Shibden Mill Fold - HX3
“Fabulous food, a great pint and a lovely atmosphere…what more could you want!” – the tenor of all reports on this “atmospheric” gastropub with “lovely bedrooms”. It started life as a corn and spinning mill, before being converted to a country boozer in 1890 – and today its original features, open fires and low-beamed ceilings form a pleasant backdrop to the “outstanding locally sourced” food.
8. Bettys
Sandwiches, cakes, etc restaurant in Ilkley
32 The Grove - LS29
“The famous Bettys never fails to impress” – with its “lovely, old-fashioned atmosphere”, “terrific” service and food (spanning a “heavenly” afternoon tea and equally highly rated breakfast), this celebrated Yorkshire tearoom is simply “perfection”… “no mystery why there’s always a queue”. (The only gripe this year – “stewed tea… why can’t they use a removable infuser? #firstworldproblems.”)
9. Host
British, Modern restaurant in Ilkley
58-60 The Grove - LS29
A “very good value, high-quality place in Ilkley” where Joel Monkman’s large and small plates of British seasonal fare continue to win plaudits three years after its founding; also on the menu, lunchtime BBQ Buns and hearty Sunday roasts.
10. Buon Apps
Italian restaurant in Otley
Hartley House, 50 Mill Way - LS21
A stalwart of Wharfedale dining for two decades, Alessandro and Sofia Elena Tocca’s “authentic” and “consistently good” Italian restaurant has found a wider audience since moving four years ago into a stunning weir-side location that was formerly the Garnett paper mill.
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