Looking for bars that do food just as good as their drinks offering? Look no further, these multi-tasking spots cover all your bases.
It’s not rare for bars to be duplicitous affairs in Leeds. They can be breweries, gig venues, gaming joints, and even found in barbers or tailors. But what about when you want a tummy-pleasing feed to go with your revelry? There’s an abundance of watering holes with kitchens ready to serve up all kinds of scrumptious grub. Do one, do two, do them all – you won’t regret it.
Water Lane Boathouse
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The riverside Water Lane Boathouse is one of the most popular bars in Leeds and they’re as much a must-visit for their tasty eats as they are for their copious drinks. Their menu is full of sourdough pizzas, burgers, hot & cold sandwiches and healthy salad bowls. Will you go for a parmigiana pizza, the vegan victories burger or a super summer salad bowl? Pair your food with craft beer and gin in a cool-as, stripped-back bar.
Water Lane Boathouse, Canal Wharf, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS11 5PS.
The Brunswick
A craft beer haven with keg and cask beauties on the pumps all day every day, The Brunswick is a beer connoisseur’s paradise, but you’d never go hungry – not with their exceptional burger offering. You can keep it simple with the smashed beef, add a little spice with the sriracha burger or go meat-free with their plant based patties. And if you don’t want burgers, their fried chicken is a dream and their Sunday roasts are the stuff of legend, served with a teeny-tiny Bloody Mary.
The Brunswick, 82 North Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 7PN.
Friends of Ham
What do you get when you pair hand-picked vino and craft beer nouse with a food menu Parisian wine bars would be proud of? Friends of Ham! This verified Leeds icon has got everything you need to nestle into one of their nooks and crannies for a few hours. The drinks offering speaks for itself, but it’s elevated further still by a sensational menu – build-your-own charcuterie board, split a set platter, gorge on sourdough sarnies and share small plates. It’s the dream.
Friends of Ham, 4-8 New Station Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 5DL.
Belgrave Music Hall
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Belgrave is proof you can offer a little something for everyone. Three floors of sheer fun, with a ground floor bar well stocked with all kinds of craft beer brilliance. Either side of it, you’ll find the perfect grub for a few tipples. On one side, there’s the oh-so-juicy delights of Patty Smith’s, whose divine burgers and iconic Session Fries are a match made in heaven, while the other is home to Dough Boys, who serve up pizza slice mastery until late. Get one, get both.
Belgrave Music Hall, 1-1A Cross Belgrave Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 8JP.
Bundobust
Credit: Bundobust
Bundobust is a bar where the food is just as important as the beer – and the beer is vital. Theirs is an ever-tempting menu of Indian street food perfection, served to share and all 100% meat-free. There are a few musts – the crispy okra fries, the crunchy Bundo chaat, the smooth tarka dhal. But here it pays to be adventurous. The gobi Manchurian is an Indo-Chinese cauli-shroom mash-up and the raghda pethis sees east meet west in a spiced potato cake form.
Bundobust, 6 Mill Hill, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 5DQ.
Wapentake
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Want a bar that gives you a proper taste of God’s Own? A place where you can eat Yorkshire puddings for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Drop into the wondrous Wapentake. They source all their ingredients from Kirkgate Market to create the Yorkshire grub of dreams. Keep it simple with eggs on toast or crisp butties over a pint of local ale, devour roasts with Leeds gins and delve into Yorkshire puds filled with baked eggs to start the day or gravy and wedges later on.
Wapentake, 92 Kirkgate, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 7DJ.
Neon Cactus
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There’s never a dull moment at Neon Cactus. This is a party bar moonlighting as a Mexican eatery and it rules at both. Before the music turns up and the dancing on the bar starts, you can feast on a menu inspired by traditional cantinas and street vendors. Share beef-topped nachos and hot, melty queso fundido, snaffle flavour-packed tacos and gorge on heaving burritos. Whatever you go for, pair it with one of their ice-cold Margaritas and it’s practically a fiesta.
Neon Cactus, 35 Call Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 7BT.
Little Bao Boy at North Brewing Co. Tap Room
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The city centre outpost of North Brewing Co is a well-known and much-loved bastion of craft beer, but as much as it’s worth visiting for hoppy bliss, you’ll get a darned good feed too. Little Bao Boy rule the kitchen, serving up cloud-like bao buns that are stuffed to bursting with Asian fusion delights. There’s beef brisket teryaki, pulled pork, salt and pepper aubergine and panko halloumi, but the star is their KFB, a salivating mix of fried gochujang chicken and sriracha mayo.
North Brewing Co. Tap Room, 3 Sovereign Square, Sovereign Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 4BA.
The Northern Market
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The brainchild of Leeds brewers Northern Monk, The Northern Market is a cool, subterranean beer and food hall. You’ll never be thirsty with 10 taps that promise glorious keg beers, but what can you expect for your feed? Delights from four street food vendors, that’s what. Whether you’re wrapping your lips around one of The Falafel Guys’ classic wraps or chowing down on loaded prawn crackers from The Lucky Snake, you’re sure to be leaving with a happy belly.
The Northern Market, 12 Great George Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 3DW.
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