From carefully-sourced ingredients to techniques that take hours before a plate ever reaches the table, The Whitehall is committed to doing things differently.
Some restaurants shout for attention. But the best restaurants quietly earn a reputation the old-fashioned way – with thoughtful cooking, seasonal ingredients and dishes that keep people coming back for more. At The Whitehall Restaurant & Bar, just a short stroll from Leeds Station, that philosophy flows through everything that comes out of the kitchen.
We caught up with The Whitehall’s Head Chef Tom Bodenham to discover the thinking behind the new menu, and the small details that make dining at the restaurant so memorable.
A kitchen built on craft, seasonality and behind the scenes effort
Credit: The Whitehall Restaurant & Bar
For Tom, the starting point of a menu is simple – fresh ingredients and cooking done properly. “The new menu is for spring summer, so you’ll see a lot more vibrant, lighter flavours. It’s something you can sit outside on the terrace with and enjoy,” he told us.
Whatever you go for on the menu, it will have been made fresh in the kitchen. “We use all fresh, seasonal ingredients, locally sourced from amazing suppliers that we’ve worked with from day one. We make everything from scratch including desserts by our in house pastry chef.”
But the real difference is the work you don’t necessarily see when you dine there. “It’s not just a case of just cooking it, it’s all the steps before – the effort in the back of house before it gets to the plate.”
That attention to detail shows across the whole menu – from starters designed to feel bright and balanced for the new season, to mains that celebrate classic British ingredients while introducing something a little unexpected.
The dishes that define the new menu
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Take the Scottish king scallops, one of the standout dishes on the new menu. The dish layers bold flavours with careful balance, pairing sweet scallops with a punchy sambal, fresh tomatoes and creamy goat’s cheese for a plate that feels vibrant and summery.
Elsewhere, the chicken and ham presse leans into traditional flavours with a refined twist. Confit chicken leg and ham hock are layered together and served on warm sourdough toast, finished with a ham hock jelly and a delicate sweet pea tapioca cracker that adds both texture and freshness.
The dish Tom’s most proud of is the Denby Dale Lamb. “The dish I’m most proud of, I’d probably say the lamb main course that’s coming on. It’s a trio of lamb. So you’ve got lamb shoulder which we braise overnight, lamb sweetbreads and it’s served with lamb shoulder farci, hasselback potatoes, chard and a rich red wine jus. It’s a great, classic spring dish.”
Whether you’re looking to try something new or you’re seeking something familiar, there really is something for everyone. And when you pair that variety with a sun-soaked terrace, seasonal flavours and a team that works hard to elevate the ordinary, it’s easy to see why people keep coming back.
Cover image credit: The Whitehall Restaurant & Bar.
