Looking for ideas for festive dining in Leeds?
With only a few weeks left until Christmas, many of us are steaming ahead with festive plans and preparations. The build-up to Christmas is the most magical time of year when towns, villages and cities adorn their streets with twinkling lights and fun-packed family events bring festive cheer to our communities. In our opinion, Christmas is also the time for indulgence and what better way to see in the festive season than with a sumptuous meal cooked by someone else? ‘Tis the season to be jolly and nothing makes us quite so jolly as a good meal at a great venue!
Leeds will no doubt be the Yorkshire destination of choice for many partygoers and those seeking fabulously festive feasts. The city boasts an incredibly diverse hospitality scene with award-winning restaurants and foodie hotspots on every corner of the city centre. To help you narrow down your choices, we’ve done a spot of research to see exactly what venues in Leeds are offering diners this Christmas. So, if you’re looking for memorable and delicious festive dining in Leeds offering cosy vibes, spectacular settings and a generous portion of merriment, check out our list of the best places for festive dining in Leeds…
Eat Your Way to Christmas with The Best Places for Festive Dining in Leeds…
Festive Bottomless Brunch at Canal Club
Available every day from 25th November, the Festive Bottomless Brunch at Canal Club is a deliciously indulgent affair! Get your glad rags on, grab a few friends and head down to the vibrant and trendy canalside venue where yuletide flavours and unlimited booze await!
For £35, you can choose three small plates from their festive menu and wash them all down with bottomless cocktails, fizz, Meantime lager, mocktails and soft drinks. We’ve tried the new festive menu at Canal Club and it’s packed with both traditional and contemporary Christmassy small plates. Served with a honey & mustard dip, the Pigs in Blankets are particularly tasty and it’s never too early to start devouring those little beauties!
Champagne Laurent-Perrier x The Ivy Asia Afternoon Tea
55-57 Vicar Lane, Leeds LS1 6BA
The Ivy Asia Leeds opened just a few weeks ago with a star-studded launch party. If you’re looking for something a little bit different this festive season then the new festive afternoon tea at offering could be one for you! We visited a few weeks ago and were blown away by the incredible interiors, delectable sharing plates and exceptional service.
For its first Christmas in Leeds, The Ivy Asia has partnered with Champagne Laurent-Perrier to bring an exquisitely unique afternoon tea experience to diners. Presented in their signature theatrical style, packed with the most flavoursome Asian-inspired dishes and served alongside glasses of fine fizz, it promises to be of the best places for festive dining in Leeds this year.
Winter Garden at Green Room
36 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 2DE
The social hotspot of Summer 2022 has been given a wintry makeover in time for the festive period. Now, fully covered and heated, the terrace at Green Room oozes Christmas market vibes and is the perfect spot for a pre-Christmas catch-up with friends.
Snuggle up on the wooden benches with Green Room’s provided cosy blankets and feast upon stacked burgers, brilliant Bratwurst and loaded fries. The drinks menu at Green Room has also been given an extra special festive twist with steins of local beer, Christmassy cocktails, mulled wine and boozy hot chocolates. A brilliant little venue for informal dining and socialising!
Christmas Dining at Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols Fourth Floor, 107-111 Briggate, Leeds LS1 6AZ
Harvey Nichols has launched a decadent set menu for this festive season, featuring the finest traditional fare. Shop ’till you drop at the famous department store on Briggate and then head up to the Fourth Floor Brasseries where you can enjoy a three-course festive feast for just £35.
On the three-course menu, you’ll find a fabulous selection of seasonal treats like chicken liver parfait tart, confit turkey leg ragout, and pan-fried sea bass with pak choi. The a la carte menu has also had a festive upgrade with new additions including tuna carpaccio and pan-fried venison plus seriously delicious desserts such as a gingerbread pannacotta served with mulled wine poached pair and crisp gingerbread. We recently booked in to try the Prix Fixe menu and enjoyed three delicious courses with champagne and can highly recommend the Leek and Goat’s Cheese tart!
The Great Snow at Tattu
29 East Parade, Leeds LS1 5PS
Leeds’ most Instagrammable restaurant has spruced up its iconic interiors for Christmas 2022. The stunning blossom trees that have become somewhat synonymous with the contemporary Chinese restaurant brand have had an icy makeover. Not only that but a wonderous Aurora light display has been installed to add a theatrical element to what is already an incredibly atmospheric venue.
There are some magnificent new additions to their showstopping menus at Tattu too, including Mount Hemb Flambe – a flaming snow-capped mountain comprising baked meringue, marshmallow, coconut and winter cherries. Utterly delicious! If you haven’t already visited Tattu, we highly recommend booking a table for the coming season. There’s a reason it is so well loved and this year’s seasonal twists will undoubtedly enhance what is already a superb foodie experience and make it a must-visit venue for festive dining in Leeds.
Christmas Dining at Blackhouse
31-33 East Parade, Leeds LS1 5PS
Blackhouse is one of our favourite restaurants in Leeds. We love the interiors and the steaks they serve are absolutely sensational! It’s a venue we wouldn’t hesitate to book for a romantic dinner for two as the ambience is perfect. We last visited in December 2021 when the chic restaurant had been given a glittering makeover with traditional trees, twinkling lights and dazzling Christmas ornaments.
This year, Blackhouse has launched a brilliant set menu for Christmas and you can enjoy three courses for just £27.95 at lunchtime and £33.95 when dining during the evening. On the menu, you’ll find all the traditional festive favourites like Roast Turkey and Christmas Pudding plus some delightful winter warmers such as Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Braised Beef Shortrib and Apple & Plum Crumble.
In addition to their new festive menu, Blackhouse is also offering a Festive Bottomless Brunch every Saturday throughout December for £36.50 pp. You get your choice of main from their Saturday brunch menu plus unlimited beer, wine and bubbles. What a way to begin the festivities!
Food, Drink and Entertainment at Chow Down Winter Village
Temple Arches, Leeds LS11 5QG
Chow Down Winter Village has returned for the 2022 festive season and it’s bigger and better than ever! Entry to the village is free and tables are bookable online to ensure you get a seat during the busiest slots. There’s plenty going on this year with numerous live acts, their famous Drag brunches and, new for 2022, breakfast with Santa experiences for the little ones.
As always, some of Leeds’ best street food vendors will be popping up in the Food Village to provide mouthwatering menus of their best-loved dishes, including Bento Box, Mans Market and What The Cluck! If that’s not enough, guests can enjoy the tastiest-ever combination of resident kitchens with Bastards Bistro and Dijon Boys cooking up a winter storm whilst the super popular Savvy Baker dishes up indulgent desserts. Once you’ve had your fill of festive dining in Leeds, challenge your friends to a game of curling or pop into Hutte Bavarian Beer Hut where steins will be served and FIFA World Cup games will be screened.
Christmas Menu at Grand Pacific
City Square, Leeds LS1 1PJ
Grand Pacific in the iconic Queens Hotel is one of Leeds’ most elegantly decorated restaurants. With its Art Deco-inspired interiors, attentive staff and menus of exquisite Pan-Asian-inspired cuisine it’s the perfect city centre spot to enjoy a refined afternoon or evening of indulgence. We visited last week to sample a few of their Christmas dishes and you can read our full review here.
The set menu at Grand Pacific is short but incredibly sweet with festive favourites like Traditional Roast Turkey and Christmas Pudding in addition to the most delicious Glazed Duck Luck, a velvety Dark Chocolate Mousse and more. The Christmas Menu at Grand Pacific is priced at £33.95 for three courses. If cocktails are your thing then make sure you try the Spiced Pear Daquiri – it’s superb!
Queen’s Hotel is conveniently situated in close proximity to Leeds station but, as Queens Hotel is such a lovely place to stay, why not make a night of it and book a room at this gorgeous hotel in Leeds?
Christmas Set Menus at Sukhothai
15 South Parade, Leeds LS1 5QS
Another one of our favourite restaurants in Leeds is the consistently brilliant Sukhothai. Each and every time we have visited, whether it be the city centre or the Chapel Allerton restaurant, we have been truly blown away by both the food and the service. This Christmas, the talented culinary teams at Leeds’ favourite Thai restaurants have complied three set price menus. You can choose three or four courses for as little as £33 and the choices all sound wonderful. If you haven’t visited before then you can get a taste of what to expect by reading our review.
Their amazing Gung Ta Krai (Crispy King Prawns) feature on the ‘Sukhothai’ menu which is priced at £42 per person alongside a number of other starters, sirloin steak, seabass and pork belly mains plus an array of decadent desserts. The £38 set menu includes a sharing platter to start then your choice of main with options including Thai Green Chicken Curry and then a dessert. The most budget-friendly of the set menus includes three options for starter, main and dessert and is priced at just £33. For this one, our choices would almost certainly be Thai-style homemade spring rolls followed by the Sweet and Sour stir-fry and a big slab of chocolate fudge cake!
We’ll be adding to this list as and when we visit venues throughout the coming weeks.
Any recommendations and suggestions can be emailed to business@theyorkshirepress.co.uk
