Best Restaurants for Date Night in Leeds

Tao 

New to Leeds in 2024, Tao is a Chinese Cantonese restaurant serving up authentic Hot Pot. The concept of a hot pot is a broth in the middle of the table, where you then order plates of meat, fish, vegetables and noodles to cook inside the bubbling broth. It's a great interactive dining experience which can be enjoyed as more of a fun alternative to your standard meal out!

Ox Club

Grill restaurant homed in Headrow House, the Ox Club has featured in the Michelin Guide as well as the Good Food Guide, for very good reason! 

They use fire and smoke to enhance the quality and taste of the food they serve, set within the iconic old mill building that homes Headrow House. 

Amongst a fantastic selections of wines, spirits and cocktails, you'll find a beautifully curated line up of meats, fishes and vegetables, all cooked using their grill style method to give that fantastic smoky taste. As well as their A La Carte Menu, we are partial to one of their Sunday Roasts, so if you're ever looking for a Sunday Date spot, here's your pick!

Bavette

Bavette has been on our radar for a while now, we've seen the glowing reviews rolling in, as well as fantastic collaborations with other businesses in Leeds (we're looking at their Kino X Bavette Pastry Club) bringing together local spots to create very good dishes. Bavette only opened in 2024, and since then it's already hit The Michellin Guide, and been named Best Local Restaurant 2024. It's in Horsforth (North Leeds) and we think it's worth the trip out to experience some of this fantastic French cuisine.

It's a neighbourhood style bistro, run by two friends who met down in London but decided to come back up to the city to open something pretty special. As they say, seasonally led, classically driven, their menu is a testament to French cuisine, adhering to British seasons, which is why they only show their sample menu online. Expect meats, fish, seafood cheeses, all of that brilliant French cuisine brought straight to our plate in wonderful Leeds. It's definitely a restaurant fit for a date night, giving that special romantic feel amongst some incredible food.

The Owl

The Owl is somewhere we find ourselves going to for a nice occasion time and time again, and where we often tell friends and family to go for the same experience! Our Tour Guide Lynda visited very recently for the first time and had initially been drawn in due to glowing reviews and the fact she absolutely loves a tasting menu. Lynda went to celebrate her wedding anniversary, paired with sending her daughter off on her travels, and they enjoyed a five course tasting menu for the occasion.

The restaurant sits on the canalside, offering a gorgeous dining experience, and in Summer you're able to sit and enjoy drinks on the waterside. Friendly staff and a great menu make this place an easy choice for a date night spot, especially if you're both foodies looking for the opportunity to try a multitude of different tastes, textures and emotions!

When Lynda went, they began with the chef's selection of snacks, a highlight being the trout with foam topping, The Owl's tasting menu led them through a journey of of cuisines and flavours, with a highlight for Lynda being the Glazed Pork Cheek. 

These are just four of the restaurants on our radar this month for a Romantic Date Night in Leeds, stay tuned for next time where we will explore more of the cities date night spots.

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