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On my last visit home to Yorkshire I hopped on the train from York to Leeds with my oldest (length of time known, not age) friend Jo, to join Leeds Food Tours on a four-hour foodie adventure of some of the most delicious independent eateries in central Leeds.
As a child I’d go to Leeds with my Mum every so often for an alternative day out to York, or if I had some birthday money to spend we’d also go to Leeds as back then it was better than York for shops; both in size and quality.
Later on in life, more particularly when I was legally allowed to drink, we’d also go for nights out but didn’t often venture much further than a 10-minute radius from Leeds train station (I have some dodgy memories from a nightclub called Majestic). So, whilst I can say I’ve been to Leeds countless times throughout my life, I can’t ever really say I’ve *been* to Leeds, as I simply don’t know much about it at all!
Jo and I have known each other since we were seven years old. We have the type of friendship where we may not get to see or be there for each other’s daily experiences and I can’t just pop round for a cup of coffee when I fancy, (300 mile journey between us), but we do have the kind of friendship where we’re totally at ease with each other.
I know Jo better than I do any other friend, and she the same for me. We can read each other’s expressions, body language and will know instantly if either one of us is upset, happy or pissed off at something. Our friendship is something I value more than I can ever write simply because she’s Jo. She’s there and she is something secure and familiar for me and also one of the reasons I miss York and one of the reasons I may someday return. She’s like a sister to me.
Anyway, we hopped off the train wrapped up in our winter woollies, scarves, hats and gloves at the ready, and walked the short two-minute stroll to the Queens Hotel to meet up with the group.
Leeds Food Tours is run by Nell who isn’t a Leeds native, but she has lived there since her university days and loved the city so much she didn’t leave. Nell is also a travel blogger but has a particular love for hunting down and enjoying all types of food and when hearing her story (read more of that here) it made complete sense why she started hosting food tours in her city.
Not being from Leeds doesn’t matter in the slightest by the way. One guy on our tour was from Leeds and she told us things about the city he had no idea about! Nell quite clearly has a genuine passion for independent food businesses, and she took us to some places, which I’ll go through individually, that I’d have otherwise had absolutely no idea about and would never have found.
Currently Leeds Food Tours have four different tours priced at approximately £55 per person. Jo and I were booked on the ‘Local Leeds’ tour but there’s also a Street Food tour and even a Vegan tour launching in 2020 – which I can’t wait to book on to.
The Local Leeds tour includes six different stops where you get to eat and drink something different at each one, learn a little bit of history about where you’re eating and where the ingredients are sourced from.
Walking between each venue Nell also talks about Leeds’s rich history, what foods were invented in Leeds and Yorkshire whilst also making sure you have time to ask questions and chat to other people in the group.
Because everything is so close together on this tour it also means there’s not actually a big deal of walking. I think, in total, we only walked about one mile by the time it had finished. Which is perfect if you’re doing this on a rainy day like we did.
Now, I wanted to write this post because quite simply we had the best time with Leeds Food Tours, and it was great way to learn more about Leeds from a local person who knows all the best stops and foodie finds. I’ve intentionally chosen to be quite select and have left out some parts in what I share, particularly the finer details and facts we learnt, as ultimately I don’t want to ruin what Nell has quite clearly worked so hard on researching and building.
Plus, I’m sure each tour will evolve as time goes on and new places open over time so I can’t guarantee you’ll get the same route or experience as we did. What I can guarantee is that you’ll have fun, you will be full, and you’ll find out things about Leeds and Yorkshire you’d otherwise have no idea about!
Something I’ve noticed in the last year or so is that so many UK cities do independent food so much better than where I currently live (15 minutes outside of Reading, Berkshire), which is just bonkers! I mean on the outskirts of where I am there are lots of amazing farm shops and local places to get food, but the town centre of Reading is seriously lacking when it comes to supporting independent food businesses and it’s such a shame!
Hull, York, Newcastle, Harrogate, Bath and even Winchester are just a few examples of cities that don’t just support their independents, they make it easier for them. The councils create purpose-built halls or refurbish town-centre derelict buildings and old industrial units into something useful. Whilst Reading may have Blue Collar Food (an outdoor pop-up food market) there’s nothing in the sense of a food hall, or even an area where only independent shops reside. It’s really sad. I particularly loved seeing that Leeds have turned the old Corn Exchange into a shopping place full of independent shops and boutiques.
Anyway, that’s not what this post is about, I’m reflecting, and I’ll move on.
Walking down one of Leeds city centres busiest streets we all of a sudden took a little divert down a hidden little snicket (or alley/ginnel depending on where you’re from) which led to a very inconspicuous, though I imagine not so in the peak of summer, row of pubs.
We were heading to Whitelock’s Ale House, which was built in 1715, catering mainly for merchants and market traders and with its current famous interior dating from the late 1800’s, Whitelock’s is the second oldest public house in Leeds. Think crooked walls, wonky window ledges, old-school furniture worn down from all the people that have been in to eat the amazing homemade food and locally brewed beers.
If you’re really into your beer then you may be interested to know that Whitelock’s has been included in CAMRA‘s Good Beer Guide 34 out of the 40 years it has been published and are Cask Marque certified. Nell told us lots of interesting things about this pub, but you’ll have to book on her tour to find out what they are 😉
We took a table at the back and I noticed the low ceilings, a traditional wooden bar with an endless row of beer pumps, traditional window panes and a gorgeous kooky old-school food window where the kitchen was hidden behind and the staff would collect and serve food from.
Jo and I are both vegetarian so Nell had made sure everything (it’s all pre-booked) on the Leeds Food Tour was suitable for us. We started with a root vegetable scotch duck egg which came on a proper plate with a big decent splodge of brown sauce for dipping. I prefer my food to come on a real plate by the way and have a bit of pet-hate for places that serve food on random slabs of wood or worse still, in a basket. It’s annoying!
The egg was cooked perfectly. So much so that when it was placed down in front of me, I did a little gasp from being so impressed and desperate to dig in. Eggs are the reason I’d struggle to go vegan. I can easily forgo milk and cheese, but eggs are my absolute struggle.
The non-veggie option was a fish finger sandwich which I noticeably remember thinking my son Coby would have enjoyed. Chunky battered pieces of white fish smushed between fresh white bread and layered up with tartar sauce.
To help wash our food down we were all given a glass of Landlords by Timothy Taylor (brewed in Keyleigh, West Yorkshire) and we nattered, compared notes on our food preferences, drank up and got ready to move on to our next stop.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, when we were little my Mum would take my sister and me to Leeds to do her food shopping and one place we’d go would be Leeds indoor market.
You know when you visit somewhere as an adult and it seems so small compared to when you were a child? Well Leeds Market had completely the opposite effect for me and it was far far bigger than I remembered. The sounds, the smells, the people are all instantly in your face and the action is full on. All types of food stalls are mixed in with food traders and we wandered and occasionally pushed our way through the crowds to find ‘Owt’ a very simple and minimalist cafe nestled at the back, but close to the seating area, to pick up our food.
Now if you’re not familiar with Yorkshire slang then you’ll maybe not know that ‘owt’ is simply short for ‘anything’. I say it a lot and a good example of it being used would be “Have we got owt in for tea tonight?” Got it? Good… then you’ll be able to read this sign just fine then…
Anyway, we ate the vegan dish consisting of tofu, different beans, chickpeas, pesto, herbs and nuts which Owt describe as being the perfect winter warmer and they’re not wrong! I didn’t think anything would beat the Scotch egg and we’d maybe started on a high, but this dish was the absolutely stand out meal for me.
Fresh, hot, comforting, just the right portion size, it’s the vegetarian casserole/stew of dreams. If there’s one thing I miss being a vegetarian, it’s a good old stew. If, sorry, when I go back to Leeds, I’ll be heading straight to Owt for a big bowlful of this beauty.
One thing that I did find particularly endearing is that Owt only use ingredients from within the market. How cool is that? As the ingredients around them change, so too will their menu. So, grab a bowl of whatever takes your fancy that day, grab a seat at the counter, but if there isn’t space then just take your lunch to the food hall, mere metres away and find a seat to people watch whilst eating some of the best street-food Leeds has to offer.
Hang on…wait, that’s not the end! Yes, we’ve got four more stops on this Leeds Food Tour to go yet… I know, I know, your mouth is watering right now, I can tell! 😉
Next up was cheese. Lots of delicious mind-blowing, creamy, original flavoured cheese and we were staying in the food market to have it meaning we walked about 15 metres over to Malcolm Michaels who impressively have over 50 types of cheeses on their counter!
For the meat eaters of the group there was also some good old Yorkshire pork pies and Savoury duck (which is actually pork!?). Jo and I stuck to the cheese (obviously) and couldn’t agree on a favourite and despite coming so close to picking one, we just couldn’t. It was just too difficult a choice.
One thing that was quite funny was that passers-by kept trying to steal our food! Everyone thought it was a taster board, so I think Malcolm Michael’s are going to move the group to their own little dedicated area from now on.
Those Yorkshire folk…. 😉
After all that cheese I was beginning to get a little full so a walk to increase my appetite for the next stop was welcome. We strolled up through town and ventured over to a very cool and calm type of restaurant called Eat Your Greens. A vegetable-led restaurant, bar and organic grocery store where we took a table by the window, peeled off our coats and hats to order a big fat gin and tonic (not included in the tour).
A few minutes later two plates arrived. One full of Eat Your Green’s version of avocado on toast which was actually squash all mashed up with some chilli, oil, garlic and house salsa. The sourdough was fresh and soft with the perfect chewy come crusty crust it’s meant to have and despite being quite full already, it went down a treat.
The second bowl was quite a healthy dish called Kimchi Hash which consisted of roasted winter veg re-fried with celeriac mash, kale, grains and tons of delicious kimchi.
By now we’d got to know the other two guests on our Leeds Food Tour a bit better and the initial awkwardness and small talk type of conversation had moved on to more genuine chat about our families, what we we’re doing for Christmas, our children including parenting tales and adventures (always a fun topic).
Eat Your Greens wasn’t my favourite stop in terms of what dish we ate that day, but it was in terms of atmosphere. I could easily feel comfortable here dining on my own or reading a book with a cup of coffee.
If there’s one thing you think of when somebody asks you to name a traditional Yorkshire food or tradition, it must be the good old Yorkshire pudding, right? And if not, then what on earth are you thinking of? If you’ve never had one, you’re 100% missing out. Most commonly eaten with a Roast dinner or as the base of a Toad in the Hole (praying you know what this is too) but also sometimes, and just as traditional, they’re also eaten as dessert. Lots of Yorkshire folk eat them with jam smothered on, or butter, or even honey! And if you’re pulling a face at that thought of this, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
Wapentake create the perfect Yorkshire puds, along with lots of other traditional Yorkshire dishes. Despite its unusual sushi sounding name this place is Yorkshire through and through. All their ingredients, like everywhere else we visited, are locally sourced. I challenge you to find anywhere in Leeds more Yorkshire to eat than Wapentake.
I was amused to see ‘crisp sandwiches’ on T’ menu which may seem bizarre, but they are made with the best of the best crisps too – Seabrook’s! Spotting one being brought out for another table with a gigantic mound of Seabrook crisps wedged between two doorstop chunks of fresh bread, I instantly wanted to order one. I make these at home all the time and if you don’t slather on real butter then you’re not doing it right… FYI!
Wapentake bake their own bread on site every day, using it for their own sandwiches, as well as selling it on its own, in case you want a freshly baked loaf to take home. Interestingly, and thanks for our Leeds town planner friend on the Leeds Food Tour, we also learned about the investment Wapentake received from the Heritage fund to refurbish the building. It’s quirky, cosy and interesting with all its original features still in place.
Anyway, with a little pot of veggie gravy to go with our Yorkshire puds we munched away occasionally sipping on a glass of Kirkstall Pale wondering how on earth I was going to fit in any more food after this!
Nell told us a little bit more about Wapentake and some more tales about the history of Yorkshire desserts, cakes and bakes before we wrapped up for the final time, said goodbye to the barman in a very Yorkshire looking flat-cap and moved on.
We passed Call Street and I had a weird drunken memory pop into my mind. One of Leeds most famous nightspots it’s home to everything from cool rock ‘n’ roll haunts to secret cocktail bars… I now know where the secret gin bar is (no signs, no logo, it’s not even on maps) so if you need to know, send me a message and I’ll explain! 😉
Friends of Ham specialise in the finest charcuterie, cheese, craft beer and wine. Not the most veggie-friendly of places but if, like me, you can ignore what you don’t like, you’ll be fine.
The only kind of food acceptable to serve on wooden boards, I knew we were going to be eating lots more cheese and I was unsure of whether I could genuinely stomach any more, but the thought of a really good glass of red wine to finish off such a lovely day and foodie adventure spurred me on.
The cheese list includes Old Winchester and Young Buck to Ticklemore and Harboune Blue. There’s olive oil dribbled chunky bread or crackers with which to eat this with and little pots of fiery sweet jelly to smear across it.
A buzzing atmosphere, a friendly crowd with friendly staff, it’s also conveniently located a stone’s throw away from Leeds train station making it the perfect place to end our Leeds food tour. We talked about what we enjoyed the most about our day, shared some photos, enjoyed our cheese and crackers, said our goodbyes and Jo and I jumped on our train back over to York.
Please, if you visit Leeds, contact Nell and make it a priority to get yourself on a Leeds food tour. She’s a gem, she caters for everyone and you can tell she’s passionate and takes pride on people enjoying the food she introduces them to. Whether you’re a fellow Yorkshire person, from the UK or further afield in the world, just go. You really won’t find a better way to spend four hours exploring Leeds, meeting new people and getting to eat and enjoy such an eclectic choice of food.
Tempted? Here’s the link again… https://leedsfoodtours.com/
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I live in Bradford just next door to Leeds and I’ve never been to these places. I’ll definitely have to check them out – all those pictures are making me hungry!
It’s a fab food tour! So close for you too x