Leeds is satiated with tasty and chic places to eat, from cafés where you can get a freshly brewed coffee and home-made cake, to exquisite fine dining restaurants serving gastronomic wonders. The restaurants in Leeds are recognised as amongst the best in the country, with acclaimed eateries catering for every taste and creating flavours from around the world.

Leeds city centre has more restaurants than ever and there are lots of little gems tucked away that are a joy to find.  The extensive array of eateries range from budget bistro’s to award winning restaurants and dining venues that offer exotic. You are guaranteed to find a venue and a cuisine to satisfy your needs.   Here are just a few suggestions.

Located in the Harvey Nichols store in the centre of Leeds is Fourth Floor Café and Bar, where you can sit and admire the fantastic views and city lights at night whilst sampling the local produce. Choices from the menu include pan-fried sardine with herb crumb, sautéed potatoes and pea and mint; char-grilled free range pork loin with caponata salad and salsa Verde, and plum frangipane tart with vanilla mascarpone. It is often chosen as a place to eat before attending the theatre due to its accessibility to many of the theatres, including the Grand Theatre, The West Yorkshire Playhouse and the Henry Moore Sculpture Gallery and the Light Cinema.

Open since 1994, Arts is one of Leeds's original Café Bars and a fashionable destination for local diners due to a reputation for remarkably first-rate cuisine in comfortable surroundings.  The venue is set off by regular art exhibitions by local and regional artists. Check out the Yorkshire plate with its Wilson's pork pie, Round Green Farm venison terrine, homemade chutney and marinated beetroot and rib-eye steak with béarnaise sauce and croquette of beef marrow. Desserts are not to be missed especially the strawberry, passion fruit and pink champagne jelly with vanilla Chantilly cream or carpaccio of pineapple and mango with ginger and orange candy.

The waterfront is a great location for any dining venue and Brasserie Forty 4 is no exception. This busy, frivolous restaurant is highly popular with a fun and lively ambience and features regularly for the excellent service and good food at reasonable prices. Popular not only with the locals and visitors it’s also in style with local TV personalities, performers from the theatre, and musicians. Mains include such delights as roast pheasant, free range Yorkshire pork wrapped in ham and served with caramelised apple and wholegrain mustard sauce spinach and mushroom and ricotta strudel. Desserts can’t be ignored with the restaurants famous chocolate fondue enriched with marshmallows and fresh fruit and the pear and blackberry crumble and mango pannacotta all demanding attention.

At the perimeter of Temple Newsham you will come across Morenos, the only genuine Moroccan restaurant in Yorkshire. As well as local trade, it also draws in people from all over the county for its use of fresh ingredients. Dishes are marinated before being slowly cooked using traditional Moroccan spices and methods. Tagines, with their shallow terracotta pots, are one of many specialties, along with a variety of lamb, fish and chicken dishes. Not to be forgotten, the Moroccan national dish, harira and cous cous is an excitingly different dish. Into the bargain, the restaurant offers an incredible range of tapas with dishes from grilled sardines to paella.