A bit of fun fine dining, a street food feast or a few cocktails while you ogle the interiors? You pick your mood; Zoe Perrett picks the place
The mood: Torn: half of you’s feeling casual; the other wants to get fancy
The venue: Dough In The City
What’s on the menu: Fine food with a playful twist
In brief: Neon signs bearing cheeky phrases like ‘I licked it so it’s mine’ and equally-bantz staff greet Dough’s customers, whether it’s for a quick morning coffee or a leisurely three-course dinner (for Dough, don’t’cha know, offers all-day dining). As Leeds has come to expect from Vice Group venues, the menu roves the globe – and individual dishes often include ingredients that might befuddle a chef were they confronted with them during a surprise bag round of once-popular teatime telly show Ready Steady Cook. You brain may scream that the components have no place on the same plate, but your tastebuds will shut it right up when they’re getting wrapped around the likes of steak tartare with wasabi and parkin. Classically-trashy food items aren’t off-limits, either: vis the Dairylea which features alongside chicken bhuna and mint in a samosa snack.
Don’t miss: The great-value £10 Sunday roast. Choose between classic, vegan, dirty and posh options.
Click here to visit the website
The mood: Craving a bit of everything… and a lot of booze
The venue: Assembly Underground
What’s on the menu: Street food from small indie businesses
In brief: Occupying a space which was once Leeds nightclub Carpe Diem, Assembly Underground is now home to six street food kitchens, Stage Espresso’s second coffee shop, and two bars from Vocation & Co: a 50-tap beer bar and The Staff Room cocktail speakeasy. With an industrial aesthetic and food choices from around the globe, it’s little wonder it’s become such a hot hangout. With Slap & Pickle’s burgers and loaded fries, Brazilian grills at Bread & Butter, Falafel Guys’ wraps and salads, noodle soup by Holy Ramen, Jah Jyot’s award-winning Punjabi street food, and Pizza Authority turning out Neapolitan versions of the dish it’s named for, suffice to say that there’s too much to try in one visit… but plenty of reasons to return.
Don’t miss: The chance to sample widely. Pro tip: bring mates and steal some of their tea along with your own.
Click here to visit the website
The mood: On the hunt for serious #InteriorInspo
The venue: Bill’s
What’s on the menu: A solid cocktail list and crowd-pleasers from around the globe
In brief: The double-height-ceilinged, multi-roomed, two-level building housing the newly-refreshed Leeds branch of Bill’s provides an excellent canvas for some seriously desirable decor. A multitude of eclectic parts – fruit-adorned Victorian-style wallpaper, distressed embossed tiles, quirky framed cartoon prints, armchairs upholstered in deep green velour, and oh-so-many more noteworthy features which should make the place feel totally disjointed- all add up to a miraculously, majestically harmonious whole. The result is that Bill’s a rather lovely environment in which to sip a few cocktails at the imposing (and amply-stocked) bar. Visit on a Friday night for live acoustic music and late-night opening.
Don’t miss: The Kill Bill cocktail: a funky-fresh blend of blanco tequila, cherry liqueur, lime and agave syrup.
Click here to visit the website
Image credits: Assembly Underground interior by Ed Sowerby
Amuse Bouche 