Leeds is known to have some really great restaurants and independent food establishments. On a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon, I had the pleasure of joining a food tour of Leeds, organised by Jet2 Holidays. Leading the tour was Leeds Food Tours and the theme of the tour involved a delightful mix of sampling delicious food from various Jet2 destinations you can fly to from Leeds Bradford Airport. We all met outside the Queens Hotel, conveniently located near the city’s railway station. Join me throughout this blog post as we walked around Leeds sampling a variety of culinary gems.
Leeds Food Tours was set up in 2019 by Ellen, with the aim of showcasing the best independent restaurants, pubs, street food stalls and more in Leeds city centre via Food Tours. Leeds Food Tours was originally set up with tourists in mind, but Ellen quickly realised that a huge proportion of guests were Leeds locals wanting to discover new places to eat. Lynda has worked with Ellen at Leeds Food Tours since 2023 and is a tour guide, Lynda was our guide leading us for around Leeds for our food tour.
IAMDÖNER
IAMDÖNER, 14a Infirmary St, Leeds LS1 2JP
The first stop of the food tour was Germany! Fun fact we learned: doner kebabs are the number one street food choice in Berlin. Most people here in the UK may associate a doner kebab with the end of a night out, but on this occasion – it was the middle of the day. I can be quite particular about doner kebabs, but this kebab actually melted in your mouth – it was so much more than just a sandwich/wrap. Freshly prepared flat bread, with thinly sliced meat and a mixture of tomato, feta and crispy fried vegetables. All topped with chill sauce and garlic mayonnaise. The portion size was surprisingly big! As we were tucking into our kebab wraps, everyone in the group was nodding at each other in approval.
ElGato Negro Tapas
ElGato Negro Tapas, 35 Park Row, Leeds, LS1 5JL
We walked off the kebabs for a bit and our next destination was Spain. My fiancé Tom and I love tapas and we visit Spain (Menorca in particular) often as Tom’s parents live on the island, so we were very excited as we walked up to the ElGato Negro Tapas restaurant and realised this was the next place on the food tour. This particular restaurant was a highlight for the both of us. A long table in a private room upstairs had been reserved for us as a group. We were treated to a selection of tasty tapas, which included aged Manchego. This restaurant did not disappoint, both Tom and I agreed we would love to return sometime soon next time we decide to treat ourselves to a meal out in Leeds.
Tavernaki Bistro
Tavernaki Bistro, 8 Great George Street, Leeds, LS1 3DW
The third stop was Greece on our food tour, specifically Tavernaki Bistro. This Greek Cypriot authentic hidden gem was just beyond The Headrow on Great George Street. Each table was filled with a feast of stunning dishes including feta cheese, juicy olives, Dolmades stuffed vine leaves, Greek salad and so much more. We each chose a drink at this restaurant, so I decided to have a beautiful and bright red summery cocktail. All of it was incredible. Gosh, the entire group were beginning to feel so full up by this point!
Stuzzi
Stuzzi, 7 Merrion Street, Leeds, LS1 6PQ
The fourth stop of the day was Italy. Stuzzi is an Italian Bistro on Merrion Street. The group was shown to a long table in the middle of the restaurant, it was quite busy by this time as it was a Saturday afternoon. Plates piled up with flavoursome arancini balls were placed in front of us on the table. These were bursting with flavour and had a buttery, melt in your mouth centre.
Mr Mackerel
Mr Mackerel, Kirkgate Market, Market Kitchen, Leeds, LS2 7HW
The final destination on our food tour was Turkey, which was located in Kirkgate Market. By this point, the majority of us were so full and couldn’t eat any more. The first time I tried mackerel was on holiday in Turkey, it’s very popular there. We were each served Mr Mackerel’s speciality, a mackerel fillet (which is grilled as you watch) with salad inside a white bread roll. Simple, but yummy.
At the end of the tour, every single person was incredibly full. The four hour guided food tour was such a wonderful experience, visiting five food establishments in total – three restaurants and two street food places, which provided a great balance. A huge thank you to the team at Jet2 and Leeds Food Tours for inviting me (with my fiancé at my plus one) for this absolutely delicious day out in Leeds!
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