Headingley Food Guide

Headingley has a veritable feast for foodies, lots of restaurants, eateries and take aways, here's just a few of our very favourites.

DARE CAFE BAR

Dare is a small unit - with a big reputation. Frosted glass on the lower half of its narrow frontage stop too much rubber-necking from the busy narrow pavement directly outside. Within yards of the Otley Road/North Lane junction, this is the heart of Headingley’s shopping area and there is fierce competition for the lunchtime pound in numerous sandwich shops and cafes.

From the glass to the lower case writing and lighting, Dare café bar looks the business. Once inside, order at the counter to the back of the shop, then go and grab one of the tables that can get crowded at peak times. Many of these are for two people and there is not a lot of room between them all. Bare brick walls are covered in picture frames, sometimes containing original art. A great place to linger over a mug of coffee with the papers or to grab that snack.

SALVO'S

Tucked away behind a dark blue exterior and discreet window blinds is Salvo's - Headingley’s smartest eating place, on Otley Road, heading out of town, watch out for the neon display of the Dynasty Chinese restaurant and just a couple of units along the parade is this less intrusive favourite.

Parking outside is always at a premium. Terracotta and wood maybe a cliché but step inside Salvo's, nestle a drink in the bar/waiting area and here the decor works.

Well over a decade offering fine Italian-influenced food, with a contemporary feel, brings in the crowds for lunch and dinner. A haven for Headingley’s business people and the ladies who lunch, it is a favourite of the rocket and radicchio set.

One of the few places in this area that is not targeted straight at students, the evening menu might stretch the allowance but watch out for the lunch-time specials that can be a winner on a limited budget. Always crowded, the acoustics can be a bit of a problem when the tables are in full swing. If you can stand the aural battering it gives the place an enviable buzz.

Plenty of restaurants in Leeds claim to be the place to be seen, but Salvo's is also worth it for the food.

TARIQ's

Because it is just a ball's throw away from the Headingley ground, It attracts customers from all over the globe looking for a curry fix.

It is also one of Headingley's main food attractions for students, located as it is just round the corner from the Oak and the Skyrack pubs (in fact if you want to know what's cooking, try sitting in the Skyrack's beer garden for a while and you will soon find out.)

The big sign in the window also emphasises that the restaurant reserves a special welcome for the thousands of students who return there every year for a good meal at reasonable prices. In many ways, what is on offer at Tariq's is no different from any other Indian restaurant in terms of choice: korma to dopiaza, madras to vindaloo. But the number of customers in the restaurant every day of the week (except Monday, even Tariq's has to have a day off) perhaps testifies to the popularity and quality of the food there.

A takeaway is also fully operational at Tariq's with a delivery service, maybe responding to a need from local residents who want to get on with their essays/theses/TV-watching from the comfort of their own homes.

FISH & CHIPS

Leeds could claim to be the spiritual home of the original British fast food - even the National Federation of Fish Fryers is based here. Originally conceived as a cheap takeaway for the working man, fish and chips still play a large part in the culinary diet of Headingley folk.

Three chip ‘oils stand out. All are renowned and deservedly popular. Bretts, Bryan’s and Midgley’s make a triumvirate for the connoisseurs of haddock to wonder at..

BRETTS

Bretts is an ivy-clad terrace in North Lane which is both a takeaway and restaurant. During the summer the Test Match Special team can be seen dining here in breaks in the cricket.

It does get very busy at Bretts all year round, but even if you do get caught in the queue your patience will be rewarded.

SIMMY'S

This is a traditional takeaway located in the narrow St Michael’s Lane on the way to the Headingley ground. On a big-match day the queue will be out of the shop causing a veritable log jam.

Even though it’s a British tradition to join a queue, any old queue, in this instance, this should be seen as a vote of confidence in the fine, traditional fayre on offer inside.

BRYAN'S

Bryan's is conveniently located just behind the Three Horseshoes and is therefore an indispensable post-pint stop.

A busy restaurant compliments the continuous takeaway trade. Such is the trade that customers often just abandon cars on double yellow lines to join the hungry queues.

(Note that directly opposite is Beer Ritz, a specialist off-licence crammed full of varied brews from around the globe - cheers!)