Hi,
Happy to be of assistance!
A few in that original post that are no longer with us, (which you may be aware of)…
Reliance is now 3’s a crowd which I wouldn’t recommend.
Hana Matsuri moved their omakase offering to the centre of Leeds and I think it’s now £280 a head for the menu. Their old place in meanwood now does ‘snacks’ and small plates, I still haven’t been.
Yokohama is now Hama in a bigger venue down the road, prices have gone up. I doubt you would be overly impressed by it if you have access to Korean food where you are.
Crown Chinese recently closed and will not reopen until they have found a new site, probably spring time.
Pizza loco is gone and is a new pizza place but I haven’t tried it.
Greedy pig is indeed Swine that Dines. The latter name used to be their evening pop-up when it was a breakfast/brunch cafe but now I guess it’s that all the time now. Haven’t been for a couple of years but it’s always very busy so I assume they are still doing things well and the chef/owner clearly knows his stuff.
Hern is still doing great food and the other places are all still going as far as I know.
A few more places worth considering:
There is a newcomer to Leeds called Bavette in the suburb of Horsforth which I really enjoyed and has a very solid reputation. I believe it won the award for best neighborhood restaurant in the whole of the UK in this year’s Good Food Guide and got listed by Michelin within months of opening. It’s very affordable and decent food.
My favourite for South Indian is now Trissur Pooram on Kirkstall Road. They are banging out some incredible flavours. Service is a bit haphazard and unpolished which can either be frustrating/charming depending on your mood and expectations! The building itself is a bit chilly in winter but I’ll happily wrap up warm for what they serve. Not really a special occasion place - you just go for the food.
Kino is a restaurant attached to the theatre in Leeds, and was part of a big refurb of the adjoining venue. They had a rotating chef on a bi-monthly(?) basis with totally different menus. Fun idea but doesn’t do much for consistency. I think I may have read that they have changed away from this concept now and have a permanent chef but I could be imagining it. Worth a look at some reviews as it’s a good spot.
Zucco is a nice mid-range neighborhood contemporary Italian. Jay Raynor wrote it up favourably for The Guardian/Observer a year or two back so worth searching for that review.
Wens for good and authentic leaning Chinese (Jay Raynor has also written this one up a while back).
I can’t help with any recs for Xmas day unfortunately. I think you would be hard pushed to find goose here in Leeds even if any places are open for Xmas dinner.
