Date Night in Leeds: Where to Go

The best date night in Leeds is dinner downstairs at the Empire Cafe on Fish Street, followed by live jazz at The Domino Club, hidden behind a barbershop in the Grand Arcade. If that is booked, try Kendells Bistro by candlelight on St Peter's Square, or the tasting menu at Chef Jono at V&V on New Briggate. Below is how to build a whole evening, from first drink to last, with some ideas for when dinner and drinks feels like too much pressure.

Dinner

The Empire Cafe, 6 Fish Street. The basement dining room is low-lit and all exposed brick, and the menu is small plates for sharing that changes every few weeks. Steak and chips is the trademark. It was ranked 31st in the Good Food Guide's Best Local Restaurants 2026, so book.

Kendells Bistro, 3 St Peter's Square. A French bistro with vintage posters and candles on the tables. French onion soup, escargot, braised lamb shank and crème brûlée. It is a classic for a reason.

Chef Jono at V&V, 68 New Briggate. A tasting menu in an intimate room where you can chat to the chef, which is useful if conversation dries up. Past dishes include sea bass tartare with kimchi and a mushroom tiramisu.

Tharavadu, 7 to 8 Mill Hill. Keralan cooking under a wooden roof with seascape artwork. Share the prawn and mango curry with an appam.

Tattu, Minerva House, East Parade. Modern Chinese under a cherry blossom tree. Wagyu beef dim sum, Shanghai black cod, and an Old World Spritz with plum sake and mango.

Shears Yard, 11 to 15 Wharf Street. Relaxed fine dining in a building dating from the 1800s, all brick and filament bulbs. King scallop tartare, then lamb rump with wild mushroom biryani.

Six by Nico, 9 East Parade. A six-course menu that changes theme every six weeks, with wine and cocktail pairings. Good for a second date, because you have something to talk about.

LIVIN'Italy, Granary Wharf. Ask for the quieter upstairs, which may come with a view of the River Aire, and order the pappardelle and the tiramisu.

Drinks

The Domino Club, behind the barbershop in the Grand Arcade, has live jazz, funk and soul and unusual cocktails. Queues can hit half an hour at weekends, so go early. The Maven runs a tasting of five cocktails themed around famous drinkers for £30 each. Sky Lounge, 13 storeys up at Granary Wharf, is the one for sunset. And Roland's on Call Lane has a hidden rooftop beer garden for something more casual.

Something to do

• Hyde Park Picture House. A gas-lit historic cinema in Hyde Park where you can take a beer in. Cottage Road Cinema in Headingley is the other old-world option.
• Brudenell Social Club. Live music most nights. A pint of Virtuous and a bag of Scampi Fries is the correct order.
• Chance & Counters, Merrion Street. A board game bar with over 500 games across two floors, plus smash burgers. Good for finding out how competitive someone really is.
• NQ64. A retro arcade bar with Tetris, Street Fighter and Mario Kart, and cocktails.
• Chaophraya cookery class. Learn to make steamed dumplings and Massaman curry together, then eat the evidence.
• Huffletuft, Aire Place Mills. Design a rug, tuft it with a tufting gun and take it home. A date that leaves you with furniture.
• Leeds Art Gallery. Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, and a quiet place to talk.
• The Meanwood Valley Trail. A walk out from near the city centre with views over the valley, for a daytime date, ending at a Meanwood pub.

Three ways to do it

The classic. Drinks at The Maven, dinner at Kendells, nightcap at The Domino Club.

The impress. Sunset at Sky Lounge, tasting menu at Chef Jono, then a walk along the river.

The easy one. A film at Hyde Park Picture House, then a curry and a pint on the way home.

Booking

For a Friday or Saturday, book dinner a week ahead, especially the Empire Cafe and Chef Jono. Weeknights are easier and often better: the rooms are calmer and you can actually hear each other. If you both like a sing-song, Hello Music Lounge at House of Fu has karaoke rooms: noodles in the restaurant first, songs after. For more ideas, see the Leeds-List romantic restaurants guide and the Leeds-List date ideas list.