"The Tetley" bar and kitchen: Leeds

At the weekend, I took a trip up North to Leeds for a few days with the girls. We hadn’t planned much for the weekend, so it was filled mostly with catching up, watching re-runs of The Valleys and a lot of eating!

Sunday morning we woke up thinking that we had to do something “cultural” with our time in Leeds and Steph suggested Tropical World. I was initially sold, mainly by the meerkats (I love a meerkat) and the butterfly house (Charlie and Nat hate flying things, so the idea of them enclosed in with a load of flying insects sparked the mischievous inside me). However we realised it involved the effort of getting a bus so we gave up on cultural. So our next best ideas was to do something that we do best….eat.

Where to eat was an easy decision – let’s go somewhere close to home. And Steph came up trumps with our luncheon venue which was a stone’s throw from her flat. Perfect.

picture from The Tetley

So even though less than 12 hours beforehand we were scoffing some dirty pizza in a kebab house, we headed to The Tetley.

It took my tired self a while to understand that this wasn’t Tetley tea but Tetley as in the ale, and even longer to understand that this wasn’t just a restaurant. The light bulb moment was when they offered a pint of Tetleys and I thought that a pint of tea was a mental idea! Then it clicked.

What’s “The Tetley”?

The Tetley is ‘a centre for contemporary art and learning’, housed within the 1930’s Tetley Brewery HQ. The building contains art, culture, meeting rooms and galleries (which unfortunately were being refurbished so we didn’t get our cultural again), all within a relaxed and open space.

Steph chilling and pretending to be intellectual 

Whilst it doesn’t sound the place, it actually also has a great bar and kitchen, with a touch of history within it as all the chair and tables have been upcycled from the former 1922 Bar. All the profits from this bar and kitchen support their artistic and learning programmes at The Tetley, so whilst you are munching on your food you can feel good that you are helping a good cause!

What’s on offer?

They offer an impressive menu, from brunches to salads, and English comfort foods to afternoon tea.  Things that got me tempter were the sharing platters, the toad in the hole, the side of cabbage, bacon and maple syrup and the rhubarb crumble.

Me, Charlie and Nat finally managed to decide on the Tetley battered fish and chunky chips, whilst Roisin and Steph had the high afternoon tea. With cute little sandwiches, macaroons, batternberg slice, Parkin*, and the biggest scone my greedy eyes have ever set eyes on (which was swerved warm).

got to admit, I had food envy on this!

The food was great and not overly expensive, and the staff were really lovely. We nuzzled ourselves into the sofas, which were perfectly comfy for a lazy Sunday with friends. From the outside you would expect this place to be a bit dark and industrial but it was light, airy and laid back.

If you are looking for an eatery that is a bit different from the usual spots then I would definitely recommend trying this place out!

X x X

*I had this described to me as some kind of Northern treacle cake thing?!