Now celebrating five years in Leeds' Grand Arcade, Stuzzi is the brainchild of four English guys ‘obsessed’ with Italy and their passion really shines through.
Stuzzi, short for stuzzichini, are small plates of delicious Italian cuisine similar to tapas, best eaten shared and in-between drinks.
And they're serving some of the best stuzzi you can get your hands on at, well, Stuzzi.
It's been almost a decade since the restaurant was founded in Harrogate, but this year marks five years since Stuzzi opened its second site right here in Leeds City Centre.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The Grand Arcade eatery has survived a global pandemic, Brexit and the cost-of-living-crisis, and is only maintaining its reputation as one of the city's best Italian restaurants.
And don't just take our word for it, because the Good Food Guide has just awarded them a spot in the UK's top 50 best Italian restaurants for 2024.
An accolade undoubtedly very well deserved.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
In Stuzzi's beautiful space on Merrion Street complete with vaulted ceilings, exposed brick and red leather accents, you’ll find the perfect blend of traditional recipes alongside modern Italian cooking using only the very best ingredients.
Jimbob Philips, Tom Pearson, Brett Lee and Nick Harvey founded the restaurant, a group of visionaries fondly named the 'Stuzzi Boys'.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Using inspiration from their numerous trips around Italy, Stuzzi is a real love letter to the world's greatest food country and is ever-evolving with new discoveries as they fit jaunts to Venice, Naples, Tuscany and beyond into their busy schedules.
They make their pasta fresh, in-house every single day, utilising unique ingredients like spinach and beetroot in the dough to present the diner with something a little bit different.
A standout dish we sampled on our last visit was the beetroot cavatelli with walnut, cardamom, espresso cream and whipped goats curd.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
A dish with a beautiful purple hue that had an incredible depth of flavour, yet let the homemade and perfectly al dente pasta do the talking.
With a menu that changes weekly with the seasons, you might not be able to sample this dish on your next visit but there'll undoubtedly be something just as delicious on offer. And that's what makes Stuzzi so special.
This is the place to go for dinner amongst friends who adore food and love trying new things, Stuzzi encourage a social style of dining with their array of imaginative small plates that'll have you glancing back to the menu after each plate is scraped clean.
Neapolitan lasagna fritti, Tuscan soup, Roman street food - each dish seamlessly combines traditional recipes with innovative, modern flair and it is nothing short of exceptional.
And don't forget to kick things off with an Aperol Spritz, we'd go as far to say that it's the best one you can find in Leeds - and quite possibly anywhere outside of Italy.
To find out more and to book a table at Stuzzi, take a look at their website.
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
The Swine That Dines announces the official opening date of its brand new restaurant
Clementine Hall
Much-loved Leeds Bistro The Swine Bistro, formerly known as The Swine That Dines, has moved to a bigger space in Headingley.
Although it’s gone through a few name changes over the years since launching as The Greedy Pig cafe in 2012, this independent spot has long been a firm favourite for Leeds locals for some time now.
Run by chef couple Jo and Stu Myers, they’ve been operating out of North Street where it’s all about cooking seasonal produce simply and with an added ‘little bit of sunshine’.
But now Swine Bistro has moved up over to Headingley, taking up a unit previously occupied by Jam hairdressers on Otley Road.
Image: Supplied
And the time has finally come for them to open their doors, as they announce their first service will take place on Friday 4 April with bookings open from today, Thursday 20 March.
The Myers will be welcoming head chef Kirsty Cheetham, who won Observer Food Monthly’s Best Sunday Lunch award in 2018 and 2022 when she ran The Queen o’t owd Thatch in South Milford, Leeds.
The expanded space in the restaurant has allowed the team to curate a bigger wine list which will include natural wines from Wayward Wines and Latitude Wines as well as local beers from Ilkley Brewery and Horsforth Brewery.
Image: Supplied
The team remains passionate about locally sourced ingredients and has partnered with a variety of Yorkshire suppliers including R&J Yorkshire for its fresh meat, Tarbetts fishmonger, cheese from George & Joseph cheesemongers and beans from micro roaster, Chipp Coffee Co.
Jo Myers, co-owner of the Swine Bistro said: “It’s taken a huge amount of time and effort to realise our dream to revamp what was previously a hairdresser into a fully functioning kitchen and restaurant. It’s been a wild ride but we’re excited, and slightly nervous, to finally open our doors.
“We love the vibe in Headingley and the time out has allowed us to have fun with our menu as well as take part in lots of essential taste testing of ingredients and drinks from our brilliant local suppliers. We can’t wait to welcome guests into our new restaurant!”
Clementine Hall -
4th April 2024 
