Wednesday 29 November 2023 marks the opening date for the city's newest steakhouse, Flat Iron.
And to celebrate the restaurant launch, the restaurant will be giving away 250 Wagyu steaks from the Flat Iron herd from 5:30pm onwards, on a first come, first served basis.
The company first announced it’s expansion outside of London in April with a restaurant due to open in Manchester later this year, shortly followed by another planned opening in Cambridge this July.
The Leeds site is opening inside the former Church Institute venue that hosted Byron Burgers until earlier this year.
Image: Jo Richie via Chapter 81
On the very simple menu, diners will find one steak option – The Flat Iron Steak – alongside various sides and sauces such as beef dripping chips, creamed spinach, crispy bone marrow garlic mash and truffled macaroni cheese.
Launching to fame back in 2012 with accessible feather blade steaks served at £10, Flat Iron has since expanded across London to a total of 12 sites.
Now the fairly priced steak restaurant will open it’s doors in Leeds this Autumn, taking over the former Church Institute on Lands Lane in what will be a 110-cover eatery.
Image: Flat Iron Steakhouse
Elsewhere, further side choices include a simple green salad and roast aubergine with tomato, basil, plus sauces like bearnaise, peppercorn, wild mushroom, and homemade smoked chilli mayo, with a short list of ‘Beef Specials’ including a smoked chilli cheeseburger, Scottish bavette and flat iron Sirloin.
Flat Iron’s other restaurants, however, often list steak specials from its butcher partners and its Shoreditch site even features a 15-foot-long roasting spit.
Founder Charlie Carroll spent nine months researching beef before the first opening, even teaching himself to butcher as part of that in-depth knowledge-seeking process.
Image: Flat Iron Steakhouse
During that period, he discovered that little-known secondary cuts from the very best beef could be exceptionally tasty but reasonably affordable, leading to what he terms the ‘democratisation of great steak.’
Located on the corner of Albion Place and Lands Lane, the two-floor restaurant is housed in the former Church Institute and is a stone’s throw from Trinity Leeds, Victoria Quarter and Briggate.
Continuing Flat Iron’s single-minded commitment to serving great steak for everyone, the menu will feature the famous Flat Iron steak alongside much-loved sides, such as homemade beef dripping chips, crispy bone marrow garlic mash, truffled macaroni cheese and creamed spinach. A rotating board of beef specials will also be available, including a Wagyu cut of the day, Scottish bavette and the iconic Bearnaise Cheeseburger.
When speaking of the Wagyu herd, Flat Iron’s Head of Beef, Fred Smith, said ‘This beef is really special - I believe that Wagyu genetics, with its natural propensity to produce marbled meat, and the fine pastures of Charles’ Yorkshire farm, combine to produce beef of remarkable quality. I am delighted to share this with you in Leeds. See you on the 29th November!’
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Eats
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
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!”
Sophie Smith -
27th November 2023 
