Kendells Bistro in Leeds

This is such a good place. The food was brilliant, staff are friendly and helpful. I was so stuffed after and extremely content. Took a mate that had never been and he loved it. Highly recommend

I never would have a) known about this place or b) thought to have come here given the distance from the train station and a plethora of other eateries being closer but it was great we did. A fantastic experience beginning to end. It's clear Mrs. Kendell runs a tight ship and everything was lovely. Service just right (correct level of friendliness/professionalism), food excellent and atmosphere lovely. Sure it is not cheap but it is a quality product, one which I recommend you try. It's located just opposite the city centre studio of BBC Yorkshire and the Aagrah, by the Playhouse. Opposite the bus station. And ultimately only c. 15 minutes walk from the train station so no great hike if you know beforehand!

As you walk in you're immediately hit with a beautiful room, followed by swift and welcoming service. We did not want for anything, water arrived without needing to ask, food and drinks shortly thereafter. I have to say this was in my top 5 restaurant experiences. The plating and flavour of the dishes were great. If there is something listed as an ingredient, you can pick out the individual component in each bite, something I greatly admire! The house white was not bad either :)

Excellent food, service and atmosphere. We've been here about 6 times, easily our favourite restaurant for special occasions.

You really can not go wrong here. The place is gorgeous. The staff are lovely. The wine is banging. It's not unreasonably expensive. Everything about it is lovely.

This is my favourite restaurant. Incredible food, lovely atmosphere, great staff. Absolutely worth the cost. Puts much more expensive options in its shadow. You could drown me in the lamb sauce and I'd die smiling.

Oh my Gooooood, this place. Absolutely breathtaking, so romantic, cosy, warm, and literally place you could sit hours. Food - djeezuschrist, absolutely amazing. That onion soup and stake.... oh my, I literally can't find the best words to describe that deliciousness. Super friendly staff. Amazing place to go to enjoy the atmosphere and incredible food 😍

We came for my birthday on Saturday, this place is very special. We were given a warm welcome and Prosecco and cake for my birthday which was a really nice touch. We had oysters to start, followed by roast duck. The food was amazing and the wine was great too. I highly recommend this place for a special occasion! Thank you for a wonderful night.

Very nice cosy Parisian style bistro, a decent sized menu and plenty of specials we had mussels and scallops to start and for mains I had the venison which was very well cooked and my partner had the ham hock which she really enjoyed we shared a tarte Tatin to finish all washed down with a reasonably priced Chardonnay which was excellent The service was very good all in all a really nice dining experience we will definitely return.

Perfect ambience - really lovely restaurant. Friendly, knowledgeable and efficient service. Food was very good with great variety of dishes. Best eating experience in Leeds we have had for years.

It was quite a nice restaurant, great service, but the missus had lamb and wasn't quite happy with it.

Having booked the table for last night, I was rather disheartened to see some less than glowing recent reviews on here, some suggesting standards had slipped. I hadn’t been here since before lockdown so I was more than a little nervous. Well, I needn’t have been! From the first sip of my Negroni to the last mouthful of espresso, the dinner went beautifully. The two members of staff on duty were helpful and charming. We’d forgotten to mention it was a special birthday but the young woman serving our drinks heard this and returned with a glass of fizz for the birthday girl. The food was as I remembered it. No experimentation here, just good French bistro cooking and it was blissful. One thing I had forgotten was that you get served a pretty hefty plateful. Although everyone cleared their plates as nobody wanted to waste a morsel. We didn’t have room for desserts but, when two slices of a tarte au chocolat appeared on a nicely decorated plate arrived for our birthday friend, everyone’s eyes lit up. It was just gorgeous, from the light pastry to the silky smooth intensely flavoured filling. Given it was a special birthday, we threw caution to the wind, opting for the à la carte menu rather than the prix fixe one. With that and the cocktails, two glasses of pink champagne, a very nice bottle of wine, bread, olives and coffees, the bill per head was just over £60 and that included service. For such a lovely dinner, that was a bargain. I can’t wait to return.

Once again the food was beautiful will be booking again.

Expensive but nicely presented. Not much meat on my chicken for the money paid but everything looked good on the plate. A little fancy for my taste but I appreciate that’s just my opinion. Ambience is good but too dark to see what you’re eating. I would personally appreciate a little more light. My husband really enjoyed his salmon dish and really likes the restaurant. Service was excellent.

Nice venue, close to the Playhouse, and excellent, attentive, genuinely helpful staff. My husband's meal was fine - not wonderful, however, but mine was very disappointing. Sea bream with lots of (dangerous) bones with what was called a potato pancake which was an oily, tasteless mess which I found inedible. The waitress was very empathic and I was not charged, but I was very upset to receive such a poor main course. The puddings were good, however. In addition, the restaurant is candle lit and it was impossible to read the menu wiout using our phones. Also, the many flickering lights from the candles could potentially cause a seizure or migraine attack in people who are predisposed.

Beautiful restaurant, small but busy. Lovely atmosphere with lots of candles. The food was amazing, this is the second time we have been and we’ve been impressed each time

What a lovely place this I'd. We visited here a number of years ago and we're greeted with a glass of fizz and they also gave us chocolates before we left but that doesn't happen anymore. We still had a lovely 25th wedding anniversary meal and the food was delicious but the extras would have made our evening complete.

Very enjoyable evening at Kendall's Bistro. Delicious food and great service, with a lovely atmosphere. We will definitely return.

Another wonderful evening at Kendall’s the staff so nice and friendly, the atmosphere so unique and the food is always superb. Thank you…

Lovely to be back at Kendall’s and the food and atmosphere was as good as ever. We went to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and they didn’t disappoint. Thank you!

Excellent service ,food and value . Lovely ambiance

Lovely place and will go again. Service was impeccable and ambience was perfect. Main course and dessert cannot fault. However I ordered moules and my wife the scallops. The former half had opened and the latter were undercooked! It’s not difficult to cook these French staple starters so was a bit disappointed. My wife didn’t want to make a scene so I didn’t mention it at the time. Come on guys let’s check this at the pass.

Very nice place, friendly and attentive service. Set menu great value. Puddings classic french and delicious. French onion soup top nonch

Had the salmon, cod and prawn fish pie last night. There was hardly any seafood in it - mostly just big chunks of carrot and leek. Really wasn’t worth the money

Have been to Kendall’s many times and delighted to say that the whole experience remains as good as ever. Great food and great service alongside a super French Bistro ambience makes it one of the best restaurants in Leeds

The food was beautiful. The staff were lovely & attentive. Would definitely recommend.

Four of us Went for early dinner before concert at the Wardrobe Venue next door . Lovely ambiance with low lighting. Service was excellent and friendly . Food was amazing and great value for the pre theatre dinner . I’ll be back soon for date night with my wife .

Excellent all round. Ridiculous palaver to get to this page. Why verification codes? I'm only leaving a review not accessing money!!!

Unprepossessing exterior belies what awaits inside. Food, service and ambience exceptional.

This is beautiful candle lit restaurant and we received a lovely warm welcome as we arrived into the dining area. The menu was varied and with a good choice and there was a specials board available too. The dishes were good portions of hearty French food and the presentation was really good too. The was service from all the staff in the bistro was just exceptional.

We dined there on Thursday. And whilst the food is good, the bistro is so dark we couldn't see our food, let alone read the menu. When customers have to get their mobile phones out to read a menu, it is time to drop the pretentious candle lit dinner nonsense. The whole place needs an overhaul to bring it up to date. The restaurant interior resembles a bad holiday experience from the 1970s, and the gents toilets are a mess. There are much better place to eat in Leeds.

This is the first time I've posted a second review for a restaurant - but felt moved to do so after another superb meal for three at Kendells last night. Selection of food, ambience and - a bit of a cause of mine - service were all outstanding. Having been there an hour, I realised I was as relaxed and happy as I could have been at any eatery, after a gravadlax starter and Porc Normandie main. As always, I went for the sorbet for dessert - it didn't matter what flavour, as I've never tasted better than here. When out with family, it means a lot to have the unfussy attention of waiting-staff and the trust that any menu-selection will work out fine for all diners. I can't help but plan for the next visit to Kendells......

Le restaurant est vraiment très jolie! La cuisine française est au point, nous avons passé une très bonne soiree. Je recommande vivement. Update - went again in July 2024. We order lots of food (4 starters, 2 mains, 2 desserts). The only two things I would not recommend are the snails, cooked under some pastry and it was tasteless. And also the fish cake which was way too salty. Everything else was SPECTACULAR, I would still very much recommend.

We had a lovely evening after our son’s graduation day. He was given a celebratory glass of sparkling wine by the restaurant on our arrival. The staff were all very friendly and efficient.We had a delicious meal. The scallops starter was particularly good.The crème brûlées and melt in the mouth chocolate puddings were also excellent. We were then also given some strawberries and chocolate brownies courtesy of the restaurant . It topped off a wonderful family day perfectly.

Lovely experience. We were there for an anniversary and they greeted us with a glass of Prosecco and when we finished they gave us a little cake treat and icing wishing us a happy anniversary. Food was delightful as always and service was top notch. Have been many times before and will continue to visit.

The restaurant was so poorly lit we couldn’t read the menu let alone see our food. Like other diners we had to resort to using the lights on our mobile phones to read the menu and eat our food. Whilst the idea of a romantic candle lit meal sounds appealing, the fact that it was impossible simply see anything. Makes it absurd. While the food and service were good overall, the restaurant’s interior made it feel like we were dining in a bad 1970 sitcom.

Delicious food and excellent service - in a lovely peaceful environment.

As always, delicious food, beautiful setting,friendly and attentive staff.. a real French bistro experience…

We were treated to a voucher for our wedding anniversary and we were absolutely amazed by the food, service, attention to detail. We had a wonderful meal and we will be back again soon. Kendell’s Bistro is a hidden gem!

As usual a wonderful Dinner with excellent service from a polite attentative but not intrusive staff

We had a wonderful evening. The ambience was fabulous. The waiter brought my daughter a glass of Prosecco because we were celebrating her graduation, which was a lovely gesture. The food was excellent and the team could not do enough to make sure our evening was a success. We will definitely be back.

Visited numerous times over the years and it’s always our go to restaurant for a romantic evening. Beautiful restaurant, excellent staff and service, and fantastic delicious food. It was great to see it full and busy on a Saturday night.

Love the ambience of this place. It’s not often you get places that are mainly lit by candles. It makes the atmosphere so nice and welcoming. It’s my favourite part of the resturant The food is wonderful and very well cooked. Good size portions too! Staff are lovely too

Went with my daughter before the theatre. We hadn't booked, but the staff were able to accommodate us. They asked us if we were going to the Playhouse and the time of the performance. The staff were incredibly attentive, friendly, and extremely efficient. The ambience is lovely, subdued lighting with candlelight. The food was amazing. My daughter and I both had rib eye steaks, which were cooked to perfection exactly as we'd ordered. The House Wine we ordered was delicious. I've been here a couple of times before for family celebrations, which have been booked beforehand. It was lovely that our impromptu visit was just as special as our pre-booked visits. I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough. Fantastic food, wonderful staff, and amazing ambience. What more could you wish for?

Excellent restaurant. The best in Leeds in our opinion. Cannot fault it.

Really.looking forward to dinner but unfortunatly they had sold out of of my choices. Soup de posson ( sold out) selected the mussels ( sold out ) oysters ( sold out . I wanted seabass for main (sold out ) All gone by 8pm. When I spoke to the " Manger " he simple said we'll its Saturday and the chef did not order enough food. Must say the staff were very polite and apologetic.

Wonderfull meal for our anniversary dinner . Great food with warm service . Lovely romantic vibe

Delicious food. Fantastic attentive staff. Good value tea time menu.

Friendly staff . Great food with an excellent menu choice . Wonderful atmosphere . Very Romantic . Perfect venue for our wedding anniversary celebration.

Beautiful venue, very romantic with candles everywhere. Came for my second wedding anniversary with my husband. Food was absolutely delicious. Very sweet touches to mark our anniversary too.

Beautiful restaurant, great front of house staff let down by flavourless, mediocre food. Scallops with garlic butter devoid of any garlic. Calves liver, spongy, over cooked, mash needed seasoning, just had little flavour. Not the best dining experience.

Delightful evening meal with fantastic service

This restaurant is one of the most romantic and quirky spots in Leeds. We celebrated my birthday there last night and absolutely loved it. The service is spot on! The food is outstanding (we had mussels and goats cheese tart then steak Dianne and lamb rump) and the overall experience was superb. One thing I recommend that could take this restaurant to the next level is bringing in live entertainment at weekends. If there was a singer performing traditional french jazz music we would have stayed there all evening after dinner. In that area you will attract a theatre crowd that would pay for that type of entertainment. Thank you for having us. We will be back!

Very good food service as always will be back in the near future

Lovely table ( though rather dim lighting- so you may need your mobile torch to read the menu). Staff attentive without being fussy. Food came in good time so that we were able to get out to the theatre on time. The fish and sea food was delicious, as was my steak and the chips were honestly the tastiest I have ever had in a restaurant. Steak ( which I asked for medium cooked) delicious. Wine also lovely.

Warm welcome, delightful ambience and delicious food. Her vegetarian main course was, my wife said, one of the tastiest vegetarian dishes she has enjoyed. my sea bass was exceptionally good. It was a delightful meal, made even better by the efficient, friendly, informative servers who seemed to enjoy helping us to enjoy ourselves as much as we enjoyed the experience. It is one of our very favourite restaurants. Thank you all very much

Wonderful evening, what a warm unique experience it is at Kendall’s, underpinned by lovely staff and great food. Thank you…

It was me and my boyfriends 1 year anniversary tonight and it couldn’t be more perfect. The atmosphere and service was impeccable, and the food was delicious.

We visited to celebrate my husbands birthday and as our previous visits food and service was excellent. We selected the set menu which we think is good value for money.

This is a really good restaurant, service and food very good. I love the fact that the plates were nearly as hot as mine, you could feel the heat coming off them. Had the set menu which I thought was good value and good size portions, I particularly enjoyed the cheesecake although I couldn’t quite finish it. The only reason I’ve marked it down slightly is that it is very dark, I actually spilled water pouring it into my glass because I couldn’t see that it was actually full.

Great Bistro, food, service & ambiance all brilliant. Would highly recommend

Always a fabulous dining experience. Lovely and attentive staff :)

Food and service both good. For us experience spoiled by the restaurant being too dark, difficult to see menus, food etc. We’ve been to Parisian bistros and they’re not this dark!

Reliably good food, service and atmosphere

The food is absolutely beautiful! And the staff can't do enough for you. We don't go anywhere else now as its just the best! We will be back to visit very soon. The ambience is amazing also, the French aesthetic of the place is incredible.

We booked a pre-theatre meal for 2 with a birthday package. The starters of escargots and terrine du lapin were fabulous and the main courses of venison and confit de canard were perfect. So all in all for the food the restaurant gets 10 out of 10. Unfortunately the service was not where it needed to be to get us the package and get us to the theatre. In the birthday package they promise a small dessert - but the service around the first 2 courses was too slow to have time to get the sweet. The restaurant know the show started at 19.00 but opening at 17.30 - it's just not organised enough to get the package through.

What a find! I didn't know about this place but now it's one of my favourites. Superb food, well seasoned and very cosy atmosphere!

Not been for a few years and it's slipped. Still tastyish food (to a cost) in a lovely ambiance with excellent service. Menu sloppiness with inconsistencies. Pre-theatre deal difficult to fathom. Toilets poorly signed & needed a clean.

Crowdy, careless,and pricey... Never again.

Kendell’s is a popular bistro. The food is typically French. My only criticism is that it is very dark inside which makes it not that easy to read the menu. Quite a few people were resorting to using the light on their phones to aid them in this task. Don’t let that put you off, the food is excellent and the service is good.

Honestly, we can't fault this place. The menu is so excellent it really did take a time to decide what we would order but we all made a great choice and every single course was exceptional. The staff were amazing. It was mid week so fairly quiet but that did not take anything away from the experience, in fact it enhanced it as one member of the party can't hear too well, so the lack of back ground noice was a bonus and the atmosphere was still second to none. We will be back and rate this as our favourite restaurant in Leeds. Thank you team Kendell.

Beautiful food. Beautiful customer service this is definitely one of new favourites. It is so hard to find a nice restaurant in Leeds these days but this place was amazing from the food to the staff I can’t recommend this place enough.Thank you so much for an amazing experience in your restaurant.

First time dining at Kendell's and it won't be the last. The food was amazing, outstanding really. The candlelight almost transported you to a French bistro, and if you struggled reading the menu the wait staff offered magnifying glasses that light up, which didn't distract from the ambience. I had the duck, every element was perfectly executed and left me wanting more, not that I could eat anymore because the proportion of the serving was perfect. So glad to have dined here, just sad I hadn't been sooner. Thank you for an excellent experience that I hope to repeat on my next visit

The Atmosphere the service and fish mains outstanding as always. We did feel starters on this occasion were very nice, but we’ve been spoilt at Kendell’s in the past with stand out dishes. Mains: The sea bass in red pepper butter sauce with rosti and the cod and prawn dish were outstanding this visit. Thank you as always to the well mannered, well trained, cheerful staff who seem to have their timing down to perfection. Good to see too that Kendell’s can retain staff as we saw familiar faces from previous visits. Thank you.

Love this place. Consistently good. Service and food are fantastic.

I recently dined at Kendall’s Bistro in Leeds and had an amazing experience! The customer service was great from the moment we walked in, with our server greeting us warmly. We started with a complimentary duck pate from the chef, which was absolutely delicious. For the main course, we had sea bass with prawns. The fish was perfectly cooked, and the prawns added great flavor. The house wine was lovely and paired well with our meal. Overall, the food was fantastic, the atmosphere was cozy, and the service was excellent. We’ll definitely visit again!

Memorable return to our favourite restaurant. Fabulous quality food, relaxing ambience and friendly, unobtrusive service. Thanks again.

Still the best in Leeds! Always looked after my family and we go every year. Great atmosphere reasonable price, outstanding food and very pleasant staff .. well done and thanks

We go every year for a family anniversary, always looked after by the owners and staff Food is fantastic and reasonable price, keep up the good work

First time visiting after recommendations. The place is nice and have no problem with the ambience of dark lighting etc. However, the food was a little underwhelming to be honest. We ordered steak and lamb, both which were OK nothing special and the signature desert of chocolate fondant was not served how it is supposed to be although tasted great. The chips were even dry and tasteless. I mentioned this to the waitress who couldn't care less, another giveaway. I doubt very much whether anyone connected with this restaurant is French. OK for a standard dining experience but nothing special sadly in the market in which it is trying to compete. I honestly don't think I would bother returning apart from the fact that it is is conveniently located to me.

The service was efficient, the staff very pleasant and the food delicious.

A most enjoyable evening. Attentive staff, despite the place being packed and excellent food.

we loved everything about it the candles lights and every thing was great the staff were very good and very polite the food was great will be back again

We visited with some friends who had not been to Kendals before and we had the Teatime menu as we were attending a gig next door at the Wardrobe. We were all blown away with the quality of the food and service and the value for money. Sharon the host was not working that night but she arranged some extras for us all which were much appreciated. A lovely touch, such wonderful people who treat you like family. We will be back soon.

The food wasn’t as good unfortunately as it used to be and been many times in the past. The waitress unfortunately did not live up to the standards of the restaurant which is the feedback we gave to the restaurant at the time. Overall disappointing visit which is a shame.

Lovely meal. Steak perfectly cooked. Decent 3 course meal deal pre 6.30pm

We have been here a few times , the place itself is lovely, but to be honest at the moment i think the food has gone down a bit and over priced . My husband had the veal that was ok , but i had the fish halibut in a packet. It was a very small piece packed with fennel was very wet and soggy and didn't taste of anything also the food didn't come with anything and the fish was 30 pounds . The staff were very welcoming and was our anniversary, they gave us a glass of fizz and a little chocolate dessert which was a nice . But unfortunately i dont think we would go back as i do think its very over priced for the quality of food we got . Not one to complain so i never said anything at the time i find it embarrassing complaining to be honest , but felt i had to say on the review.

Food and service was great but absolutely appalled by the price charged for bread on the table - four small slices of bread for £8!!!! (£4 per person) the bread was not that amazing, stingy portion and it did not taste like it was freshly made. I wrote my feedback on the comment card and have yet to receive a response.

We dined here for our anniversary. It did not disappoint. Superb food, efficient staff and great atmosphere. A rarity these days...

Firstly I must say that the food is simply fabulous, some of the best ive ever eaten, unfortunately it goes downhill from there. The place itself is ridiculously dark, most of the guests were using their phone torches to read the menu, which makes you think the maitre d' would put some lighting on. The two course meal we had was booked for 6pm and the service was so rushed that we had the meal with drinks and was out for 6.45!! Absolutely shocking. The place in all is pretentious, overpriced and unless you're one of the 'regulars' quite unwelcoming. Never again...

Lovely well cooked food. Nice selections of wines. Well worth a visit. We need to support locally owned and managed businessses.

Great food brilliant service Easily finished in time for the theatre but not rushed

Excellent staff and wonderful food from the moment we arrived the service was excellent

Just a lovely meal and excellent service. Good value for money

Food was good but quite expensive for what you got. Atmosphere was good and the service was pleasant.

Excellent service and great food .. the two don’t always go together. Early Saturday evening and very busy .. Their reputation is out there and well deserved. Great menu and specials on the blackboard .. delicious. Highly recommend.

Lovely place. Food fab. Great atmosphere . Will come again.

Been here a few times now. What takes a place from good to great is consistency. Kendall’s is constantly great. From the minute you walk in and you are greeted by the owner from the first course until the last, the food is classic French and vibe is chic bistro. That understated buzz of enjoyment from the crowd on the night. Just go once, I guarantee you’ll make it a favourite.

One of the best meals I have had in a long time, the French onion soup was outstanding as was the whole meal really. Staff were professional but welcoming and the place had a great atmosphere! Absolutely worth the money, will definitely be coming back!

Birthday Celebration. Service was attentive but never over-bearing. We were give 2 free glasses of fizz to celebrate! Food was (as ever) delicious. This time we had the seafood ravioli and steak diane. Great wine accompaniment too. Love this place!