Kirkstall Bridge Inn in Leeds

This has been my local for years. It was superb before Covid and I was a regular. After Covid, it's dropped in quality a bit. The beer is still good (Kirkstall Brewery), but some (not all!) staff are very rude -- something that never happened pre-Covid. Once a person carded me very rudely -- even others at the bar noticed. Just a few weeks ago, a very nasty staff member chastised my exhausted husband for sleeping. I understand that pubs have a no-sleep rule -- for good reason -- and we are fine with being told that. But this staff member did it very rudely "we don't have benches in here" and threatened to ban us for life. When we asked if the ban applied to only my husband or the whole friend group, the staff member replied with something like, "I'm not the police". My husband wrote to the pub with details of the incident and they replied asking for more info, which he gave. I don't know what has happened next, but we have decided not to go back there -- facing the unpleasantness from some staff members is not for us. It's very sad as we used to be regulars and have memories there, and post-Covid still looked on it as a place to relax, but that staff member was so extraordinarily unpleasant that we cannot return.

I didn't eat on this occasion, thou menu looked superb. Great choice if Real Ales. Kirkstall Three Swords wonderful...

Fantastic pub, attended for a quiz

Very disappointing trip to Kirkstall Bridge Inn on Sunday about 3:30pm, decided to pop in for food after doing some shopping around the corner. There was plenty of empty tables, so me and my partner took a seat and looked at the Sunday lunch menu to decide what we would have. I got up to go to the bar and order, only to be abruptly informed that if we hadn't booked we couldn't order food. I find it absolutely ridiculous that a pub offering Sunday lunch can't accept any walk in customers, especially when the place is literally half empty. If this sort of thing is common practice nowadays, then no wonder so many pubs and restaurants are complaining about the potential of going out of business in the current financial climate, when the are literally turning away custom!

Nice pub will definitely be going again good food 👍

As far as drinks go no complaints but the bar had a very odd smell and I feel ripped off after ordering halloumi fries and only getting three (mostly bread crumbs).

Sunday - 4 people - 12.10 mid day - can't take a walk in for full lunch - really?!

Great selection of beers but the Sunday roast service was chaotic!

Such a lovely pub, great atmosphere, drinks and staff. Sadly underwhelmed with food tonight, mushroom Kiev a tiny portion for the £17 charged, 3 mushrooms sitting in a piece of lettuce each. No greens mentioned on the menu and although the nice server apologised and said they would ask the chef, no one came back to me with the greens or an offer of a refund. Shame. Left hungry.

The pub is a very old building, which has been beautifully maintained and is kept spotless. The beer is kept to a very high standard, and the selection of wines, spirits and snacks is exceptional. The food menu is focused, and every time we have eaten there it has been fantastic. It is no Wetherspoons with 300 microwaved choices, It's real food cooked fresh. The staff have always been friendly and professional. You can tell there is a good atmosphere behind the bar. It might be an unquantifiable quality but I enjoy drinking in a place where the staff seem happy.

Lovely pub with good food and a big beer garden.

Way too long to wait for food! Hardly any customers and it took over 45 minutes for pub food - burger, chips, sandwiches etc. Very sad, as the sun was out and the pub garden was lovely.

Just stopped for a few drinks so no input on food. Staff were very friendly and quick to serve. Beers were all well kept and properly poured for type. Reasonable prices. Nice beer garden by the river.

Good for a pint but the food is dead

Wonderful pub, really top notch. Nachos need much improvement. Worst of my life. Pub is great though- just bad nachos

Really fun pub quiz! Chicken burger cost just under £20 and was a 4/10 - rather stick to beer or eat before you come.

Nice pub, I'm thinking of making it my local even though I live at the other side of town, it's THAT good! 🤣

Looked absolutely amazing however, everything tasted microwaved/re heated. Especially the potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. The stuffing was the worst I’ve ever tasted. We didn’t really enjoy our dessert either, tbh. We’ve been to some great places for Sunday lunch at the same price or more - and this definitely wasn’t worth it. Staff were friendly, and the atmosphere was good so I’m a bit sad to say we left really disappointed. I’d come back but just for a drink, not food.

Amazing food and service! Came for a Sunday dinner and was brilliant, great customer service too. The coffee is lovely too.

Great place with a great location, especially on a lovely sunny day by the river. Only con is it is quite expensive but you are paying for what you get.

Nice place only had a drink but it was cosy

Good range of beers and pretty decent food. Nice balance between pizza and snacks to eat outside and more substantial dishes for indoors. Great outdoor space for the rare occasions when it's a sunny wind free evening in Leeds!

Quick bite to eat midweek, pizzas are delicious.

Woman on the bar down stairs with brown hair was rude, dirty looks, bad attitude and not very welcoming. Went upstairs and staff were much nicer, food is expensive which is fine but chips were cold, which is not what you would expect.

We love it here. Great beer garden and they even have games inside if that's your thing!

18 quid for 3 pints and the kitchen closed 45 minutes early because 'they're busy'. A hipster pub with no idea. This was a Friday night, they know how many tables there are, it's Friday, it's a warm evening, they've known all week it'll be busy...but the kitchen can't handle it. Poor staffing. In the words of the barman, 'the kitchen's closed, we've been slammed mate...'. very helpful. 👏 Oh, and when i asked if there is a menu at the bar, the barman, stuffing his face with a box of food at the bar replies 'the kitchen is closed as they've run out of food'. I mean, clearly.

Good range of beers, nice view of the river in the beer garden. Had good experiences with food in the past (really liked the pizza). Had pies and burgers on most recent visit, and was a little disappointed, as the food took ages to arrive, and was a bit tepid when it got to us. Would go back for pizza, but unfortunately wasn't impressed by the food on this most recent visit.

I went to the Bridge at the weekend and it was great to sit in the beer garden before seeing the group Madness. The service at the bar, even though quite busy was really good. The staff are really friendly and were able to advise me on the range of beers they have and let me sample some. A tall chap with dark brown hair was really cheery and friendly. I would definitely recommend a visit.

We ordered a plate of chips. Still waiting half an our later. Don't be in a rush for food. Awful serviice

Enjoyed a drink, sat outside. Plenty of tables. Steps involved. Great service. People seemed to be enjoying their food.

Lovely, friendly and caring girls working at the bottom bar (didn’t try the other but imagine they’re just as nice!) incredibly efficient food service for outside seats despite the garden being almost full and the food being great quality with fab presentation . A little overpriced for the food options and the marmite wasn’t strong enough on the marmite pizza for my personal taste but for the excellent quick service and other good food options I can’t complain! Would highly recommend, especially on a week day evening

Really good food, nice beers, lovely music!

Solid pub and always worth a visit

Great pub. Friendly staff. Lovely food. Brilliant beer garden and good offers. The atmosphere for the Euros was unmatched!

Not had food yet .but good chance next time me & boss lady pop in .we'll just be back to pub &this time had some very good pizza. We'll worth money

New to the area and had gone by on the bus a couple times, the beer garden always looked so inviting. So we booked in a Sunday roast - can do online or over the phone. Were originally booked in around 4, but were in the area earlier and decided to pop in and see if we could eat 2 hours earlier (annoying I know but we just wanted to see if there was space on the off chance). They were super understanding and accommodating. The food was amazing, came quickly and tasted amazing! The portions were huge!!! The staff were so lovely and attentive. Honestly couldn’t ask for more. After an amazing roast we had one more drink outside in the beer garden which was clean, beautifully put together and there were quite a few friendly dogs out there too, which is always lovely. Will be back!

We are five retired public sec tor workers who meet occasionally for lunch and catch up. Friends had recommended the Kirkstall Bridge Inn, so working on their say we went - much to our regret!! Arriving early for our booked 1pm slot we found that the bar at the car park level wasn't staffed and one of our party went up the steep stairs to order at the main bar. She had to carry the drinks to the lower level.... Looks like you hadn't done a risk assessment team Kirkstall. I say 'team' with some reluctance as there was little by way of being pleasant or helpful from the two staff we first met. Again we had to the upper lounge to place out food order. 2 x starters and 5 by mains Time line 13.05 Around 13.15 we were told that there wasn't sufficient pie to fill that part of the order and two of us asked for alternatives. A second round of drinks were ordered and as time was drifting along one of our party went to ask about the food We were told that they would check At about 13.45 the food arrived... yes, all of it together!!... there then ensued a discussion on how the 'team' saw timing... and that it was OK to bring everything at once. I found the two members of staff unhelpful and it was only when I told them we would eat the starters and could they please take the mains away until we were ready for the... It is never helpful when staff use the expression 'Je*** Ch****' as they walk away. When the mains did arrive it was a new member of 'team Kirkstall'... All three of the pie participants immediately said they couldn't eat the food because of the level of salt! Staff member 3 tasted the gravy and immediately acknowledged our complaint. To his credit he offered to get fresh food, but in all fairness having been there for almost an hour and a half. That member of staff treated us in a professional and courteous manner on a background note I feel it is reasonable to say the The K B I was not busy, maybe we should go back on a day when they are.

Arrived with my 9 month pregnant wife and was met with a log jam of traffic in the car park. All the benches from the football the night before were left out and there wasn’t enough room to reverse and park in the spaces that were available. Fellow customers helped out trying to move benches so that cars could manoeuvre (all whilst being drenched by the torrential rain) I went inside to complain to the staff who were blissfully unaware that there was chaos in the car park and customers getting soaked. The response by staff was “are you sure there was no parking….?” This was followed by another similar reply before I walked out. The pub was clearly full with bookings so makes no sense why a dozen or so benches couldn’t have been stacked to accommodate loyal customers. Will not be returning again.

Great little pub. Wonderful selection of beers. 'Old Pub' but welcoming atmosphere inside and great outdoor space

Good lesson - if it’s not right, don’t just eat it and say nothing!! We ordered food around 3pm - and even though no one else was eating it took about 45 mins to arrive, and when it did it was cold. I had to raise this with the staff as I was not going to pay ~£18 for a cold burger. The Chef was amazing as were the front of house team. He came down to personally advise he was replacing the whole meal as the dumb waiter apparently gets stuck! So the message here is- if it’s taking longer than you think it should- ask as may be stuck between floors!!

We ordered from the garden menu - the food that came out was well below par. The boys couldn’t eat their pizza. The humus was horrendous and the chips didn’t come, we had to chase the waiter for them All in all, a very disappointing meal and service. We used to come here for roast dinners but we won’t be coming back

Bar staff were really friendly. Nice and busy but didn't affect waiting times.

One of the best Kirkstall pubs there is - great beer selection and some of the prettiest beer garden seating in the whole of Leeds, both in winter and summers sun.

Nice location but food lacking, ordered the sea salt and rosemary fries and they was just basic takeaway style chips costing £4:50, also pizza costing £12 was disappointing and came with chillies of which was not on the item description. Would not eat here again. Also the travel to garden area to condiments was a trek.

Portions were big but the food was just ok. Bit pricy.

Nice area, only when sun is not high there canbe windy and cold outdoor

Highly recommended. Has a local pub feel with great food and a good selection of beers. I had the fish and chips, very tasty. 😋 Pub was very busy on a Wednesday night but service was first class. 👏🏼

Great for Sunday dinner, great sized portions too!

What an absolutely amazing pub!! The staff were so friendly and the atmosphere was so laid back and relaxing. We had the pizza and a pint for £13.50 and it was out of this world. Honestly I can't recommend this pub enough enough.

Great real ale pub that has the best beer garden in Leeds.

Knowledgeable staff serve the local brewery's finest selection of beers alongside a range of both hearty pub grub and some more innovative/contemporary options. When hosted in a solid old stone building flanked by a beer garden that raises the exciting possibility of drinking underwater should it flood, there's a lot to like. Plus, they're dog-friendly with the exception of Sundays in the upstairs bar

Love this pub. Always great beer, food and friendly staff.

Great dinner excellent staff and service I felt very welcomed ...My 3rd visit, indoor and outdoor seating great menu delicious food

Properly old fashioned indoors, massive beer garden outdoors, good drinks selection and friendly staff.

Great atmosphere with some nice locally brewed drinks, well priced and a lovely garden

Great pub with a fantastic selection of drinks and food. It has a very large outdoor seating area and parking at the back.

Well worth a visit. Good food and great service.Pub interior interesting and well furnished to a high standard.

Drinks⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Service⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Vibe⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lovely beer garden over looking the river but a bit pricey

Good night out. Definitely recommend the place.

I must admit I was really looking forward to dining at the Kirkstall Bridge Inn as we don't dine out very often, when we arrived my first impressions were great music (70s) at the time we arrived. In my youth I frequented may boozers and I would class the Kirkstall Bridge in that category. Most of the clients were drinking and enjoying it as it was a great atmosphere. We opted for the Sunday roast and a starter. I was delighted when I saw chicken wings on the menue, sadly there were too few for the price paid and the BBQ sauce was very vinegary and cheap tasting. The main course the roast brisket was not so disappointing but I have had much better at a Toby Carvery. All in our four diners each with starters and mains came to just over £110 excluding drinks £143 including drinks . I would definitely return for a few drinks but as far as dining goes there's much better value out there.

Some of the best chips out there in pub land

Stunning pub in a great location. Overlooking the river it has possibly the best beer garden in Leeds but be warned can be very busy at the slightest glympse of sun. Great selection of traditional ales, craft beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks. If you can't find something you like for the casual or hardened drinker or the driver of the group there's something wrong with you! Staff are friendly, eager to please and always willing to go the extra mile. Great Pub, Great Brewery, I can't recommend it enough. Beware of flood season though.. 😬

Only living round the corner from this pub is a god send. We usually walk our puppy down the canal and then nip in for a pint/ bite to eat which is very convenient for dog lovers. Always has a great, friendly atmosphere. Pizzas and fries are lovely but the loaded fries are just not for me. Bit on the steep side but you pay for what you get. If your ordering food I would suggest to sit inside otherwise it comes in take away tubs. But overall definitely our favourite local pub 🤩

Terrible service, overpriced drinks and food. Rude staff. I will never return

Excellent food and great atmosphere

Great pub in Kirkstall near the river. Nice food, but we found it a little over priced for what you got. Also, we weren't impressed with the 55 minute wait for it. Very nice when it did arrive though. Nice outdoor seating area. Eclectic clientele. Young, old, families.

This is an excellent pub, with one of the best beer gardens in Leeds - it's interior is lovely too. You know you'll get a well kept, well poured pint of cask. The food is difficult to comment on as the style of food (other than Sunday) does seem to change a fair bit. I don't know whether this is chef turnover etc but does seem to vary and can't really comment on a consistent quality I do think it was a bad move to allow dogs upstairs though. It has always been a dog friendly pub, with dogs outside and in the large downstairs area. But not everyone is a dog person, and having upstairs as a separate space was a good shout.

We visited the Kirkstall Bridge Inn last Sunday whilst visiting our daughter and booked a table for the Sunday roast. The Inn has a really friendly atmosphere . There is a great choice of beers to chose from behind the bar. The Sunday roast was delicious and we all had clean plates which is always a good sign. It does get busy so definitely book. The staff were all friendly and we will definitely return next time we visit.

Best pub in Leeds alongside whitlocks great beer, food is unexpectedly fantastic and the staff are just lovely, great pub

Firstly this pub is not wheelchair friendly the only option for dining really is downstairs which is dark and tables closed in together. The newly landscaped waterfront has no ramp either so only option is a table adjacent to the pub which granted is outside but not in the new landscaped space. To get access to the main upstairs dining area it’s up a very steep hill from car park. There was no service at the bar downstairs on our visit so we had to go upstairs to order/buy drinks. Having ordered the pie of the day, French onion soups and a veg bolognaise we waited in the dark for food to arrive. The pie - was tiny , pastry was very hard and tough, the filling supposed to be pork and stuffing was a really meagre smearing of tasteless paste like substance that had no resemblance to pork. The accompanying mash looked like a badly squashed up jacket potato trying to resemble mash and the greens were - mushy peas. All completely tasteless. The French onion soup tasted sour as though it had been past its should have been thrown away date. The veg bolognaise was declared “ok”. The only edible thing we got was a cheese garlic bread that was a side to veg bolognaise but it arrived 10 mins late- obviously the only thing made fresh to order. No check back on the table so we didn’t get chance to give our feedback, we left hungry and will never go back! Be warned.

It's always a nice atmosphere in the pub, with nice outdoor space next to the river. The staff were friendly and nice. The food isn't what it used to be sadly, and the vegan options weren't at all as good as they were in the past. But the beers are reasonably priced (not much choice if you don't like beer though) and when the sun's out it's a good place to sit outside and have a chat.

Although they were not expecting 14 of us for lunch the staff went out of their way to offer friendly , efficient service. The food was fantastic. Bearing in mind everyone ordered something different it was served hot, tasty and well presented. The waitress was lovely. A lovely place.

Great pub, great choice of beer, Food really good too, Friendly staff

The food arrived no garnish at all, overcooked and poorly presented. Tasted burnt when they went to get me a slice of tomato and leaf of lettuce

Food is incredible, had a great lamb partner had a mushroom soup both incredible! Atmosphere is nice . Unfortunately we were kept waiting at our table , after 20 minutes we stop one of the waiters to order only then they said to order at the bar. Food arrived at different times as they forgot to mark that both plates needed to arrive together.

The best pub in Kirstkall. Beer, food, service and vibes were immaculate. This is my local and I will be frequenting it for years to come.

Had Sunday lunch in the downstairs bar. You have to book! so many walk-ins that couldn't be catered for. They are always so busy so be prepared to wait a while. Dogs are now allowed upstairs Mon-Saturday. I always find the staff a bit abrupt here but there must have been anew lady on as it looked like her first day learning the tills and she was so kind and friendly. Sunday dinner was plentiful and had 6 kinds of veg. Massive Yorkshire pudding. Ordered the cauli cheese for the side. Was reasonable at 16.95 each dinner. Drinks were pricy but isn't that the case everywhere now?!

We have been visiting this pub for many years both to drink their lovely ales and eat their good food. Its a cosy pub in the winter and perfect in the summer for sitting in the beer garden. Unfortunately since the retail park next door was built, whilst still a good pub its a victim of its own success. The roads around the pub are extremly busy and it is essential you book on a sunday for food. No seating for drinkers, standing room at the bar only. We don't tend to eat out through the week so cannot comment on how the food is, but Sunday lunch is always good, with ample portion sizes. It is dog friendly downstairs. Not something the pub can really control but at weekends (lunch time specifically) you tend to get a lot of families with young children taking up table space playing games (with noise) on their ipads, coupled with screaming babies. We were catching up with friends but could not hear ourselves think due to all the screeching. Maybe there could be an area in the pub designated specifically for families with young children to allow adults to enjoy their meals in a quiet and peaceful environment, as this has certainly put us off Sundays when with friends!

Very pretty inside. Plenty of parking. I imagine it's a great place in the summer for Sit outside. The interior and upstairs are very cosy.

They had a shocker when we went for Mother’s Day, booked a table so they were aware of us in advance. We waited almost 40 mins for someone to take our order and then up to an hour for the starters to arrive - the soup had croutons on but when arrived they were soggy and the soup was cold. Then we waited around hour - hour and a half for the Sunday dinners. They were lukewarm and quite bland to be honest. Deserts were very nice! The staff were also really apologetic and understanding as we had elderly people at our table. So not knocking the waitresses at all they were dealt a bad hand. You could see the chef frantically pacing around the orders which was rather odd. All in all it was quite a poor experience for what the reviews said. It would’ve been a frequent place to visit had it been up to scratch as I haven’t found many places that do vegan Sunday roasts. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem worth giving it another go

Love this pub. Been loads of times, had the Sunday roast and many a casual pub meal in the lovely beer garden in the summer. Never had a bad experience and there is always a nice selection of drinks on. Very happy to be local to this place and will certainly miss it if I move out of the area.

Always a favourite for Sunday dinner.

Perfect Sunday lunch! Great service and the food was faultless.

Lovely local pub with burning fires great beers and OK grub the Sunday Roast Dinner is outstanding though

Love this place. Great food. The best beer selection I've seen out of the city centre.

Nice place!! Didn't eat, only went for drinks in evening.

Limited food menu but amazing quality, good portion sizes

Great beer, food and staff. One of the best pubs in Leeds.

Excellent food, bar staff are very friendly and helpful

After a brisk walk around Bramley Falls Park and along the Leeds Liverpool canal, we ended with a welcome visit to this traditional style pub. After taking charge of two perfectly pulled pints of Erdinger we went on to order two delicious pizzas accompanied by chunky chips. This has been a very good find and looking at the website there are more pubs like this in the area part of this local brewery. Worth a visit I definitely think?!

Beautifully crafted dishes and sooooo tasty! Nice cosy atmosphere and friendly staff. It will be our go-to-place from now on especially when we are having family fun at the Arcade Club across the way. A gem!

Great pub, food good and a pleasant stop off on the Leeds to Liverpool canal towpath.

I love this pub. Such a good choice of ales and beers more generally and friendly staff (for the most part). Great in both summer in their outdoor part overlooking the canal and v cosy in winter. Option to play board games. My food was soo nice (roasted cod with butternut squash gnocchi in a creamy sauce) but my boyfriend's pork and chorizo burger was quite dry so maybe give that one a miss. Nonetheless a lovely pub. I had mojitos were delicious at a modest price of £6.50.

I visited on 2nd January with my family and small dog. The downstairs bar was closed, empty and cold so we went upstairs where we thought we'd be greeted with a warm reception, how wrong we were. We were about to sit down and order food and drinks but were told that dogs could only be accommodated in the downstairs bar. When I pointed out that the bar was closed & empty, we were told we could sit down there but order upstairs. We politely declined and took our business elsewhere. On the way out, I enquired whether the member of staff was the manager and was informed she was the operations manager. Well, all I can say is your attitude stinks. I will NEVER return to your establishment instead I will go again to the West End House where we were warmly welcomed by the staff and had excellent food and drinks. Nothing was too much trouble.

Eight of us visited for a birthday meal just before Christmas. We were very pleased to be able to book a dog-free dining area, as a couple of us have allergies, plus it was a very wet, soggy, muddy day. All our dietary needs were catered for, the salt and pepper loaded fries were sublime! Three of us ordered the Kirkstall pie, which we heartily recommend. Very reasonably priced.

Dog friendly not ... you can sit downstairs where the bar shuts early And the staff are rude .. you have to traverse the stairs with many beers and spill because it's the only area you can have dogs. Ps the men's toilet it disgusting and stinks the lower bar. It's barely dog tolerant...

Had a nice can of coke in the heated Teepee...big Indian tent ⛺️ ...don't know if I spelt it right.

Came in for the festive set menu, apparently you have to pre-book for that several days in advance even though it doesn't say anything about that on the website. I did pre-book a table, but nothing was said about the menu on the booking. No servers even looked at us when we came in, had to find our table ourselves and go in search of some menus. Also very strange that a gastro pub doesn't offer any dessert of any kind.

Went in yesterday afternoon with my family. The pub looks nice but really that’s the only nice thing I can say. We all got fries, pizzas and burgers. Honestly me and partner were left feeling disappointed. The food was served cold and thought it was quite expensive for what you get. we were the only ones eating at the pub at the time so not too sure how the food could just be left to go cold, especially fries. We would have said something but we were occupied with our toddlers.