The White Swan in Leeds

Lovely place, great atmosphere, friendly fast and professional service delicious and well cooked meal 😋

We have been dinning here for a number of years and we have always found the food and the ambiance lovely . So very disappointing that my husband and I booked in for a Sunday lunch and was looking forward to it as we have had several Sunday lunches here over the years and enjoyed it , As well as taking family and recommended friends to dine here too . I ordered the lamb and it had sold out which I totally understand as it was past 3 o clock and they had probably been Busy. So I chose an alternative the pork with crackling . The pork was tough and no crackling just fat ! And it was a pork chop not slices pork like I would expect on a Sunday roast . The gravy which is usually in a jug covered my food it was swimming in thin gravy and all the vegetables were cold especially the red cabbage . Very disappointed as the whole establishment looked like it needed a good clean it was run down and it had lost its atmosphere that we were so looking forward to . Not for us anymore which is disappointing as we really loved this hide away pub in Leeds .

Great pub! Good with food allergies!

We chose the White Swan as it was next to the City Varieties where we had tickets for a show. I had reserved a table online as I expected the pub to be busy, which it was. The staff were all friendly and the service was excellent. The range of drinks, especially real ale, is extensive. We both chose the roast chicken from the Sunday menu. It did take just over 30 minutes to arrive but there were a lot of people dining so it was to be expected. The meal included a whole chicken breast, which was perfectly cooked as were the vegetables. An excellent experience and 20% off the food bill as we had tickets for the show at the City Varieties.

Excellent stop for a mid afternoon Sunday dinner. Lovely food.

Ideal para una comida pre teatro. La comida es buena, el servicio rápido y obtenemos una reducción con entradas de teatro. Lo que no te gusta.

Buen servicio y ambiente. Los guisantes no estaban muy calientes, pero todo lo demás era encantador. El inodoro para discapacitados necesitaba limpieza, lo que se informó pero no se abordó mientras estábamos allí, así que la compañera tuvo que bajar a las damas, que no era bueno, ya que tiene problemas de movilidad

La comida era deliciosa y bien vale la pena el dinero. Definitivamente volver. Cuidada por el personal al más alto nivel

Lived in Leeds for almost 30 years, stumbled across this place next to the theatre, great little place, good food, good beer!

I've been here so many times, fish and chips are my favourite and it's never packed and you're never waiting ages for your meal. Staff are always welcoming and polite, and food is always nice.

Great food!! Lovely staff!! Nice beer too!! 😋 Highly recommend the rhubarb cider!! 😳😋

Great food and atmosphere. Great customer service and reasonable prices. Will definitely be visiting again.

Lovely meal everything was lovely & fresh, the staff were very friendly too.

Down an alleyway next to the Theatre. Quite expensive..quiet .

20% off food before going to theatre and 20% off drinks after but you need to show your tickets. We didn't eat but drinks ok

A great range of real ales. The food was delicious

Picked The White Swan as we were going to a concert at City Varieties right next door. There were 8 of us and service was efficient without being rushed. It was a while before our meals came, but we had booked early enough for that not to matter. One of the steaks was a little dry (but then if people will ask for steak well done!). The gammon would have been best served with a steak knife, but all the meals were nicely presented. The chicken pie was apparently very good, as was my pan roasted chicken, and the others enjoyed their mushroom risotto. The bonus was 20% off the bill as we had theatre tickets. There was also an offer of 20% off post theatre drinks, but we had a train to catch. The group of young staff were all very friendly.

Great pub next to theatre. Food really nice too. Need to reserve a table as gets very busy. Staff very friendly, got a discount as was going into theatre.

Updating my prev review after a revisit. Waited an hr for food which, when theatre busy we sort of understood BUT my father in law is diabetic so shoukd have been told beforehand, also, when food came it was not the best standard, and certainly not worth waiting for. My tcake and chicken were burnt, chips on all meals were cool, peas on f&c, cold, no tartare sau e, although we were told, gravy like dishwater. Inlaws said the fish itself was nice. Pie was ok. I ended up with caesar salad just to eat. When i complained the young lady did try, and did reduce the meals, and deduct but as it was first time bringing inlaws, and with prev good experience, can honestly say i am still disappointed!!!!! Still same re follow up service. Prev review:steak and ale pie, rump steak and gammon- meals were delicious, mash and vegetables were great, fresh and tasty. Food was reasonably priced and was served within good time. As previous reviewer, 2 large glasses of rose wine cost over £17 which we thought was expensive, but apparently that's just city centre prices. Staff were very friendly and helpful but once main meal was received they were too busy to offer good follow on service. We will go back however when next at theatre.

Great place to eat before a show. Definitely need to book table. Food took a while but didn’t matter. Lovely pies and fresh veg and potatoes. Friendly staff, got a discount because going to show next door.

We were a smaller group than usual this month but as usual we were very well looked after by Connor, Paul and the team. The pub has a great atmosphere with a wide variety of drinks.

The best Sunday lunch I have eaten in a long time, lovely service and atmosphere. The vegetables were particularly wonderful!!

PICKED IT BECAUSE OF ITS CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE THEATRE, and we were taking 2 of our grandchildren to a show there. Shame when we ordered it only had one starter available, limited main courses and no sticky toffee pudding! The staff were extremely apologetic and attentive and explained the dire situation on having limited food on having a busy few days. Suggest you ring to see if they have food before you go and suggest The White Swan employs somebody more competent to look after food levels! In its defence the food we ordered was ok.

Saturday night - table for 6 to celebrate two birthdays. No fillet, no chateaubriand and only 1 TBone left. Two fab waitresses and one bar man who were doing the very best they could. Five chefs who took an absolute lifetime in getting meals out to us. Very, very, very poor. Restaurant was nearly empty so no excuse that they were busy. Two x Eton Messes with NO fruit in. A bill of just under £400.00. Complete and utter shambles of a steak restaurant - will not be returning or recommending this to anyone - unless I don't like them! ;)

It’s a lovely place just to go eat and if your seeing a musical just a pit stop before a show and the food was lovely

Nice busy pub at the side of City Varieties. Called in for pre theatre drinks. Good selection of drinks. Friendly staff. Good for pre theatre meals.

Service was poor - table wasn’t ready for 15 mins after our booking time. Beer was warm and flat Many items not available on menu, including chips to accompany steak. These were replaced with cheap oven chips. Pudding was frozen cheesecake that seemed to have freezer burn with melted cream. Servers were miserable, one ever swearing as she dropped a knife between myself and my partner, no smiles throughout the whole time we were there Very unimpressed

Wow! Food was out of this world world ( ok you cook it yourself on a lava stone) the steaks were quality prawns were fresh. The white swan swans stone aged restaurant offers a unique way of having a steak for miles around. Dining out was an experience the staff were friendly and accommodating. The swan is one of the oldest inns in Warwickshire serving food since the year 1550 according to our knowledgeable waitress lulu who told us about the hotel being haunted and the story behind it. It was a Monday night so the restaurant was quiet, the meal was served at a relaxed leisurely pace not rushed allowing plenty of time to enjoy conversations between courses before finishing with a generous desert. Can’t wait to go back and may even stay in the haunted bedroom that I read up on after I got home.

Always guaranteed a friendly welcome ,the staff are knowledgeable and helpful. The menu has a great selection of fresh ingredients and we’ve enjoyed our experience here every time. A bonus 20% off food if you’ve got theatre tickets. Definitely recommend.

Next to no choice in soft drinks. Four years on from leaving this review and still no decent soft drinks.

We (myself and my partner) had eaten here before and we loved it. I convinced one of my sons, his brother and their partners to spend his birthday celebration at the restaurant. The food was excellent and the table service good too except that it was taking forever to get served . My son timed the how long we would wait for deserts and it was 37 minutes . This was after we asked how much longer we would be waiting after 35 minutes had passed. We left disappointed that his birthday was not as memorable as it could have been.

Great little pub next to the City Varieties Theatre. We sat outside waiting for the show

Good atmosphere, very good service.

Went here yesterday pre concert, myself and husband both had pie which we enjoyed. The homemade chips were a hit and we would definitely go again for food. But I especially wanted to write this review because of Lucy, we were having trouble downloading our tickets and she came to the rescue. Without her help I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have made the concert. So a big thank you 😊 Debbie & Pete from Sheffield

Came for a Sunday roast service was quick however at first both got served beef when we ordered pork, staff were more then happy to fix this but when pork finally came had the smaller slice of meet which was literally one mouthful amd the gravy was so peppery that it was actually spicy.

I love this place 💕 I went this Sunday for a carvery it was delicious. If you want great food go here !! Great for disable but toilets are down some steps .staff great too

Great pub excellent sandwich and a pint, lovely relaxed atmosphere we will definitely be back on our next visit to Leeds

Good steak friendly service Needs a couple of things.. More sauce Salad garnish Better choice of desserts

Good variety of beers, nice 'hidden' location. Great feel about the place.

Nice pub with good choice of drinks.

Delicious food, very polite and helpful service, lovely environment and a great experience before theatre (which is literally next door!). Thankyou

Excellent food and good choice of drinks. 20% discount on food if you show theatre ticket was also good. Friendly service as well.

£6.80 PER PINT FOR perroni and a Russian sounding beer. Gents toilet dispensers x 3 with no soap. Looks like they are overging exclusively for the theatre crowd. Won't go back Regards

We have been regularly coming to The White Swan for a few years. Whenever we're in Leeds we call in for lunch. Came yesterday, and the food was good, never had an issue with food or service to be honest. I had a couple of coffees though and both were luke warm,and out of 4 toilets in the ladies only 2 were in use and one of those didn't flush. What ruined the atmosphere yesterday was a member of staff (assumed cleaner) who sits down in the pub after his shift and has a conversation on his phone on loudspeaker for the whole hour and half we were in there. It wasn't the first time either, he does it regularly. It's just very annoying when you want a quiet lunch and have to listen to someone's conversation for the whole duration.

Can't complain about the food drink or service.What did ruin my experience whilst been in there for a couple of drinks and food was the annoying member who decided to have a full on conversation on his phone whilst on loud speaker for the full duration Yes 90 mins.Think management need to address this can only say i won't be returning.

Visited this week and whilst the food was above average, the service was underwhelming. Booked for myself and eight colleagues. Prior to visiting I phoned to see if there was space for a further four colleagues and was told that they could not guarantee this as they were extremely busy which is absolutely fine as it was short notice. Subsequently they made other arrangements. However, when we arrived a short time later there were no other customers in the bar at all! I advised that we had a table booked and bizarrely was asked if we there for food. We ordered after short wait and when the meals started arriving it was clear they had been made one by one and left under a lamp for several minutes. Perhaps the kitchen is understaffed. One of my colleagues order hadn't been put to the kitchen and subsequently she had to wait until it was cooked and didn't arrive for some time. It felt like the staff were wanting to get out of there as early as possible. All in all a very underwhelming experience that could have been much better if the staff were more organised and engaged. Shame as the menu is really promising!

Lovely staff didn’t wait long for meal wine was nice. A bit pricey but would visit again if we’re in Leeds,I ordered the moving mountain burger but it wasn’t as I have that quite often in lots of places it was okay but not a mountain burger,maybe they ran out

Staff friendly, polite and professional. Food was lovely. Freshly made. My friend didn’t want mash with her steak pie. They were fine replacing with chips, which she thoroughly enjoyed. I had the chicken with potatoes in a coconut sauce, had a fabulous chilli kick to it.

Booked table for four at 5.45 was shown to the table after 10 mins went to order food was told food would be 50 mins late! No explanation from the waiter I said an email/call or even told when entering would’ve been useful. We had tickets for theatre so sadly left. Not sure why the long wait lots of tables available and people were eating, no explanation from the waiter did not say one word not even oh sorry about that.

I was there for the Sunday roast and I didn't think it was great. Just average. 1 slice of meat and flavourless veggies. Not worth at all.

A group of 16 of us went to the White Swan for our monthly get together. As usual an area had been reserved for us by Connor and his team and we enjoyed a good night in this lovely pub. The staff are always helpful and friendly and the pub has a great atmosphere.

Amazing food and steak ale pie is to die for plus the butter veg especially the carrots All can say is 5 star amazing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

great place to go if you have theatre tickets which is located next door you get 20% off food/drinks if you show your ticket to bar staff.authentic pub cosy inside and spacious and warm in winter and lovely to sit outside in summer.good sunday roast choices and price £16..recommended food cooked correctly just what you need on a sunday before the theatre!

Myself and my wife have been coming here for a couple of years for drinks..On Sunday 31st March we booked to have Sunday dinner..The food was excellent and all the staff are fantastic.If you want great food then check this place out .

Decent Sunday roast. However didn't get a good first impression. Tried calling to inform that we will be late for our reservation but nobody picked up the phone. when we arrived a staff commented to another that we were late. The other tables were mostly empty.

Lovely place. Food and beer were good. The staff and service were superb

Only one member of (hard working) staff behind the bar; not sure how he would have coped if it had been busier. Long wait for food, although it was good when it arrived. Suspect it’s got more atmosphere for a pre-theatre visit.

We visited for an evening meal before going to the theatre. The service was very slow. Two of us had ordered the pork cassoulet but when it eventually arrived it was very dry as if it had been standing under a heat lamp for a long time. The waitress took it away to rectify things but when she brought it back it was exactly the same and we had to ask for gravy to make it more palatable. Another member of staff came to offer us coffee or dessert. Whether this would have been complementary or not was unclear but by then we didn't have time to have either. This isn't the first time we have been disappointed with the food here. A few weeks back my husband had to send a pie back twice because he couldn't actually get his knife through the crust! Although this is a nice pub to have drinks and the Thursday quiz evenings are good, it is extremely unlikely that we will eat here again.

Really great experience, staff were very helpful and attentive. Food was delicious and great quality, look forward to visiting again.

Monday lunch, very quiet. Pie crust was edible but very hard. Gammon was OK, though smaller than I expected. Never had gravy served with Gammon and chips ( it was in a jug). Originally ordered Sausage and Mash. No mash available, definitely a first for me.

I’m truly sorry to have to leave this review. This was my worst ever visit to the White Swan. At least 3 or 4 items from the menu were not available. I ordered fish goujons in bread. The fish was almost non existent and the bread was stale and awful. I had asked for salad as an accompaniment which arrived looking like it had been thrown on the plate. My partner asked for chips with no salad and got both. The chips were literally almost cremated. Not good and will try other places now rather than my old favourite.

We called in for drinks and a pre-theatre meal on early evening on Saturday. When we arrived the place was pretty busy had a real buzz with lots of people of all ages chatting int he seated areas and around the bar. The staff were all really friendly, service good, good choice of drinks etc. We ordered our food and it was really poor. I had fish and chips; the fish/batter was soggy, the chips were lukewarm and the mushy peas were stone cold. Two of our party had steak and ale pie; the pies were blackened on the top as they were almost burnt and the pastry was so hard they had to ask for more gravy to soften it to be able to chew it. When the started eating the pies were really dry. It was as if they'd been kept warm in an oven or hot cabinet for hours. We mentioned it to the staff and they were great. We didn't have time to go elsewhere or to ask for the food to be remade as we were going to a show at City Varieties next door. The staff kindly gave us a bit of a discount. A shame really as the food on the photos on Trip Advisor looks delicious.

My wife and I visited The White Swan for dinner at 19:15 on a Friday evening together with a couple of friends . It was relatively quiet as any people visiting the connected theatre had already left for the evening show. Service was good with a decent menu to choose from, portions were generous and the food was well prepared and tasty. We would strongly recommend a visit here.

Nice lunch, nice beer, nice staff

Loved the setting , quirky and funky The waitress was so calm despite being on her own with about 7 covers Food was fab , my friend had the steak served on the hot rock plate .. fab I had a chicken Caesar which was delectable. A great meal with great service

Sun lunch was fabulous and the food is always hot friendly staff we love the food here would defo recommend plenty of choices of food and alcohol

My reason for concern lies mainly in staff training issues . We had a very unsatisfactory cassoulet meal which basically consisted of dried beans which had obviously been microwaved almost to extinction . When asked about our meal we expressed dissatisfaction but the waitress asked us what was needed to be done to make the dish as it should have been and then went on to offer mustard sauce . At no point was an apology offered and the staff just gave us an extra ten per cent off our bill . No replacement or removal from the bill was even mentioned . The other dish ordered which was a steak was very good but the meal was spoilt by the fact that one person was left sitting with almost inedible food . If we hadn’t been hungry it most certainly would have been left .

My reason for concern lies mainly in staff training issues . We had a very unsatisfactory cassoulet meal which basically consisted of dried beans which had obviously been microwaved almost to extinction . When asked about our meal we expressed dissatisfaction but the waitress asked us what was needed to be done to make the dish as it should have been and then went on to offer mustard sauce . At no point was an apology offered and the staff just gave us an extra ten per cent off our bill . No replacement or removal from the bill was even mentioned . The other dish ordered which was a steak was very good but the meal was spoilt by the fact that one person was left sitting with almost inedible food . If we hadn’t been hungry it most certainly would have been left .

The food was excellent, the service was great and it was a very enjoyable evening. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants an enjoyable evening.

Came in for Sunday lunch, very tasty, good quick service and friendly staff. The meal was also delicious! Will be back for another.

Table was ready as promised for 17 of us, even though very busy the staff coped very well, food was hot and very good and all served together, often visit Leeds and will return, great location as well, what's not to like. Thanks.

It's changed a lot over the years it's become very expensive sort of rip off

Three of us visited today for the first time and will most definitely be the last! Food was cold,chips were literally inedible,would have broken our teeth on them. Fish goujons were mainly batter which was hard and cold,bread was dry and not fresh. Such a shame as the pub itself is lovely,clean and welcoming. The ladies toilets were clean but only two actually in use,other two were out of order and not one single sheet of loo roll to be had in any of them and then no soap to wash hands. All in all a very disappointing first and last visit,such a shame

Great place for preshow food and drinks before the show in the City Varieties next door. The staff were very friendly. However, the downer on the night was the food; Chicken livers were overcooked and the chicken was raw. Refund for chicken dish was accepted.

What an excellent little pub, excellent service staff very warm and friendly food was great 20% off our food bill after showing our theatre tickets to city varieties music hall which was just next door to the pub great night was had by all. Will...

Great service as always from Nicola and the team. Atmosphere is lovely and always made to feel welcome.

Came here for a few drinks and a meal while a day in Leeds in February, looking at reviews I thought it would be nice BUT my mistake! The meal was the worse meal I have ever had! me and my partner got burger and...

Been here quite a few times pre theatre good pub good grub' Unfortunately last night the food service was slow. 3 of us all chose the burger which is normally good. I couldn't cut the burger as it was so dry the chips were warm...

Amazing! Good was beautiful and the young lad serving was great!

Very friendly and helpful staff and good food. The added bonus of having a discount on the food with tickets for the show at The Varieties Theatre next door.

Always a good experience here, good food, nice ambience

Pre-theatre dinner. Booked online, & nice to have a personalised table reservation. Very friendly staff and great food! Super value with our 20% off. Nice start to our evening.

Fabulous and will definitely be back - thank you so much

Great little find while out shopping. Not busy at all. Ordered the fish and chips for the two of us. Nice food and really nice service.

We weren't looking for this pub, we sort of found it by accident. What a lucky find, we were cold and needed somewhere to warm up. This pub is lovely and comfortable, with nooks and crannies in which to sit and chat over a drink. There is a very good selection of beers, cocktails and other drinks available from friendly bar staff. The menu looked very good, so we will definitely be going back to try the food. Our dog was welcome too, thanks

Really terrible food. Portion size of risotto was tiny for the amount charged. I complained and they said it was because they had ran out!! Offered me some seasonal vegetables and chips. These were terrible too, boiled and burnt carrots. Some kind of veg that was hard as a boot. Chips not fresh. Would not go there again.

I make a point of heading to The Swan everytime I visit Leeds, great and varied beer selection, a tremendous ambience and just all round good times. Give it a go

Booked meal before Panto,service slow but food good.Great atmosphere and ideal venue to meet and eat before show at City Varieties.

Always very welcomig and the service is great, always going out of their way to meet your requirements.. The staff always seem happy and the food is top notch.. Good selection of beers and gins..

Perfectly placed next to City Varieties Theatre in Leeds. Friendly welcome on arrival at a quite busy time. Even so service was fairly quick. Good choice on 3 course menu.Food was well presented and tasty, although my tagine was a little dry. We shared a...

We had the Christmas buffet menu before we went to see the Rock n Roll Panto at City Varieties. It was the perfect start to the night. The food was great, the service was brilliant, they catered for our intolerances and provided Christmas crackers. Everyone loved it. Thank you The White Swan!

We love going to Stone Aged, staff are friendly and always look after us so well. The food is lovely and the restaurant has a nice feel to it.

We booked a table for after the Panto. Table ready and waiting for us and the service was great. One of our party was in a rush to eat and go and the staff were really helpful. Food we excellent pub food ideal for what...

Fantastic quality food! We ordered 2 steak and ale pie, a steak, and a burger and could not pick a fault in anything. All home cooked food and generous portions. Lovely smart up to date decor, friendly staff. You cant go wrong here. But maybe...

We've come here as a family the last couple of years to have a pre-pantomime meal. The service & experience is fantastic & sets us up perfectly for the rock & roll panto next door in the City Varieties (plus you get discount off the...

Good hospitality, nice and friendly atmosphere. The meal was good

The service was really slow took over 30 mins to get any food orders from our table of two followed by another 30 mins for starters so a bit disappointing seeing as though we were staving. Starters were poor only 1 and a bit scallop and more prawns which was a bit unfair but the mains were amazing steak in a sizzling hot plate to cook yourself is the best! Poor desert profiteroles not good at all 5 and ice cream for £8!! But did get that complimentary and 2 glasses of Prosecco as it was my fiancés birthday which was nice!

Fantastic venue, close to City Varieties and has great staff!

They can't decide whether they want to serve diners or drinkers well

Food service slow can't make their mind up if they are serving drinkers or diners! Food good nice pub