Sitting on the northern verges of Leeds city center, The Reliance combines a continental cafe-bar vibe with more traditional English hostelry fare. Lively but never raucous (possibly due to its distance from the city’s throbbing epicenter), this is a place to meet, chat, eat, and drink in a relaxed binge-free environment. Excellent food is served in the close-knit back room, while a selection of beers, both exotic and domestic, can be enjoyed at the bar. Those who like dress codes, doormen, banging music and underage drinkers might find The Reliance a little dull, but those who are happy to live without such things should enjoy.

A favorite with professionals, Shear's Yard is a subterranean restaurant, intimately lit for a cozy meal but large and welcoming for bigger groups. Al fresco dining is available here in the summer. The menu changes seasonally but may include dishes like rump of lamb with a confit of garlic, pomme fondant and lamb jus or supreme of corn-fed chicken with pot roast baby vegetables and a mustard spaetzle.