Here are the winners of the Oliver Awards 2025 which celebrated Leeds' outstanding hospitality sector and the hard-working people behind it.
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00:00Serving up a spotlight on Leeds' food and drink scene, the Yorkshire Evening Post's
00:06Oliver Awards 2025 saw hospitality heroes come together to celebrate the industry's
00:12finest.
00:13It's been real stiff competition this year. The judges' panel had said this has been
00:16one of the most difficult awards in the 15-year history of the awards to judge. We had some
00:22real close calls, some really strong contenders.
00:25I'm judging the takeaway category and there's a lot of new people in that. The street food
00:31category as well. And it's difficult because people have upped their game now, haven't
00:36they?
00:37Yeah, absolutely. This year has been so hard. Very hard. They have upped their game massively
00:41this year.
00:42The event was hosted by Rich Williams and the first award was for Best Bar, which was
00:46won by both Green Room on Wellington Street and Tabula Rasa on Eastgate. The Newcomer
00:52of the Year award was won by White Cloth Hall, situated in a Grade II listed venue
00:56on Crown Street behind the Leeds Corn Exchange, which is where the next winners also have
01:01a venue. The Cheesy Living Co. won Best Cafe or Deli.
01:06Next up was the Sustainability award, which also had two winners, Below Stairs, who are
01:11based on South Parade, and fellow winners Harewood Food and Drink Project. The Best
01:16World Restaurant award was won by the team at Tadda in Headingley.
01:21Consistency for me, that is what I'm big on at my restaurant. And obviously everyone,
01:25the restaurants that have been coming here for maybe a number of years, like three, four
01:28years, they're always in the same category, always consistent. And it's a testament to
01:32them.
01:33You'd want everyone to be a winner, because I think the fact that, like you said, the
01:36consistency, people still being open, people still smashing it week in, week out, no matter
01:42what's being took to them, be it restaurants, hotels, you know, everything, for them still
01:47to be open, they're all winners for me.
01:49The Employee of the Year award returned this year, and it was won by Josh Flesher from
01:53the Harewood Food and Drink Project. The Best Pub award was won by White Clocks Alehouse,
01:59based on Turks Head Yard in the centre of the city. Bundabost won the Best Speciality
02:04award, who are also based in Leigh City Centre on Mill Hill. And Mythos won the Best Street
02:10Food award for their venue in Chapel Allerton.
02:14The Best Customer Service award was won by The Four Floor Brasserie, situated within
02:19Harvey Nichols. And the Rising Star award saw Shyam Al-Kumar from Arty Restaurant crown
02:25the winner. The next award was voted for by the public.
02:30People's Choice award, which was for Best Local Restaurant, was hugely popular, clearly
02:35struck a chord with our readership and people across Leeds. More than 7,500 people cast
02:42a vote in that, which is, you know, a huge turnout and speaks to the strength of local
02:48restaurants across Leeds. The final award was Chef of the Year, which
02:53was won by Minal Patel from Prashad in Driglington. Congratulations to all of the winners.