Ox Club

Our verdict · The critics' quality benchmark: a grill-cooked roast with fine-dining credentials no pub on this list can match.

Go if

You want the best-cooked roast in the city and care more about meat quality and technique than a big traditional pub feed.

Skip it if

You want a cheap, bottomless-Yorkies pub spread or a large casual group with sharing platters — this is a smaller restaurant where booking ahead is essential.

Plan your visit

Ox Club

WATTB Score

89/ 100

Our research-based editorial assessment.

How we score →

From ~£17.95 pp

Indicative price at the time of review.

Get directions

Ox Club is the pick when the food itself leads the decision. It is a contemporary British solid-fuel grill restaurant in the Grand Arcade off The Headrow, and it is the only entry here carrying independent restaurant credentials — a favourable Michelin Guide entry and several years in the Good Food Guide. The kitchen cooks over an imported US wood and charcoal grill, giving a char and depth most pub kitchens can't replicate. Its Sunday roast is repeatedly named among the best in Leeds, with options such as roast rump cap beef and a pear and caramelised onion porchetta, plus a smoked-celeriac veggie plate. Indicative pricing runs about £17.95–£22.50 per roast, with Sunday lunch service running from midday to around 5:30pm; reviewers call it good value for the quality. The trade-off versus the Cardigan Arms below is character and price: you gain grill technique and restaurant polish, but give up the heritage-pub atmosphere and real-ale focus.

The good & the bad

Pros

Independent Michelin Guide and Good Food Guide recognition that no pub here can match
Wood and charcoal grilling adds char and depth beyond a standard pub kitchen
A smoked-celeriac veggie option so mixed groups can book together

Cons

Smaller restaurant setting means booking ahead genuinely matters
Not the place for a cheap, traditional bottomless-Yorkies pub feed

How it compares

Pick	WATTB Score	Price	Best for
1.Ox ClubThis pick	89/100	From ~£17.95 pp (indicative)	overall
2.The Cardigan Arms	88/100	From ~£17 pp (indicative)	traditional pub roast
3.Whitelock's Ale House	87/100	From ~£17.95 pp (indicative)	atmosphere and Yorkshire puddings
4.The Cut & Craft Leeds	84/100	From ~£50 for two (sharing roast, indicative)	groups and big appetites
5.The Midnight Bell	83/100	From ~£12 pp (indicative)	value

Swipe to compare

Good to know

4.7 ★Google · 642 reviews££

Address: 19a The Headrow, Leeds LS1 6PU
Nearest station: Leeds
Phone: +44 113 487 1814
Price: From ~£17.95 pp (indicative)
Roast options: Rump cap beef, pear & onion porchetta, smoked-celeriac veggie
Indicative price: ~£17.95–£22.50 per roast
Sunday service: 12pm–5:30pm (indicative)
Credentials: Michelin Guide + Good Food Guide listed
Cooking: Imported US wood/charcoal solid-fuel grill