All hail the cult of the burger. Leeds, if you've not noticed the slow take over by America's…read moregreatest export, I don't know where you've been. It began with RARE and Patty Smiths. (Okay, maybe It Bar and others tried it first, but I'm not sure I rate 'em.) Then Meat Liquor, Byron, Almost Famous, and Five Guys. Did I miss anyone? Who cares. Step aside folks -- get thee to Get Baked. I've tried the delivery version of these guys recently (and again -- I need to update) and only recently realised that they had just opened up a restaurant. I often walk into town, so I'd seen something going on inside what used to be The Quilted Llama, then soon realised that Get Baked (mrniceguys) were behind this venture too. Funny that I only just wrote in the other review that these guys needed a restaurant... I liked the tongue in cheek nod to Five Guys on their signage ("High Five Guys") and the l337 speak claiming they'd "run out of l3773r5". Before you even enter, neon words promise you "free food tomorrow". It may be huge, looming, and illuminati-esque (and clearly, it's like that on purpose -- the restaurant is in a church, for goodness' sake) but I love the huge neon signage in the window too. The comic print style, black and white wall paper, featuring characters like Felix the cat, Heisenberg, and Hannibal, is cool enough -- although my friend felt it was reminiscent of Meat Liquor's do up. (I can see that.) My absolute favourite bit is the UV paint splattered hallway to the loos, though. It feels really nineties and fits in well, with yet more cool neon signs dotted about. Essentially, I dig the vibe of the place. The only thing that feels jarring is to eat in a room with such a high ceiling, and since the music is so loud and the lighting is so low, it really feels like it should become a night club once the foodening has happened. In fact, I wish it would -- I could burn off the heavenly guilt and get my rave on in an actually well-converted church. (Did you notice that all other church-come-nightclubs are seriously tacky?) And when I say the music was loud, I mean we actually couldn't hear each other -- or the waiters/waitresses -- at one point. It seemed like they recognised this, as it did go up and down before settling on a balane. I couldn't complain about the playlist though; we shazamed about five songs during our visit. Now, let's get to the real talk: burgers. Oh shiiiiiiiit. I want to say that the reason I ceased to talk to my friend was because I couldn't hear him, but once that chicken burger arrived, it was business time. (I mean, I couldn't hear him, but I didn't care, because burger.) I can't remember the name of my choice -- the chicken burger that's a number which is probably a significant joke I'm not quite geeky enough to get? They all have clever names of some kind. Whatever -- it had a big hunk of perfectly fried chicken, in some other-wordly batter, soaked in maple syrup, with American-style crispy bacon. You bet your ass they put it in a brioche bun. Get in my face and don't interrupt me 'til I'm done. Not a word. The chips were great -- I love the seasoning -- and if you're unafeared of calories, do the nacho cheese. I thought it was worth it. Gentlemen's Wit, a Camden brewery beer, was a solid accompaniment and not too strong. Oddly, if you think flavours and food can be gendered, I would say it's actually a bit 'girly', what with the lemon and bergamot. Maybe CB are being ironic somehow? Whatever. I do have to say, though -- lads: You can't be having the Full Girlfriend Experience on your menu and leave nothing for us ladies. Full Boyfriend Experience please! I like bantz as much as the next lass :) Also -- does anyone remember the Leeds band Pigzipper? They're on the menu too! I dig the weird, creepy mannequin man who gives you an egg if you feed him money. All the staff were great. I wish I'd gotten names, as two of the lads were just awesome; kudos to you dancing guy by the desk -- you're amazing. I like a place where the staff clearly have fun. Plenty of banter. Let's go for the roundup: If you're after a really fantastic, American-style burger, I think these guys are the one. I really, really loved the food -- it's all-out, carb-tastic, screw-the-diet delicious. The drinks range was grand, although I didn't even get to the cocktails that time -- can't speak for the soft drinks since I was on the beers that night. The staff are loads of fun. The prices are fine -- it was about £40 for two burgers, two chips, and seven or so beers. I would prefer the music to be less intrusive, but I dig the playlist. I do also wish it became a bar after 11pm or something. Basically, I'll definitely be coming back. Go on in and fill your face.

It's got something that makes you want to try it out and tell your friends to go but i don't think…read moreit is anywhere near the best of its kind for the burger and american feel. The chicken wings in honey et al. are so mourish I forgot to share them but overall the portion sizes are large! The big open space is filled with unique little bits, like a creepy moving clown in the entrance way. Service was good and the milkshakes were better.

All the meat! The…read morefood scene has drastically improved in Leeds since I moved to London. When I was a student, we had a choice between a chicken kebab from Lucky's or a pizza from Gangsters, (where the chicken tasted like tuna). Nowadays students in Headingley are spoilt for choice for awesome food, the best of which comes from Red's True Barbecue. After being disappointed at the prospect of an Oak BBQ burger or tandoori regret from Tariq's, I lumped off to Red's for a healthy portion of sticky fingers and meat sweats! I feasted on succulent baby back ribs with a pair of chicken wings that terrified me at the thought of how big chickens can actually get, both choices were excellent. I also ordered some burnt ends, some of which were disappointingly tepid in temperature but tasty nevertheless, and a brownie milkshake that was decidedly average. It tasted ok, sure, but at £5 it needs to blow my mind like an Oreo shake from Byron, and sadly it didn't come even close to stacking up. The service was very friendly and attentive, and the food was good. I look forward to visiting the one that opens in London very soon.

Who one earth would put a burger between two burgers ?? This…read moreplace really messes with your head !! Nothing is quite what you would expect ! It's fantastic !!

Excellant steak and burger restuarant . Lively and popular with both families and those on a night…read moreout . Service was excellant and quick .

Thoroughly awesome food! That's the first thing. Utterly beautiful interior. That's the second. And…read morethen it gets worse. The shiraz I had was totally flat and light, whilst sitting in their 'heavy' section of wine... so a little disappointed. And then service was a combination of great and rubbish - in the right proportion I guess (generally great) - I ordered the two course lunch, my friend ordered off the standard menu, just one course .... EVERYTHING came at once. The young ladies who served us seemed completely none fussed, and I'm not sure I even heard the word sorry. Again though, the food was AMAZING.

I wish I'd enjoyed this place more than I did. I was fully prepared to adore it, being a fan of…read moreArts Cafe and indie biz, but there was just something missing. The building itself has been decked out rather beautifully, with simple romantic lighting inside and interesting features. It's sort of separated into two areas: a bar style area of seating and then a restaurant area that's sectioned by the bar area. When I went we were seated in the bar type area with our backs to the restaurant bit. Given the bare walls noise travels easily, which meant we could easily hear the noise of a few parties present at the time -- we had a few tables of patrons that were on the rowdy side, including one lady next to us who seemed to know everyone and wasn't afraid to squeal over people's tables to show it. Not Shears Yard's fault, but not enjoyable! The food is, undeniably, good quality and presented beautifully. You can tell that the chefs take pride in their work and use top notch ingredients, but each dish just seemed to miss the mark for me. I'm no connoisseur, so I'm fully willing to admit that it could be my lack of refined tastes, but it just seemed like more fuss than substance somehow. I had the pressed ham hock starter, which was like a super posh version of corned beef (I think) and the duo of lamb for the main. Both certainly exploded with flavour and complexity, but it's possible that I chose the wrong restaurant for the mood I was in -- I was starving so perhaps didn't get to appreciate the intricacies. I inhaled the first course and couldn't finish the second as the flavours seemed to get a bit too rich half way through. Basically, I love the concept, I think the food is of amazing quality, and I perhaps need to come back in the right mood to give it another try. To be updated!

A wonderful experience if you're looking for some fabulous Italian cuisine! The staff are beyond…read morehelpful and tentative, making sure you have everything you need! It's def got an old feeling about the place, a swag 40's American smooth feel! Loved it! The food was absolutely incredible! Everything was delicious and my mojito was assembled before my very eyes! As I said, a wonderful experience! Would highly recommend!

In the classier end of Leeds city centre lies Bibi's, an extravagant Italian eatery which allows…read moreyou to step out of Leeds and into 1950's New York for an evening. This is due to the elegant Broadway-styled interior which gives the place an definite air of over-the-top decadence. This might be a problem if the food didn't match the surroundings, but thankfully it does. For starters, I had a 'small' portion (it was still huge) of flawless spaghetti bolognese, followed by a gorgeous chicken breast in mozzarella and parma ham, and topped it off with a fairly indulgent warm chocolate fudge cake. Each course was top-notch, as was the service (most of the waiters are Italian, and most of the waitresses are mighty fine), and my party ended a fine evening by each ordering a ridiculously large cocktail, which are like Bibi's in a nutshell: huge, tasty and glitzy. Of course, on the price spectrum, Bibi's is towards the expensive end, but, for the food, service and twentieth century Italian-American experience you are given, it's more than worth it.

I like my pool, but not enough to go to a pool 'lounge' for an intense best of 21 frames. I'm more…read moreof a killer pool man, to be fair - a bit more sociable, isn't it? But I'm not here to consider a sociological investigation, it's the Elbow Room. I've only ever been on a weekend, when the room is transformed from it's laidback American themed pool lounge to a buzzing venue and club, proferring up live bands and DJs. Drinks aren't cheap and neither is entry, but once in a while - if there's a decent band on or an official aftershow with a band from the Academy doing a DJ set, it's well worth a trip.

The Elbow Room is definitely the most stylish place to pretend to be a pool shark in Leeds - loads…read moreof top of the range tables and fresh equipment that put the grotty tables and cues you find in most pubs to shame. However, you pay for it - it's probably only worth going regularly if you're really good or really rich, as it is top end it terms of pricing. There are a few little deals through the week to draw you in, however - free pool all day on Mondays (drink slowly and it's all worth it) and free pool for women on Thursdays. Aside from pool, they do some fairly good nights at the weekend, based around a good choice in music and a very relaxed vibe - Saturdays are the pick, and well worth checking out if you fancy a change of scenery.