Reviews of Kendells Bistro

Lovely evening with excellent food and service. Restaurant was quiet, but staff still attentive, but discreet. The booking system's £30 per person booking/cancellation fee is excessive, and I won't book through it, until the last minute, which means the Restaurant doesn't have my reservation on its paper system.

If only Google Maps had a 6 star option - Kendell's Bistro is one of the most enchanting and delightful restaurants I've ever visited. From the moment my partner and I walked in to celebrate our anniversary, we were met by warm and welcoming staff with outstanding and friendly customer service skills. Every member of Sharon and Steve's team were great. The atmosphere of this bistro is leagues ahead of every other restaurant I've been to in Leeds. Lit by candles and decorated with traditional French art pieces, you truly feel in the heart of France - the aurora is truly romantic and magical in all the right ways. Once we were seated, we were treated to a complementary class of fizz which was a nice touch. After some olives to start, we had the Lamb Shank and the Confit of Duck. Wow. Both dishes were plated eloquently and tasted absolutely divine. 10/10. Having enjoyed our meal, we were reassured that we had the table for the rest of the evening, so we enjoyed some wine and soaked up every bit of the atmosphere. To conclude, the work and heart that Sharon and Steve have put into this gem over 17 years shows. With unrivalled character, charm and pure delight, this is what dining is all about.

Wow, this place was fantastic. A birthday treat from a friend who has been mutliple times and highly recommended it. Decor was warm, staff were super hospitable. You felt transported into a Parisian bistro, and I have expected Ratatouille's Remy in the kitchen, whipping up masterpieces. French onion soup was to die for. Thick, rich, flavoursome, and the perfect texture to dip fresh, warm bread into. I'd come all the way back from Liverpool for this alone. The seabass was delicious, topped with juicy prawns and a bed of crab linguine. Mouth is watering just thinking about it. Although full, we shared a crème brulée. It was a generous portion, and was perhaps the best crème brulée I've ever eaten. Absolutely beautiful. Complimentary prosecco and brownies for the birthday boy (me 😂) completed a wonderful time. I'll be bringing people here for sure. You should come too. Do it right now!

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The food was amazing - honestly a shame I couldn’t get photos - but the atmosphere of little lights twinkling, gorgeous art and candles everywhere is unmatched. We came as a group of 8 and the service was prompt and very attentive. Absolutely recommend - though on the pricier side.

Kendell's is a Leeds institution, a place where you can enjoy traditional French cooking in atmospheric candle-lit surroundings. The service is always good without being stuffy or over-formal. On this visit the food was absolutely excellent: they really know how to cook fish. It's not cheap, but it is good value.

This is the 4th time we've been here since moving back from Oz. No family with us this time, but we had a voucher from a friend so it was a cheaper night out. Bread and olives before starters. All good. Love the butter. I had a pig cheek, small portion but cooked perfectly, wifey had a rabbit terrine. Loved it. Mains came out in good time, not too long, not too quick. Enough time for talking and sipping wine and taking in the beautiful looking restaurant. Venison with celeriac mash, blackberries. She raved about it. I got beef cheek. Again I thought it was small but then a portion of mash came out of nowhere and saved it. Turns out I didn't see the mash in the menu. Very nice dish. Nothing new, but executed very well. We shared an old school chocolate fondant for dessert. Nigh on perfect. I do want to point out that 25 years ago I worked at Leodis as a chef and this owner, owned that. But I know Steve as much as I know anyone I haven't seen in 24 years. Also, one one of the occasions I came here, with my wife's parents, I had a terrible meal. Everyone else loved theirs, but mine totally missed the mark. It wasn't a hot meal as it should have been, and even though I knew the dishes from my time at Leodis, time had not been kind. But again, everyone else loved theirs so I put mine down to shameful nostalgia. So even though I've enjoyed myself 75 percent of the time here, I still highly recommend because no one else I know has had anything bad at all to say about Kendall's.

We booked this whilst working in Leeds and disappointed we were not! The restaurant was quieter then the weekend I guess. For us it was perfect as we could easily converse and admire the surroundings eclectic but in a good way. The huge candelabra did its best to remind us of the Disney beauty and the beast. Lighting is based on candles giving a more subdued effect. The toilets are akin to the dressing rooms of the Moulin Rouge with the theatrical take on the lighting! The wine is excellent one of the choices is a pinot noir not cheap I think it was £85 a bottle but it was outstanding such a depth to it. We ordered some starters and bread. The bread and butter were just what we needed to start and a mixture of croquette de jambon, boudin noir and oeuf aux meurettes. All were hearty starters and devoured with aplomb. Additional surprise order was the escargot ideal for the 6 of us though 2 only really wanted to try them. We braved it given the impressions you get. They duly arrived underboastry and each one in a individual hole. Taking one each the garlic butter masks a lot and probably easier to digest. And all 6 were tried and none projected back out. The mains were steaks a tournedos de boeuf and classic steak au poivre vert. Add a few sides if what seemed like aligot pomme dauphoinoise and some broccoli. The steaks were well received and left no room for desserts bit we did have a cheeky cocktail. Service was great and a pleasure to share our good day with them. Well recommended as a place for charm individuality and service be it a lone diner, couple or group

Cannot fault my impromptu visit! Staff were excellent, food really was amazing 😍, very relaxed atmosphere, did I mention the food? Fantastic, this will not be my last visit, , also NO SERVICE CHARGE. So the choice is yours! Thankyou for a great evening Just had another visit, and pleased to say, FANTASTIC. Food and service still top notch, we were well looked after, STILL NO SERVICE CHARGE! Which makes me happy to leave a tip, rather than being asked to pay for an expected service. (keep the pineapple cheesecake) Thankyou

Visited here for the first time for Valentine’s Day, after hearing about its romantic atmosphere. Firstly, I must say, I absolutely agree. It is absolutely beautiful inside with candlelight and dimmed lightings surrounding. Secondly, the quality of service from the waitresses was outstanding; very professional and helpful. I’d only tried their set menu for valentines, but the food was overall good and well decorated, especially the dessert. However, as to my critical pallets, I thought the beef wellington was slightly too salty so I had to request lemon wedges to neutralise it. The dessert was overly sweet, like every part of it, so maybe an addition of an extra dimension of freshness could really uplift the experience(such as fresh fruit). Again, this was the set valentines menu, so not representative of their general menu, but I will be returning to try it. Lastly, I was surprised the bartender wasn’t able to make a common cocktail off the menu, maybe they didn’t have a bartender for that night as majority of people had wine & champagne instead. Overall, I highly recommend this place for a romantic dinner, or just in general.

Fantastic fine dining, probably the best restaurant in Leeds. Food was amazing and good selection of wines. Large blackboard menus with candlelit table lighting, rustic surrounding and background French music give this bistro a marvellous atmosphere to enjoy your meal. Staff were pleasant, friendly and attentive. Will return.

Went there last night and my experience was amazing. Loved the ambience of the restaurant - very romantic and intimate! We ordered escargot, french onion soup, rump steak and duck confit. The food was delicious, however the escargot could have been saltier. The drinks were exquisite! We did not order any dessert since we were full. The restaurant didn't have a menu so we were asked to see the board. The staff were very friendly! We arrived there slightly early than our reservation but they pointed us to a nearby bar where we could wait.

Overall, our experience at Kendell’s Bistro was a delight, and we throughly enjoyed our evening. The service was attentive and helpful, and the food was rich, flavourful and delicious. The fixed price menu runs from 5.30 – 7 at the weekend, and 5.30 to 8 on weekdays, and it is definitely good value for money, if you are fine with eating a little bit earlier in the evening. We went on the enjoy a very funny comedy play, The Beauty and Beast, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, and for a few champagne cocktails at Epernay to finish our night.

The first time we went to Kendells Bistro was over five years again and back then, there were still a few remnants of Neon Cactus. There was a also a brilliant deal of three courses and half a bottle of wine and food. We instantly fell in love with the place. Oh the food (we will get to that) as much as we love it, I would have to say that it’s the service as well that keeps us coming back. Every visit has a personal touch, it is clear to see that all the staff work extremely hard to ensure that the service is second to none. That’s why over the last couple of years we have been to Kendells, to celebrate five birthdays (the last of which was mine last year), two anniversaries, a Christmas celebration and a my last leaving do. Nestled on a back street in Leeds city centre, as soon as you enter you feel whisked away to a small bistro in Paris. The low lighting is intimate and each table is adorned with beautiful candelabr

As you can see presentation wasn't perfect on this evening... but it didn't affect the flavours. Flavours always trump presentation in my book, something can look amazing but taste horrible, whereas something that doesn't look amazing but tastes incredible will always win. The coffee however was good by all accounts from Tom, although not as good as some of the coffee he tasted in Paris... He standards have since risen.

The menu is chalked up on a massive blackboard, in traditional French bistro style. In one sense, that’s quite annoying if you’re the type of person who sometimes stares at a menu for a good fifteen minutes before deciding what to order…you do tend to feel a little conspicuous gawping at a blackboard for anything more than a minute or two, but on the