Bruncho: 'I tried Leeds’ viral restaurant everyone is queuing for to see if it lived up to the hype'

We now live in an age where a restaurant can go from opening its doors to becoming a viral sensation almost overnight.

All it takes are a few videos that catch the imagination, some very photogenic dishes and before you know it suddenly everyone wants a table.

There comes a particular moment when a restaurant stops being just a restaurant and becomes an actual thing.

The queues, the TikToks, the “you have to try this” messages and suddenly everyone seems to be talking about it.

So when Bruncho landed in Leeds City Centre following its viral success over the other side of the Pennines we had one question: does it actually live up to the hype?

Bruncho is well known for its queues down the road and its Instagram friendly settings along with the revival of the Labubu (remember them?)

So we had high expectations heading to Bruncho on The Headrow when it had just opened its doors.

We took our chances and got there before lunch so we could avoid the queues, and we were glad we did as when we left the queue was already around the corner.

When you entered the stunning building, it was light and airy and the counter was packed with mouth-watering treats.

We were quickly shown to a table - and that is sadly where the service started lacking.

There was no explanation about what to do next other than a QR code on the table which we soon worked our way through.

The menu left us spoiled for choice. There was everything from mouth-watering sandwiches, a Full English breakfast, steak and eggs and their special a New York bruncho roll burger.

And the drinks choices were superb including a whole variety of different matchas, coffees and Freddo matcha too.

We ordered a Freddo latte and dirty chai latte.

When the drinks had arrived my Freddo latte had clearly been spilled on the tray and we weren’t given any tissues to clean up the sticky glass.

The server also spent some time trying to unstick the receipt for our order from the bottom of the glass.

The drinks were superb but it’s just the little touches that elevate restaurants from good to outstanding - it really is the little touches that add to the finesse.

Our food quickly arrived but we had to hunt down some cutlery once it had arrived.

Again, it’s just the little touches that can make customers feel like they are being truly spoiled.

I ordered the smoked salmon, rocket and cream cheese sandwich. The bulging focaccia came with a serving of seasoned fries and was simply delicious.

The bread was thick and well seasoned and they didn’t scrimp on the filling.

My dining partner ordered one of the New York roll burgers and he was not disappointed.

It was a good job we found a knife and fork as it collapsed as soon as he picked it up to eat it.

The food was exceptional but sadly we never got the chance to say so because our server checked in to see how our meal was.

It might have been that we were eating on a little balcony that we could have been forgotten about or it could have been just a minor teething issue as it had only just opened.

As with any new arrival you expect there to be a few little teething issues that we hope can be easily resolved.

When we left the building there was already a queue around the corner so it shows that word of mouth (or social media) is certainly getting out there.

We’ll certainly be paying a visit again and with a few little tweaks to the service then hopefully, next time, it fully lives up to all the hype.

Factfile

Address: 159 The Headrow, Leeds LS1 5RG

Opening hours: Mon - Sun 8am - 5pm

Website: https://bruncho.co.uk/

Scores

Food/drinks: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Service: 6/10