Leeds pub The Highland Laddie named Britain's best pub in The Good Food Guide just months after reopening
A beloved, traditional watering hole in Leeds has been named the Best Pub in Britain by The Good Food Guide.
The Highland Laddie on Cavendish Street - situated between Burley Road and Kirkstall Road - has come out on top of this year’s edition of the list, having only reopened in April this year.
It’s a remarkable achievement for the historic pub, which has been an instant success since being taken over by the team behind The Empire Café.
Before being redeveloped by new owners Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton, the 100-year-old pub was a favourite among many including those working nearby and the students that moved to the city.
Sam and Nicole found the pub for sale on Rightmove after it closed in 2023 and remastered the historic watering hole with an eclectic menu that the Good Food Guide says “raises the bar for casual yet creative pub dining”.
They said: “We are all absolutely over the moon to be recognised as The Good Food Guide’s No.1 pub in Britain!
“We are even more thrilled to be flying the flag for Leeds and Yorkshire.”
Our reviewer gave a glowing write-up about The Highland Laddie after visiting in September, saying it was now their “go-to recommendation for anyone visiting Leeds”.
Despite the doom and gloom picture of Britain’s pubs, with closures currently averaging one per day in 2025, The Good Food Guide is celebrating the nation’s thriving appetite for genuine pubs with proper food and proper beer – and the growing number of venues that are delivering it.
Editor of The Good Food Guide, Chloë Hamilton, said: “We went searching for the pubs that nail the drinking and dining side of the equation. It turns out the harder you look the more you find, and they’re not all hidden away in the Cotswolds. The Highland Laddie – a city-centre slam dunk – is a very good case in point.”
The Good Food Guide, Britain’s authority on eating out since 1951, published its inaugural list of 100 Best Pubs in Britain, in partnership with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and supported by Tracklements and Koffmann’s Potatoes.