Brotherhood Leeds review: I tried the city centre sports bar that’s just had a £500k glow up

Opened by Seema Dhiman in 2014, the Leeds city centre sports bar has undergone a £500,000 refurbishment to mark its 10th birthday - including new decor, private dining areas and new food and drink menu.

I went along on a busy Saturday evening to check it out. Despite being bang in the city centre, the decor channels a traditional country pub. Walls have been painted in classy bottle greens and deep reds and there's fascinating sports memorabilia on every wall.

But let’s get to the good stuff - the screens. There’s a whole lot of them, perfectly positioned for every seat, as well as a crisp and powerful sound system. We timed our visit to watch Chelsea take on Man City and we could hear every word of the commentary despite the bar being packed.

We could also watch rugby league from where we were seated, and Brotherhood’s 10th birthday coincides with some huge sporting events this year - the Six Nations and Euros among them. 

As you would expect, there’s a great range of beers behind the bar and a decent wine list. But, perhaps surprisingly for a sports bar, the stars of the new menu are the cocktails, with many named after sporting events. 

We started with the classics - a perfectly-poured espresso martini, Tom Collins and dark and stormy. Then it was on to two original creations, the Headingley ‘81 with Bombay Sapphire gin, elderflower, cucumber and mint, which was super refreshing and my favourite tipple of the evening.

My friend went for the Diego’s Double - Brotherhood coffee tequila and El Jimador tequila with coffee liqueur and espresso. Like an espresso martini but boozier - what could be better?

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Cocktails are £8.50 or two for £13 all day long - very reasonable for the city centre. We didn’t eat this time but there’s now a bigger range of tempting grub, from Brotherhood’s famous wings to wraps and mozzarella dippers. 

The atmosphere was buzzing but still super comfortable and inclusive.

And I suspect that atmosphere has a lot to do with Seema’s staff - from the friendly but on-the-ball security to the utterly lovely bartenders who were rushed off their feet but pouring drinks with rapid speed.

It’s a fantastic refresh, but there’s still no gimmicks at Brotherhood. It’s just a great place to watch live sport and sip good drinks in a fab atmosphere. 

And that’s why it’s stood the test of time.

Factfile

Address: 54 New Briggate, Leeds, LS1 6NU

Telephone: 0113 243 4060

Opening hours: Sun-Weds, noon-12am; Thurs, noon-1am; Fri-Sat, noon-3am

Website: thisisthebrotherhood.com

Scores

Atmosphere: 10/10

Drinks: 8/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 9/10