Euros 2024: The best restaurants in Leeds and Wakefield to watch England play according to Danny Malin
In his weekly column for the Yorkshire Evening Post, Rate My Takeaway star Danny Mei Lan Malin shares his favourite spots to watch the Euros while you enjoy a quality meal.
I’m more about food than booze and with the Euros 2024 underway, I'm excited to pair my football viewing with some good grub in and around Leeds.
Like many, I spent the first England match at home recovering from a Father’s Day roast dinner. But when it comes to watching football out and about, I like places with good food and drinks.
I’m past my days as a youngster, standing sipping on pints in a smokey pub. Nowadays, my ultimate place to watch the Euros is Hickory’s Smokehouse.
The only smoke inside these huge restaurants is from the smoking rooms where the meat is being slowly cooked. Hickory’s is South American-style food, which is super tasty and family-friendly.
Not only do they have a cinema for the kids but at the new Hickory’s in Adel, which opened just a few days ago, there are a range of huge screens to watch sports.
This place is banging regardless of the score. There’s also a Hickory’s in Wakefield and Huddersfield.
If in doubt, try the smokehouse platter with the smoky bourbon bacon bites and frickles to start. Have a break to watch the football, and then enjoy a cookie and some frozen custard for dessert.
If you fancy Indian food, a mixed grill I recommend to pair with the sporting highlights is the Sheepscar Bar and Grill, in Savile Drive. The butter chicken there is great, too.
For a city centre pint and burger, Aire Bar in the Calls is a good spot as are other bars along Call Lane.
And if you’re going to grab a post-match kebab, head to Istanbul Grill.
A great place regardless of the time of the day to watch the Euros, grab a drink and eat, is Victoria Gate Casino. They do lots of different events and for me as a non-drinker, I enjoy just parking up in John Lewis and the short walk.
Over in Wakefield, the Supper Club screens matches and serves up stone baked pizzas.
But if you want something extra special in Wakefield, you can hire out RBT Video, in Northgate, which is a secret bar behind a video store.
Better still when I had my birthday party there, they served us up a crisp buffet and did a bespoke cocktail menu.
We also ordered the spicy biker Indian street food from across the way, which is just top notch.