'Gloriously nostalgic': Leeds pub scoops Conde Nast Traveller best new restaurant award
A Leeds pub has been named one of the best new restaurants in the country, as it scoops another award.
It’s been a huge year for The Highland Laddie, which has quickly accumulated a long list of accolades since it reopened in April last year.
Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton, the masterminds behind The Empire Cafe, transformed the 100-year-old boozer with an eclectic menu that’s seen the venue “absolutely rammed” since it was brought back to life.
The pub has been named Britain's best in the Good Food Guide, received high praise from critics including Jimi Famurewa, and recently scooped Best Pub in Leeds at our Oliver Awards.
And now, The Highland Laddie has been named as one of the top new restaurants of 2026 in the UK by Conde Nast Traveller. The British travel magazine recently announced the winners of its third annual awards, celebrated at an event in London.
The awards were judged by an acclaimed panel of foodies, including Jimi Famurewa, food writer Tom Parker Bowles, chef Romy Gill MBE.
Conte Nast said the “gloriously nostalgic” Victorian boozer is “the best place to eat in Leeds right now” - praising the“refreshingly varied” price point, “outstanding” food and “brilliant Northern banter”.
The judges said: “The atmosphere is sufficiently fizzy, just as every good pub should be; it’s a place for the people, where all are welcome. The true epitome of a public house.”
Divia Thani, global editorial director of Condé Nast Traveller, said of this year’s winners: “Across the UK, a new generation of restaurants is redefining how we eat out, driven by creativity, confidence and a bold sense of identity.
“The UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards celebrate that spirit and the people shaping it. The restaurant business is a difficult one, but its contribution to making the UK an exciting, vibrant and dynamic place to be, cannot be overstated.
“Our F&B scene is a huge driver of tourism and revenue to the UK - and the best restaurants to have opened in 2025 are truly a reflection of our time. The cooking is honest but inventive; the spaces thoughtful and considered.
“It has been a pleasure to bring together so many of the country’s most exciting talents this evening. Congratulations to all of our winners, and thank you to our judges for their expertise and thoughtful selection of a group that reflects the depth and diversity of the UK’s food scene today.”
The full list of winners
- 2210 by NattyCanCook, Brockwell, London
- Bar Shrimp, Northern Quarter, Manchester
- Corner Shop, Yorkhill, Glasgow
- Fowlescombe Farm, Ugborough, Devon
- Franc, Canterbury, Kent
- Gina, Chingford, Essex
- Kynd, Hampton in Arden, Solihull
- Lai Rai, Peckham, London
- Legado, Shoreditch, London
- Lilibet's, Mayfair, London
- Maré by Rafael Cagali, Hove, Sussex
- Martino's, Sloane Square, London
- Moss, Stockbridge, Edinburgh
- Motorino, Fitzrovia, London
- Nishiki, Tollcross, Edinburgh
- Norah, Newhaven, Edinburgh
- Ogof, Pontcanna, Cardiff
- One Club Row, Shoreditch, London
- Poon's at Somerset House, Strand, London
- Shwen Shwen, Sevenoaks, Kent
- Singburi, Shoreditch, London
- Shanghai Me, Mayfair, London
- The Hart, Marylebone, London
- The Highland Laddie, Burley, Leeds
- The Rectory, Ugborough, Devon
- Vinette, New Town, Edinburgh
- Vraic, Guernsey, Channel Islands
- Winsome, City Centre, Manchester