Restaurant review: Neighbourhood, Leeds

There are certain parts of Leeds city centre you might consider as prime locations and Greek Street is certainly one of them.
Neighbourhood new restaurant and cocktail bar.Neighbourhood new restaurant and cocktail bar.
Neighbourhood new restaurant and cocktail bar.

Despite the fact one side of it is currently shrouded in scaffolding, when you walk along this otherwise quite bland street, you nonetheless feel as though you’ve reached the Park Lane and Mayfair of the city, replete as it is with high end diners and bars. There’s a good reason for that. For businesses, it’s a cash cow - come Friday night, the place is heaving with well-oiled revellers more than willing to splash some cash.

But there has to be a quid pro quo - the place has to be at the top of its game, offering punters something different and giving them experiences they can brag about.

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When Carluccio’s vacated their spot on Greek Street, US-style party-bar Neighbourhood wasted no time in putting down their own marker.

A £1.7m refit, some fairy dust and quite a lot of showbiz-style lights later and they have managed to create one of the glitziest dining bars since Bibis down on Sovereign Street.

More or less as soon as you enter, you get the vibe, from the dressing room-style light bulbs extruding from pretty much everywhere to the giant murals on the walls and the sumptuous leather circle booths, it’s all been done with the customer in mind. Stylistically, it’s somewhere between a Las Vegas casino and a New York jazz bar.

Greetings are warm and friendly. It’s clearly a place Loiners have already taken to their hearts, judging by the other groups who are already in when I arrive.

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The concept here is an all-day/late night bar/diner and when they say ‘late’ they mean it. Thursday/Friday/Saturday they are open until 3am, falling back to 1am for the rest of the week.

I went for a glass of house white (pricy at £8.75) and the NHBD burger (£13), the only description being tomato, gherkin, special sauce. When it came, it was visually stunning, served in a black brioche, peppered with sesame seeds. Ultimately, a good burger with round, robust flavours coming from the two patties and filling, although the brioche was a touch dry.

The rest of the menu has fellet of seabass for £15, fillet steak for £24, with sides including truffled mash and cauliflower gratin (both £4).

All told my bill was £23.93 (with the ‘discretionary’ 10 per cent service charge). It seems pricy and it is. That’s not the point though. The point is, come Friday and Saturday nights, people will flock here for the kudos, the Instagram and Snapchat possibilities and the £10 cocktails with names like Super Fly ‘Whiskey makes me frisky’ and The Hedonist (£15), made with Hennessy XO will be just part of the decor.

Neighbourhood, Greek Street, Leeds

Scores: 4/5