The ultimate winner winner chicken dinner at Leeds' newest opening Yard&Coop

One of the mighty burgers at Yard & Coop.

The people of Leeds are really spoilt for choice when it comes to eating out, however, a truly great gourmet chicken restaurant had so far passed it by. In case you didn’t know, fried chicken is one of my go-to guilty pleasures, and so the arrival of Yard & Coop couldn’t have come any sooner.

They flew into Merrion Street earlier this month, and I wasted no time in being first in line to find out if their mouth-watering buttermilk goodness delivered on its promise. Before we even get to the food, let’s talk about the decor.

The interior has a rustic, homely feel, brining cool, chilled out bar vibes complete with a pink Smeg fridge and various other kitsch touches. It’s highly recommended you kick things off with a Yard & Coop cocktail creation, cos they’re next level tasty

I went with What’s Golden, which really did taste like liquid gold with three different rums, and shaken with lime, pineapple, orange and passionfruit. Pure class in a glass. As you would expect, the food menu is very much the best chicken fest you could imagine, but there’s plenty more going for it too.

The Not Chicken Nuggets are delicious, consisting of crumb coated halloumi, that are best served with the sweet and sticky Korean sauce in my humble opinion. For mains, I decided to go all out and build my own chicken feast. I went with the flavour packed breast, which I married up with the fiery Bee’s Knee’s hot sauce and an upgrade to Dirty Fries.

The chicken goes from farm to fork within 48 hours, and it shows from the very first bite. Tender, juicy and coated in the most perfectly spiced crumb, it really is hard to beat. The Dirty Fries were another highlight, all smothered in cheese and a selection of sauces. If you fancy a casual meal out that’s guaranteed to be winner winner, then this place is definitely a bit of you.