Leeds favourite The Swine Bistro marks its first anniversary with Friends of the Swine menu
Award-winning Leeds restaurant The Swine Bistro celebrates its first birthday on Wednesday, 1 April, with a special menu marking its founders’ journey from a humble sandwich shop to one of the city’s most celebrated dining destinations in Yorkshire.
The Headingley restaurant, run by culinary couple Stu and Jo Myers, will host a special birthday dinner showcasing its signature bold, seasonal cooking.
Priced at £75 per person, the evening opens with a birthday cocktail created by award-winning mixologist Meg de Bell, followed by a series of refined, seasonal dishes including smoked eel gilda, rabbit and wild garlic sausage with celery and apple salad, and salt cod and caramelised onion tart, alongside vegetarian alternatives.
The menu continues with confit pork with puntarelle, roasted shallots and sage, before finishing with Jo’s famous trifle, a fitting finale for the restaurant’s first birthday feast.
Launching first to ‘Friends of the Swine’ members ahead of a wider public release, the celebratory evening serves as both a thank you to loyal supporters and a tribute to the community that helped it grow into one of the city’s most loved dining destinations in just 12 months.
Reflecting on the journey, co-founder Jo Myers said: “We’ve always just wanted to cook proper food that people enjoy eating. Looking back at where we started and seeing how far the restaurant has come is incredible.”
The story of The Swine Bistro began in 2012 with The Greedy Pig, a small Leeds café serving all-day breakfasts and hearty sandwiches.
What started as a neighbourhood spot soon evolved, as Stu and Jo began hosting pop-ups and supper clubs that quickly built a loyal following.
Their passion for bold flavours, Yorkshire produce and generous hospitality went on to shape The Swine That Dines, before evolving again into The Swine Bistro in its new home in Headingley.
Today, the 35-cover restaurant is recognised as one of the city’s best, earning a place in the Good Food Guide’s Top 100 Best Local Restaurants, alongside accolades from SquareMeal and most recently, being named one of the Yorkshire Post’s 50 Best Restaurants in Yorkshire.
A defining moment came in 2024, when the team launched a crowdfunding campaign to bring The Swine Bistro to life.
The response was overwhelming, hitting its target within 48 hours and exceeding expectations, enabling the move into a larger site and the realisation of their neighbourhood bistro vision.
Jo added: “None of it would have happened without the people who have supported us along the way, so celebrating with the ‘Friends of the Swine’ feels like the perfect way to mark our first birthday.”
At its core, The Swine Bistro champions proper grub made with the best Yorkshire ingredients. Stu’s cooking draws on traditional British food culture, combining classic dishes with seasonal, locally sourced produce.
Alongside its restaurant service, the bistro also offers private dining experiences for 8–12 people, giving guests a more intimate way to enjoy its signature cooking.
The Swine Bistro is located opposite the Arndale Centre on Otley Road, Headingley, and is open Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. Bookings can be made at www.theswinebistro.co.uk.