Here in Leeds, we are never short of a unique restaurant or date night show stopper. The Date Night Diaries presents you with some of Leeds’ finest date night ideas, so grab your pre-drink and get into your evening attire, as tonight I am taking you to The Neighbourhood.
It was a Friday night, I had my satin skirt and leather jacket on and saw my boyfriend waiting for me sporting a shirt and North face puffer jacket (it is Leeds, of course). The Neighbourhood is a luminous restaurant positioned on Greek Street, half restaurant, half bar, and covered in fairground lights. 7 o’clock was perfect timing for the start of the 2-for-1 deal which included cocktails, prosecco, and various beers. This wasn’t just any 2-for-1 however, the cocktails came topped with colourful candy floss and the rose prosecco was decorated with floating raspberries. The menu had such a large range of sushi, small plates, mains, and salads – how was I meant to choose? So when the waitress came to take my order, it was obvious that everything my partner asked for would be stolen. Being the lovers of food which we are, (as who else can write this much about a restaurant every week?), we ordered two dishes each. If you have not already eaten today, you may want to skip the next few lines. To start, the 5 sushi rolls arrived on a long plate, my boyfriend poised with chopsticks at the ready. Then the duck lollipops arrived, which I was so excited to try because, seriously, who else would put pulled duck in a lollipop? The mini chicken burgers, just the two of them, came on a little sharing board. Not as much value for money in my opinion, but my boyfriend loved them. And, finally, we shared a side of truffle fries covered in parmesan. Looking back, there are better truffle fries out there, but clearly, our eyes were too big for our stomachs on this occasion.
And, just when you thought the food sounded like the peak of our night, who appeared out of the corner of the restaurant, but Sandy herself. Yes, Grease Sandy. The music started and she was up on the tables dancing and singing to the great surprise of the whole restaurant – and the sheer delight of the drunken hen party at the front. Then, in comes Danny, singing “you’re the one that I want” just a metre away from me and my mini burgers whilst Rizzo scowls with her cigarette.
All in all, The Neighbourhood took me by surprise, it was definitely on the pricier side when trying lots of different food and is very popular with hen parties and girl groups. But, as for an exciting date night in the posher part of Leeds, this was the perfect place to go.
Written by: Madeleine Brooks
Edited by: Rebekah Maybin