Kendells Bistro — Restaurant in Leeds

Went out with my partner for our anniversary this week, firstly, the restaurant is beautiful, very warm feeling with candles and low lighting, we were welcomed by a female host who immediately said "do you have a mask as it's the law now", obviously with Covid-19 many new rules are in place, I am exempt from from wearing a mask for a mixture of mental health and physical health problems and my partner simply forgot his mask, however the restaurant did provide one to him, I notified the host I was exempt and couldnt wear one to which she very abruptly cut me off by stating "it's the new law"...I responded by informing her it is also the law that people who are exempt cannot be forced or asked questions into why they cannot wear masks, she ignored this and told us we wouldn't be seated unless I put one one...so at this point I'm feeling pretty sour with the experience, a simple "good evening, do you mind putting a mask on?" Would've been 10x more polite and factored inclusion of customers without discriminating because of health issues...

We were seated and left for 10 minutes before having someone even take our drinks order...a couple arrived at the same time as us and had already recieved their drinks and had their starters at this point (I couldnt help but to think I was now being targeted a little because of the earlier conversation...)

All in all the food ordered off of the set menu was very good, it was a little over £28 for 3 courses (not including wine).

However, we did also order some bread... I wont complain too much on this as it was very cheap, but seeing images of beautiful bread baskets, I was a little upset when we recieved 4 thinly sliced bits of a seemingly wholemeal bread with a rock solid slice of butter (impossible to spread) and the smallest pot of tomato tapenade you can imagine...we both got main courses which were saucy so asked for a top up on bread, the second lot of bread was completely different...4 slices of a white baguette style, the same rock solid butter but the tomato tapenade seemed to be missing...

Overall, well priced enough that it wasnt worth complaining about at the time and the food and atmosphere were absolutely lovely but the small inconsistencies with timings between us and another couple, blunt and rude greetings by the host, refusing to listen to the customer when informing of the correct laws, discriminating and embarrassing a customer surrounding health issues before even being sat down...on an anniversary aswell, and bread sides not matching any pictures on the website, not matching written menu description on second occasion and being vastly different both times...I dont know if I would come back, if I could be guaranteed the host had been trained correctly in inclusion and discrimination or wasnt working...then I would most likely return for the food, but unfortunately could only give 3/5 on...

We went here after reading reviews on how good it was.

We booked in advance.

Started brilliant with very helpful and friendly staff. They made us fully understand the menu on the wall and said we were more than welcome to go up to the wall and read it or even take photo of the board.

Starters : Pate, Scallops and French onion soup All was ok at this point until the waiter came back to say that Pate wasn't suitable for my allergy as it was Pre made. I said I'm going to have the same problem with most of your starters available to me. The waiter said that it would be best to have the salad as it's freshly made. So disappointly I decided to have the salad. Only plus side to the salad it came with gluten free croutons. Other than that it was mediocre.

Scallops presented nicely on a fish shaped dish cooked really nicely.

French onion soup was good as well.

Mains: steak and chips with side salad and cauliflower cheese, Liver Bacon and Mash and Haliburt.

On the allergy side of things this faired much better. But it went down hill from there.

Liver and bacon arrived along with the haliburt and chips. So we had to ask for the mash.

The mash arrived along with the salad, and cauliflower cheese it was still another few mins wait for my steak. At this point my chips were cool.

The other mains went down ok.

Deserts well when we were handed the menu the waitress made the point of saying that the creme brulee was gluten free. And by 9pm they sold out of the lemon flavoured sorbet.

Well to only have one gluten free desert option and one sorbet totally unacceptable.

It took 20 mins to attract the attention of the waiting staff by waving the credit card in the air. They seem to be more interested in clearing the big table.

The restaurant seems to be over staffed.

Can't understand why people would pay over the odds for poor service, lack of desert options and average food.

Needs...

For our 3rd wedding anniversary celebration, I chose Kendell’s Bistro after seeing it pop up in my social media. After several years of visiting my sister in Paris, I love French food. As soon I stepped through the door, I was in France! From the candle lit tables to the mouthwatering menu. Kendell’s Bistro is as good as, if not even better, than some of the places I have eaten in Paris. It did not disappoint. Obviously, I had to start with the French onion soup. My husband had duck liver pate. For our main, we both chose the slow roast duck leg with dauphinoise potato’s and green beans. I was really looking forward to having a dessert but I was so full from starter and main, I couldn’t let myself not appreciate the dessert to its full potential. So it was a lovely surprise when we received our bill, the staff looking after us, made our visit even more special with two complimentary petit fours that were presented beautifully on a slate that read “Bon anniversaire”. It was a lovely touch to an already wonderful first experience here. Next time, I will either share or skip the starter, as I have the sweetest tooth and I need to try the desserts! The mocktail I had was so tasty. Overall, I can’t wait to visit again. I’ll definitely bring my sister and her French partner when they next visit England. I cannot wait to share the experience of Kendell’s Bistro with them. I especially think her French partner will love to see sticky toffee pudding on the menu!

Overall, to summarise my review, the atmosphere, service from wonderful staff and the food were 10/10. One word - flawless!

I’m already excited for our next visit. A true Leeds hidden gem which I won’t...