Smokestack — Restaurant in Leeds

I don't normally write Google reviews, but in the instance of visiting Smokestack this weekend I felt I had to.

A small group of us visited Leeds this weekend for a 40th Birthday, a brilliant time in a nice city with friendly people...right up to our unfortunate visit to the Smokestack. A friend of our was already drinking in the establishment and suggested to us that we come over and meet them. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the door staff at the venue, but immediately told we would be unable to gain entry.

Confused, we asked why this was the case and was told it was because our friend was "most definitely drunk" and would not be allowed in. Our friend in question has MS (Multiple Sclerosis), so struggles to stand/walk for long periods of time, which is why her stance seemed laboured. We explained this calmly to the first member of the security staff, showing that she was fully able to hold a conversation, was not slurring her words or anything approaching "drunk", attempted to explain MS how it affects people, and even got the staff to agree that none of the rest of our group looked remotely drunk or rowdy and that we were here just to meet a friend.

Now, we understand door staff have a duty of care to ensure they are not allowing extremely drunk people to continue, but in this instance it was obviously NOT the case. The staff was adamant she was drunk and would not listen to reason. Of course, this is a disgusting way to deal with someone who already has to deal with the struggle of having a debilitating disease, never mind been told continuously that they are drunk, when quite obviously they were not.

We asked the door staff for his name because he was being extremely discriminatory, to which he then felt it to correct course of action to walk up the stairs and ignore us, to be replaced by who we can only guess would have been the senior door staff worker who had been in the background during the initial conversation. This chap, seemed to double down on the "she's drunk" message while not listening or speaking to us in anything other than a condescending manner.

To raise the point of how unreasonable and discriminatory the door staff were, we walked left to a bar just next door and had a conversation with the door staff about what has just transpired. He was more than understanding to the situation, listened to the explanation around our friend, and could plainly see she was not drunk...to the point he allowed us all to come into his bar, and continue to enjoy the rest of the weekend. Bravo that man.

The long and short of it, avoid Smokestack. Have never seen another human be so disgustingly...

I was here on Saturday night. Possibly the best night I’ve ever had and I’ve had a lot of nights out. Amazing DJ, bar staff and security.

The crowd was the perfect mix of ages and gay, straight, black, white etc. Free to get in and if you love dancing this is the place. Nobody cares how you look. If you are friendly and sociable and genuinely want an old school night out you cannot go wrong here.

I have made new friends and booked tickets to a club with people I met on the night. My highlight was two really young lads having the best night with people older than them.

It’s a bit of a long review but this place is a gem and I’ll be back once my legs...

Brilliant little bar slightly tucked away so was a little difficult to find however upon entering we were greeted by an impressive bar with a large collection of alcohol behind. The bartender who served us was a great guy who made one of the best Mai Tais I've ever drank. They also have wonderful showmanship especially on their special cocktails, my girlfriend had a flaming hurricane where they set a lime amd raspberry on fire to serve. The music is super cool too had us feeling like we were in a classic speakeasy. Maybe a little small for when it gets busy but was a brilliant bar for people who like their cocktails...