KC Chef - Kirsty Cheetham

16/03/2026

Please give us a vote, great team and the food is awesome 😎

The Good Food Guide's 100 Best Local Restaurants is open for nominations for 2026. We've been fortunate enough to appear several years running now (since 2017 in fact) and it would be fantastic to show them once again what we can do, especially now we're well settled in Headingley.

This is one for the best local, independent restaurants and bistros all across the UK, so if you can spare five minutes to nominate us and tell the Guide why you like to visit The Swine Bistro we'd be so grateful.

Nominations are open until 19 April and it's really simple (and quick!) The form is online here: https://www.thegoodfoodguide.co.uk/best-local-restaurant/nominations

13/03/2026

Representation Matters.
Whoever you are, if you don’t see someone who looks like you in a particular industry then you are less likely to look for employment there. And whilst there are many women in hospitality, they are a little sparse around management level. And that’s why I’ve been fairly vocal about how the Leeds food scene is represented on social media. Because these accounts promote us not just to a Leeds audience, not even just to a Northern audience, but to a National audience.
And on an even more basic level it just makes good business sense. More than 50% of our customers are women. It’s just a fact that a group booking with us is mostly likely to be mixed family or friends or all women. And women like to see other women running and owning the businesses they frequent.
I don’t want to dwell too much on what happened on Sunday, I’ve written my blog, it’s on the Swine’s website (link in the bio). I’ve vented and it’s there for you all to read. Now I want to move on and ask “How can we get better representation in the food scene in our city” And it’s down to those who have the representation at times stepping back and allowing others to shine. This is tough when your business is on the line and you’re trying to promote yourself. But ultimately I believe we will all benefit from a stronger more diverse food scene. One where people come to from around the country to experience what Leeds has to offer.

30/01/2026

Amazing achievement for the team, super proud of this 😊

11/01/2026

We won't sugarcoat it - January is a tough time for independent businesses. After the festivities (and expense) of Christmas, we see a little slump in people coming out for lunch or dinner. Obviously it's something we prepare for after being in business for so long, but if we can urge people to support their local, indie businesses during this time then we will.

When you dine with us, you're not just supporting one family-run business, you're actually supporting several. We use local and independent wherever we can from our ingredients to our drinks to our waste collection. So you can come for a cosy lunch or a delicious dinner at The Swine Bistro and know that you're doing your bit to keep local businesses alive and kicking. You can be a local economy hero!

Don't forget that if you dined with us in December you got a 15% off food voucher too, and that is valid this month only. We've got the heating on, a new menu and our usual friendly, informal atmosphere this new year - so there's no better time to visit The Swine.

08/11/2025

Celebrate one of France’s most joyful wine traditions with our first ever Beaujolais Nouveau Day menu.

Each November, the first bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau are released just weeks after harvest. They're young, vibrant and bursting with flavours. It’s all about celebrating the new vintage and raising a glass to the year’s hard work in the vineyards.

Join us on Thursday 20 November as we mark the occasion with a special small plates evening menu perfectly paired to complement the bright, fruity notes of this year’s Beaujolais. Expect French-inspired dishes with rustic flavours and a bit of joie de vivre!

There will be limited bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau (available by the glass) and plenty of other French wines on offer too.

Book your table on our website now before they're gone, as obviously there are limited tables for this one special evening of the year.

18/08/2025

Starting the week off with a bit of crumpet. A bit of a cult fave at The Swine Bistro, you'll find our Homemade Crumpet, Baron Bigod and Fermented Thyme Honey with our desserts and cheese dishes to round off your meal.

A homemade crumpet (nothing like the shop bought ones) is topped with a generous portion Baron Bigod, a Brie-style cheese from Fen Farm in Suffolk. Dressed with the delicious Benefer Bees Headingley honey which we have taken the time to ferment. Fermenting the honey breaks it down so it's a little runnier, a little less sweet and allows those local floral notes to become more pronounced.

If you've not tried it yet then maybe now's the time. Easily a contender for our most ordered (and photographed) plate of this year..

16/08/2025

Fantastic achievement, proud of all involved

We don't mind saying we were nervous about whether we'd an entry into The Good Food Guide's 100 Best Local Restaurants. Events totally overtook us at the very start of 2025 and opening at Otley Road took much longer than we'd wanted it to.

We didn't doubt that we'd be nominated (because frankly our diners are the BEST and always so supportive) but when we got our visit in only our third week of opening we couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety. Were we ready yet? How much snagging was left to tackle? Had we lost our mojo moving to a bigger place?!

We've appeared in the Guide consistently since 2017 and it's not something we ever take for granted. We opened The Swine That Dines because we jus love what we do and The Swine Bistro has been the fufilment of our lifelong dream. But it is so wonderful for the whole team to be celebrated. It's tough out there and competition is so fierce with so many great places all vying for a place in the guide. And of course this year has been so different for The Swine. So this year of all years it means more than we can really express.

16/07/2025

We’ve been listed in the ’s 100 Best Local Restaurants!!!!

We couldn’t believe it when we first appeared as a Best New Entry in the guide 2017. A tiny little restaurant that started as a pop up! And we’ve been so grateful to have been consistently mentioned along with the best in Leeds every year since

This year when we asked for your help with nominations for the guides “100 best local restaurants” we really never expected to be successful. At that point we were only a month in so to be shortlisted was amazing. To actually get on to the list, to be mentioned alongside with such other wonderful establishments, was more than we could have dreamed of! It’s a testament to all the hard work the whole team have put in. And the mad thing is that is so early in our journey. We’re still learning and evolving. We’re still in that exciting period where everyday there’s something new. Something to work on and make better. When the team is full of enthusiasm and passion and eagerly looking forward to the good times ahead. There’s so much more to come from us!!

So thank you to you all for nominating us. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you to our team for sharing our dreams and working so hard to make them come true. But also knowing that we’re not done yet, for knowing that now is not the time to rest on our laurels. They come in everyday and give it their all to make The Swine the best it can be. To have a team that sees the potential, that strives everyday to constantly improve, is priceless. And we’re incredibly grateful to have found such wonderful individuals to make up this great team.

So stick with us folks!! The Swine has so much more to give!!!

16/07/2025

Just a little shoutout for Kirsty. When we were planning to move to Headingley she was the first new recruit on board and she's been an incredible addition to the Swine team.

She's responsible for the smooth running of the kitchen. As Jo's always said "good food does not come out of chaos" and it was with this in mind that she approached Kirsty all those months ago. Kirsty is calm under pressure. She's a great teacher, passing on her years of skills and knowledge to those who are eager to learn. She allows those on her team to flourish. It took so long to open The Swine that we nearly lost her but she hung on knowing that we could do good things here together,

Our kitchen is a happy productive place and that is in no small part down to Kirsty. Best signing of the year.

14/07/2025

Don't forget that we're open for lunch Wednesday to Saturday for bookings 12pm - 3pm.

We usually have space for walk-ins on weekdays, but we can't guarantee, so bookings can be made on our website to ensure we have a table for you (we hate to disappoint anyone!)

Our usual lunch menu differs from the Sunday lunch menu of course, but there's plenty to tempt you and pair with a nice glass of wine, beer or other refreshing beverage from our bar (alcohol-free options always available.)

As always, we aim to provide somewhere relaxed, casual and informal to enjoy good food with friends or family (or by yourself, why not?)

📍Find us at 77A Otley Road, Headingley, Leeds, LS6 3PS or call 0113 469 2383