North London’s Trullo made headlines this week by painting their Islington shopfront red to celebrate Arsenal’s premier league win. Up in the north of Leeds city centre though, Smithfield’s fresh coat of burgundy had already been dry for weeks. Theirs was a statement of intent, harking back to the days when 76-78 North Street was The Reliance.
For those not familiar with Leeds restaurant lore, The Relly was – is – a much-missed neighbourhood bistro sort-of-gastropub that was the gateway drug for Leeds foodies who belong to the generation that now makes involuntary groans when they stand up out of a low chair. A Modern British beacon that bridged the gap between the Leeds eras of Anthony’s early-00s New Labour fine dining and the 2013-2019 boom of small plates, craft beer and filament lightbulbs. Memories were made there – birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, stolen afternoons filled with pints and plates of house-cured charcuterie. It had a special place in our hearts.
And then one day it was over. The owners went to concentrate on their side project Wayward Wines (which now supplies every local restaurant worth its Meursault with Clic Clac, Pet Nat and other natural wines that sound like vocal stims), and last time we checked, head chef Tom Hunter was leading the kitchen at Ox Club. They’re doing fine!
The Reliance was not. The new owners’ pledge to “preserve the legacy” of the place amounted to changing the name, stripping the decor of its charming rough-hewn elegance, erasing 10 years of people’s memories by wiping the social media feed, and painting the signature red framing of its iconic curved glass frontage the sort of blue so uninspiring that I’ve just spent 15 minutes trying to think of a metaphor and – well, look where that got us.
So it was impossible to read the re-redding of the venue as anything but a bit of Vince Gilligan-ian foreshadowing of what’s to come; an Easter egg for Leeds foodies of the age where they turn misty-eyed at the mention of The Cockpit.
Same with the name – Smithfield being the area of London home to the legendary 10th-century meat market and a little restaurant called St John, founded by culinary legend Fergus Henderson. It’s not just a nod to a shared ethos either - Smithfield head chef James Donovan’s CV included Rochelle Canteen, owned by Fergus’s wife and collaborator Margot, before he took a more literal approach to “cooking with Henderson’s relish” and moved to Sheffield, heading up the kitchen at Native.
You don’t have to do much dusting to see the Hendersons’ fingerprints here – there’s pig’s head and ox heart and hogget and other things Roald Dahl might have one of his characters eat to let you know they’re a brute. There’s a meritocratic approach to the menu with produce leading the way, occasionally nudged along by a well-timed dollop of gribiche or slick of bisque. Plates of whole radishes with their leafy tops intact sit next to a creamy whirl of deeply fishy, whipped cod’s roe, asparagus’s spring sweetness is given the spotlight, with a light showering of floral Corra Linn cheese there for the backing harmonies.
Much of the food comes with a lick of flame from the grill, which adds a bit of bitterness to soft, sweet leeks served on a bed of romesco, or wedge of fennel served with perfectly crisped pan-fried coley. Pies – thick crusted and appropriately shaped like a crown – come out of the oven filled to the brim with herd-fed chicken in a tarragon gravy. The fryer station isn’t given much to do, but what it does, it does impeccably, walloping out those must-order pig’s head croquettes that sizzle on contact with gribiche, and biblically accurate chips.
In a nice full-circle moment, wines are supplied by Wayward Wines (who else?) and the beer taps out front heavily feature locally brewed cask and keg from new owners Crooked Brewing, a small brewery based in York. If they had a quid every time they heard “The Reliance” in the past few months, they could afford to fund an empire, but early impressions suggest that The Smithfield is well on its way to making its own name for itself.
WHERE 76-78 North Street Leeds LS2 7PN
FOLLOW @the_smithfield
BOOK thesmithfieldleeds.com
