Menyu

Local guide · West Yorkshire, England

For restaurant owners in Leeds: a menu ready for the 80,000 students who arrive each year

About 80,000 people come to study in Leeds each year, and in mid-2025 the city counted 17,719 residents aged 20 against 9,360 aged 17. Keep your printed menu; a QR code on the table can carry the dishes that change from day to day, in the language of students from abroad.

Get a mobile menu from my menu’s linkMake a QR code for my tables

Café table on a sunny winter pavement in Leeds between red-brick and sandstone buildings, with a red QR code stand, a crab crumpet with bisque and a pint of ale
AI-generated illustration

Key facts

Leeds in figures

people who come to study in Leeds each year, according to BBC News (2024)1
80,000
residents of the City of Leeds in mid-20252
840,550
the day every Leeds pavement licence ends; £500 to apply, £350 to renew3
31 March
overnight visits by overseas visitors in 2024, thirteenth among UK towns4
327,000

Students

Around 80,000 students a year

More than 80,000 people come to study in Leeds each year, according to BBC News; the University of Leeds alone has more than 38,000 students from over 170 countries. Unipol research quoted in the same article names the city centre, Hyde Park, Woodhouse and south Headingley as the places students most like to live.1

The ONS figures show the jump: in mid-2025 the City of Leeds had 9,360 residents aged 17 and 10,553 aged 18, then 15,836 aged 19 and 17,719 aged 20.2

More of them come from abroad. Between 2018/19 and 2022/23 the number coming from China to the University of Leeds rose by 39%, and at Leeds Beckett the number coming from India went from 100 to 1,709.1

For your menu

Term time brings young guests, many of them from abroad: a lunch offer they can read at a glance, in their language, does more than a long printed list.

Local rules

A pavement licence that ends every 31 March

Leeds City Council calls it a pavement licence or a street cafe licence. It is open to a pub, bar, restaurant or cafe based in Leeds that serves food and leaves room for pedestrians, prams and wheelchairs to pass.3

The licence costs £500 and is valid until 31 March each year; renewing costs £350 a year, and the council writes when renewal is due. Alcohol at the tables needs an on-sales premises licence, and if its hours differ from the street cafe licence, you close at the earlier time.3

Application forms come by e-mail: [email protected] for the city centre, [email protected] elsewhere. A complete file goes through 14 days of public consultation, and the council gives its answer within 28 days.3

For your menu

Whenever you apply, the licence ends on the next 31 March: plan the £350 renewal for that date.

Local food

Kirkgate Market, since 1857

Kirkgate Market was the largest indoor market in Europe when it opened in 1857, and Marks & Spencer began there as a market stall; it still has one.5

A fire on 13 December 1975 destroyed two thirds of the market, which reopened three days later. In 2013 the council invested £12 million, with communal seating where shoppers eat street food.5

For your menu

A kitchen that buys at the market changes its dishes with the stalls: the menu guests read should change as fast.

Local food

Thirteen MICHELIN addresses around Leeds

The MICHELIN Guide lists 13 restaurants for Leeds and its surroundings: four Bib Gourmands, eight selected addresses and one star, in Harrogate. Several sit in suburbs such as Horsforth.6

Eleven of the 13 offer vegetarian options, ten vegan options and eight gluten-free options, against a single one with halal options.6

For your menu

Vegetarian and vegan options are the norm in this selection: guests expect to find them on the menu without asking.

With Menyu

Using Menyu in Leeds

Menyu gives your menu one address and a QR code in your colours. In Leeds it helps most with students and with dishes that change daily; where the UK limits bite, the text says so next to the feature.

  • A lunch offer that only shows at lunchtime

    A category of your menu can appear at set hours only. Choose UK time in the settings and Menyu reads those hours on the Leeds clock: a lunch deal set from 12:00 to 14:30 shows from 12:00 to 14:30, then disappears.

    • Categories shown by time of day, on UK timeIncluded
    • UK time, chosen in the settingsIncluded
    See every feature of the menu

  • Dishes in Chinese for students from China

    Chinese is one of the 25 languages Menyu translates your dishes into, alongside Arabic, Malay and Turkish. The translation is automatic and you review it before publishing; the buttons of the menu stay in English.

    • 25 languages for your dishes, Chinese includedIncluded
    Preview my menu from its link

  • Today’s dishes, without reprinting

    The QR code, in your colours and with your logo, always opens the same address: change a dish or its price in the morning and guests see it at lunch. Prices show in pounds once you choose them in the settings.

    • A fixed QR code, a menu you change whenever you likeIncluded
    • QR code in your colours, with your logoIncluded
    • Prices in pounds, chosen in the settingsIncluded
    Make the QR code for my menu

According to the guides

Six MICHELIN picks in and around Leeds

All six appear in the current MICHELIN Guide selection for Leeds and its surroundings: two Bib Gourmands and four selected restaurants, from a dining pub on North Street to a tasting menu served at six tables and a kitchen counter in Boston Spa. Four of the six are priced ££.

None of these restaurants is a Menyu customer, and none was contacted. The list comes from the MICHELIN Guide; on 21 October 2026 each one’s website showed its bookings, menus or opening hours.

  1. The Smithfield

    North Street, Leeds7 · Traditional British · ££

    • MICHELIN Guide selection 20266

    The first dining pub of the Leeds brewer Crooked Brewing, with a menu that changes daily: crab crumpet with bisque, braised hogget shoulder with salsa verde.7

    MICHELIN Guide listingRestaurant website8

  2. Ox Club

    Bramleys Yard, The Headrow9 · Meats and grills, barbecue · £££

    • MICHELIN Guide selection 20266

    Wood-fired cooking on a grill imported from the US, in a former mill shared with a beer hall and a cocktail bar, with plenty of choice for vegetarians.9

    MICHELIN Guide listingRestaurant website10

  4. Forde

    Horsforth13 · Mediterranean cuisine · ££

    • MICHELIN Guide selection 20266

    Matt Healy’s sharing plates draw on the Mediterranean, from ‘Maisie’s Catalan Bread’ to chorizo cooked in Breton cider.13

    MICHELIN Guide listingRestaurant website14

  5. Prashad

    Drighlington15 · Indian vegetarian · ££

    • Bib Gourmand 202615

    A family-run Indian vegetarian restaurant over two floors of a former pub, inspired by the owners’ Gujarati heritage, with sharing menus, a tasting menu or à la carte.15

    MICHELIN Guide listingRestaurant website16

  6. Inlamentation

    Boston Spa17 · Creative · ££££

    • MICHELIN Guide selection 20266

    Michael O’Hare serves around a dozen small courses that change constantly, at six tables and four kitchen counter seats.17

    MICHELIN Guide listingRestaurant website18

Limits

What Menyu does not do

  • Prices on your menu can be in pounds, but the plans themselves are billed in euros.
  • The opening status follows the UK time you choose in the settings, but its wording is French, ‘Ouvert · Jusqu’à…’, whatever the language of the menu.
  • Payment accounts open in France only, so a Leeds restaurant takes no online payment through Menyu.
  • At sign-up, the optional phone number must have ten digits in French format; a UK number is rejected, so skip the field.
  • There is no tip or service charge on orders taken through Menyu.

Questions

Questions and answers

When does a Leeds pavement licence end?

On 31 March, every year. The first licence costs £500 and each renewal £350, and the council contacts you when renewal is due.

Request the form from [email protected] in the city centre or [email protected] elsewhere; after 14 days of public consultation, the council answers within 28 days.3

Can I serve alcohol at my pavement tables in Leeds?

Only with an on and off sales or on sales premises licence. If its hours differ from those of your street cafe licence, you close at the earlier of the two.3

Should my Leeds menu be in Chinese?

Look at who comes in. BBC News reported that students from China at the University of Leeds rose by 39% between 2018/19 and 2022/23.

Menyu can translate your dishes into Chinese, one of its 25 languages, for you to check before publishing. The buttons of the menu stay in English.1

Can my lunch deal disappear after lunch?

Yes: a category can be set to show at certain hours only. Choose UK time in the settings and those hours are read on the Leeds clock, so you type them as you mean them.

Can students pay online or leave a tip through Menyu?

No. With Premium they can order from the menu, but payment happens at the counter, because Menyu opens payment accounts in France only, and orders have no tip line.

What does Menyu cost a Leeds restaurant?

The same as anywhere, billed in euros: Essentiel €49 a month, Premium €79, Beyond €149, with a seven-day trial on Essentiel. There is no pound price for the plans, even though your menu itself can show pounds.

Compare the plans
Why these restaurants, and do they use Menyu?

They come from the MICHELIN Guide, which lists 13 restaurants for Leeds and its surroundings. They do not use Menyu and were not contacted; each entry links to its source.6

Method

How this page was made

This page was written by the Menyu team, an independent publisher in Montpellier, France, from the sources cited, all read on 21 October 2026: the Office for National Statistics, BBC News, VisitBritain, Leeds City Council and Kirkgate Market, the MICHELIN Guide and the restaurants’ websites. The restaurants are not Menyu customers. The image was made with AI and does not show a real place.

Sources

  1. BBC News, Why does Leeds need so much student accommodation?bbc.co.uk · accessed 21 October 2026

  2. Office for National Statistics, Mid-year population estimates, England and Wales, mid-2025 (MYE25)ons.gov.uk · accessed 21 October 2026

  3. Leeds City Council, Apply for a pavement licenceleeds.gov.uk · accessed 21 October 2026

  4. VisitBritain, Inbound visits and spend: trends by UK townvisitbritain.org · accessed 21 October 2026

  5. Leeds Kirkgate Market, Leeds City Council, History of Kirkgate Marketmarkets.leeds.gov.uk · accessed 21 October 2026

  6. MICHELIN Guide, MICHELIN restaurants, Leeds and surroundingsguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  7. MICHELIN Guide, The Smithfield, MICHELIN Guideguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  8. The Smithfield, The Smithfield, official websitethesmithfieldleeds.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  9. MICHELIN Guide, Ox Club, MICHELIN Guideguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  10. Ox Club, Ox Club, official websiteoxclub.co.uk · accessed 21 October 2026

  11. MICHELIN Guide, Bavette, MICHELIN Guideguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  12. Bavette, Bavette, official websitebavettebistro.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  13. MICHELIN Guide, Forde, MICHELIN Guideguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  14. Forde, Forde, official websitetheforde.co.uk · accessed 21 October 2026

  15. MICHELIN Guide, Prashad, MICHELIN Guideguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  16. Prashad, Prashad, official websiteprashad.co.uk · accessed 21 October 2026

  17. MICHELIN Guide, Inlamentation, MICHELIN Guideguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  18. Inlamentation, Inlamentation, official websiteinlamentation.com · accessed 21 October 2026