It’s not so easy for first-timers to find Leeds’ oldest pub, tucked just off Briggate (the city’s main shopping thoroughfare), but Whitelocks First City Luncheon Bar in Turks Head Yard has been dispensing food and ale since 1715 and remains the city’s best-loved boozer. It’s worth seeking out for the interior alone – a riot of mirrors, etched glass and polished wood with a beautiful copper-topped bar. In former days, waitresses in uniform served nursery food to an ageing clientele; now the dining room is an extension of the bar. Changes of ownership at Whitelocks saw a falling off of trade until the current owners installed a line-up of locally brewed guest ales (including Rudgates, Kirkstall and Saltaire), and modernised the menu with the likes of pork belly and mash or black pudding with pancetta and poached egg.