Celebrated table

Wen’s

Wen's in Leeds serves hearty Shandong and Sichuan dishes in a relaxed setting. Good Food Guide honours the family kitchen's lively dumplings and showpiece sea bass.

The story

Wen's Restaurant Leeds: Shandong-Inspired Chinese Dining | Good Food Guide

The Family Kitchen

Wen's Restaurant in Leeds channels the hearty rhythms of Shandong province through its North Street location. The family kitchen serves authentic Chinese cooking rooted in eastern traditions, weaving in the heat of Sichuan preparations to shape a menu of lively, home-style plates. Guests encounter techniques like fermenting bean paste and toasting peppercorns alongside familiar stir-fries.

Signature Plates

Start with Mrs Wen's minced pork dumplings, which arrive as hefty parcels served with soy and chilli for dipping. Cold appetisers prove equally rewarding, such as marinated jellyfish textured with Chinese leaf or chicken on the bone dressed in pungent chilli oil. The kitchen handles tofu with precision, offering mapo enriched by doubanjiang and electric Szechuan peppercorns. For a main event, the braised whole sea bass arrives studded with bamboo shoots and black fungus as a clear showpiece.

Room and Details

Beneath a raftered ceiling, the dining area features café-style seating that maintains a relaxed, informal pace. The venue operates as a family kitchen, keeping the service attentive and the environment grounded. Drivers appreciate the street parking available after six pm, with a multi-storey car park positioned at the rear of North Street. Complementary wines selected with local specialists round out the meal, providing crisp options for the robust Chinese flavours found throughout the menu.

Recognition

Awards & accolades

2026
The Good Food Guide
Good

Details

At a glance

The Good Food Guide 2026 — Good
Cuisines Chinese
Services Dinner, Parking, Private Parties, Table Service, Takeaway

History

On the record

2026
The Good Food Guide — Good

The Wen family hails from Shandong province (between Beijing and Shanghai), and the cooking of that eastern region – along with some excursions into the Szechuan repertoire – constitutes the backbone of their appealing city-centre venue. Café-style decor beneath a raftered ceiling creates an informal atmosphere, while the menu deals in lively home-style cooking. Where better to start than with Mrs Wen's minced pork dumplings, pleasingly hefty specimens with soy and chilli for dipping? A sizeable portion of marinated jellyfish in coriander and chilli, textured with Chinese leaf, is deeply moreish, likewise chicken on the bone dressed in chilli oil (another terrific cold appetiser). The chef is also a dab hand when it comes to tofu, note the lip-numbing mapo, electrified with Szechuan peppercorns and doubanjiang (fermented bean paste). Lamb is still quite rarely seen on Chinese menus: here it appears in a passable stir-fry with onions and plenty of cumin. Looking to celebrate? look no further than the braised whole sea bass with bamboo shoots and black fungus, a showpiece dish and an absolute treat. To finish, plump for the deep-fried crispy red-bean paste. A wine list compiled in conjunction with Leeds' natural wine specialists, Wayward Wines, yields some enlivening possibilities.

Established

Location

Find us

72-74 North Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 7PN
Leeds, United Kingdom
0113 244 4408
wensrestaurantinfo@yahoo.com
Visit website
Map showing Wen’s