The French bistro only opened in February but has quickly won over locals and inspectors alike.
A French bistro in Leeds has topped the Good Food Guide’s list of the 100 Best Local Restaurants 2024.
Bavette in Horsforth was opened in February this year by Leeds native Sandy Jarvis and Frenchman Clément Cousin.
The pair met while working at the Terroirs wine bar in central London before opening their own restaurant.
Chloë Hamilton, co-editor of the Good Food Guide, said: “[The] way they’ve brought [Bavette] to life – excellent bistro cooking, an adventurous, engaging wine list (including bottles from Clément’s family of organic winemakers in the Loire), and the energy and warmth of the team – make it irresistible.
“They’ve had first birthday parties and 90th birthday parties here. It has lit up the community.”
Jarvis and Cousin said they were “completely gobsmacked” by their win.
The pair added: “Our sign above the door says, ‘a neighbourhood bistro’, and being a great local restaurant is everything we wanted Bavette to be. Thank you to everyone who has come through our doors over the past five months, you’ve made Bavette what it is.”
This year’s Best Local Restaurants list received an unprecedented 60,000 nominations. Inspectors anonymously tested out all the main contenders during a six-week research period to create the final 100-strong list.
Central and East of England
Greyhound Inn, Pettistree, East Suffolk (regional winner)
L’Hexagone Bistro Français, Norwich
Darley’s Restaurant, Darley Abbey, Derby
Fancett’s Bistro, Cambridge
The Gin Trap Inn, Ringstead, Dorset
The Kilpeck Inn, Kilpeck, Herefordshire
Hitchen’s Barn, Oakham, Rutland
The Trooper, Aldbury, Hertfordshire
The Plough, Bolnhurst, Bedfordshire
Chapter, Birmingham
Benoli, Norwich
Tropea, Birmingham
Lark, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
London
Mambow, Clapton (regional winner)
Sam’s Waterside, Brentford
Les 2 Garçons, Crouch End
The Parakeet, Kentish Town
Home SW15, Putney
Josephine, Chelsea
Paulette, Maida Vale
Giulia, Shepherd’s Bush
Rubedo, Stoke Newington
North East England
Bavette, Leeds (overall winner)
Homestead Kitchen, Goathland, North Yorkshire
The Small Canteen, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Empire Cafe, Leeds
The Orange Bird, Sheffield
Origin Social, Northallerton
The Hispanist, Hull
Long Friday, Newcastle upon Tyne
Brook’s, Brighouse, West Yorkshire
Ophelia, South Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne
Hearth, Hull
Coin, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire
Hern, Leeds
North West England
Cibus, Levenshulme, Manchester (regional winner)
Lily’s Vegetarian Indian Cuisine, Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester
Bombay to Mumbai, Stockport
Edinburgh Castle, Manchester
Higher Ground, Manchester
Another Hand, Manchester
The Spärrows, Manchester
The Rum Fox, Grindleton, Lancashire
A Se Anar, Blackpool
The Pearl, Prestwich, Bury
The Yan, Grasmere, Cumbria
Belzan, Liverpool
Covino, Chester
Scotland
Fin & Grape, Edinburgh (regional winner)
The Kinneuchar Inn, Kilconquhar, Fife
L’Escargot Bleu, Edinburgh
The Gordon Arms, Selkirk
The Dory Bistro, Pittenweem, Fife
The Palmerston, Edinburgh
The Whitehouse, Lochaline, Morvern
Provender, Melrose
Gloriosa, Glasgow
Leftfield, Edinburgh
South East England
Med, Brighton, East Sussex [regional winner]
The Folkestone Wine Company, Folkestone, Kent
The Bottle & Glass Inn, Binfield Heath, Oxfordshire
Harbour Street Tapas, Whitstable, Kent
Fourth and Church, Hove, East Sussex
The Blue Pelican, Deal, Kent
The Woodspeen, Woodspeen, Berkshire
The Pilgrim, North Marston, Buckinghamshire
Seasonality, Maidenhead, Berkshire
Mori Mori, Margate, Kent
Pompette, Oxford
Palmito, Hove, East Sussex
Tallow, Southborough, Kent
South West England
North Street Kitchen, Fowey, Cornwall (regional winner)
The Farm Table at Darts Farm, Topsham, Devon
Upstairs at Landrace, Bath
The Barrington Boar, Barrington, Somerset
The Scallop Shell, Bath
The Farmers Arms, Bideford, Devon
The Lost Kitchen, Chettiscombe, Devon
Wild Artichokes, Kingsbridge, South Hams
Caper and Cure, Bristol
Tare Bistro, Bristol
Root Wells, Wells, Somerset
Sam & Jak, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Brassica, Beaminster, Dorset
Noah’s, Bristol
Edie’s, St Austell, Cornwall
Wales
Inn at the Sticks, Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire (regional winner)
The Shed Restaurant, Swansea
Yr Hen Printworks, Cardigan, Ceredigion
Paternoster Farm, Pembroke
Freckled Angel, Menai Bridge, Anglesey
Hare & Hounds, Aberthin, Vale of Glamorgan,
Sage Kitchen, Menai Bridge, Anglesey
The Warren, Carmarthen
Catch 22, Holyhead, Anglesey
Y Polyn, Nantgaredig, Carmarthenshire
Mesen, Cardiff
The Dining Room, Abersoch, Gwynedd