Kobe

Kobe is so popular that one local estate agent advertises the fact that all its Horsforth properties are near it, offering free publicity by telling potential residents about the bar’s weekday two-for-one deal on cocktails. Indeed, the scenes outside on a Saturday night are far more reminiscent of Call Lane at 3am than an establishment in an upmarket, middle class suburban town. Kobe is swanky, new money and packed to the roof at the weekend with manicured young professionals who have realised the myriad benefits of not living in the city centre.

There’s plenty of space for relaxed drinking with big groups of friends, but there is also a designated dining section where you can sample Kobe’s high-end pub grub with the luxury of attentive table service. Despite the somewhat inflated food and drinks prices, it’s difficult to be floored by the menu on offer, with a squishy mushroom and goat’s cheese burger that disintegrates the moment the wooden stick has been removed, tiny metal baskets of fries, and chewy lamb kofta. That said, all meals are filling and the salted caramel chocolate tart, chocolate brownie, and ice cream trio to finish is a gluttonous, plate-scraping treat. Bar snacks and sides will set you back no more than a fiver, while burgers start from £9.50 and the other grills and mains average £14. With Peroni and Rekorderlig on tap, and pints priced from £4.50, Kobe works hard to keep up appearances and keep pulling in its sophisticated and aspirational demographic.

A posh boozer with staff who look like they should be starring in TOWIE, Kobe is a taste of inner-city glamour and prices in the ’burbs, offering an experience that feels sufficiently special for birthday drinks or a first date meal.