Whitelock’s

Everyone ducks into Whitelock’s at some point, if only to have a pint in Leeds’ oldest pub, a 300-year-old boozer hidden up an alley off busy Briggate (next to M&S, just before Commercial Street). It gained its reputation – and its period look – under four generations of 19th-century Whitelocks, who turned it into a popular 'luncheon bar' complete with doorman and dress code. It's less formidable these days, with a long, narrow Victorian-era bar that’s all glass, brass, mosaics and stained glass. There’s a dark alley terrace, braved year-round by some, and a fistful of real ales available inside. City workers do lunch here, and prices aren’t bad, although these days there’s probably better food to be had elsewhere.