Restaurant group D&D dines out on two Leeds sites

D&D London, the restaurant group behind Angelica and Crafthouse at Trinity Leeds, is opening two new restaurants at Victoria Gate this spring.

A Japanese restaurant named Issho (meaning ‘together’ in Japanese) will be launched at the £165m Hammerson development.

The 7,800 sq ft restaurant will consist of a rooftop bar and restaurant space with an outdoor terrace.

Executive chef Ben Orpwood will be spearheading the culinary offering after initially joining Zuma in 2005, working on the launch of the brand in Istanbul and Dubai.

He describes Issho’s menu as “fresh, interesting and it’s set to include some show-stopping sharing dishes.”

The second restaurant will be a Manhattan-style rooftop bar and grill, named East 59th after the address of D&D’s New York outpost, Guastavino’s.

It will have a US-inspired food menu overseen by executive chef Lee Murdoch. The 5,400 sq ft site will feature an all-day grill, bar and rooftop terrace.

Des Gunewardena, chairman & CEO of D&D London said: “We are very excited to be opening two new restaurants in what is a spectacular rooftop space above the new Victoria Gate shopping centre. This will be our second significant venture in Leeds . Crafthouse and Angelica ,which we opened in 2013 ,have proved big successes for us and we enjoy very much being a part of the city’s growing restaurant scene.”