YOU MIGHT have noticed a big, unfamiliar orange ball in the sky for the past few days - making everybody a weird mixture of cheerful, sticky and pink.
We don’t want to jinx it, but this so-called 'sun' is due to stick around for a little while, so instead of skulking off home after work to watch Emmerdale, why not give your pals a text and see if they want to meet you for a bevvy?
Taking a carrier bag of tinnies to the park is fine, but if you want to avoid blokes with their tops off asking you for 40p, why not try one of these; our ten favourite sun-traps to have a drink in Leeds.
Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen
A glaringly obvious choice, sure, but it’s a classic for a reason. Decked out in astroturf, brightly-painted sheds, deck chairs, picnic benches and kitsch-chic artwork from local illustrator Lucy Sherston, the Belgrave’s evergreen terrace looks like the trendiest Big Brother garden ever.
It might be a mission to walk up all of the stairs, and it might get busy - but just see it as a way of working off all that half-price Dough Boys pizza. People wouldn’t queue up to sit on the floor of somewhere rubbish, would they?
Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen, 1-1A Cross Belgrave St, Leeds LS2 8JP
The Calls Landing
Cosy and rustic inside the ground floor of a converted Victorian warehouse, Stew & Oyster’s flagship has plenty of character to see it through the winter months. But it really comes to life in the summer, when its riverside garden becomes one of the hottest seats in the city.
Grab a spot under the weeping willow tree to watch the boats rowing past, and halfway through your pint from their always on-point craft & real ale selection you’ll have forgotten you’re only minutes away from a main road.
The Calls Landing, 36-38 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7EW
Cielo Blanco
With views of Briggate and Boar Lane, it might not be the most scenic outpost in the city - but it’s great if you’re a nosey bugger. Who needs wildlife when you can people-watch thousands of passers-by per hour?
Cielo also scores points for going all-out with their outdoor and covered terraces, converting them into tequila gardens in the summer months where you can order jugs of customer-made frozen Margaritas, whilst sharing menu is ideal for light sustenance between jugs.
Cielo Blanco, Trinity Leeds, Albion Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 5AY.
The Faversham
People of a certain age might remember the Faversham from its days of drinking £2 Savannah and smoking rollies out front whilst dancing to Klaxons at Bad Sneakers every Saturday. It wasn't exactly the type of place you’d like to spend a civilised summer afternoon. All that’s changed though...
They’ve decked out the whole garden and given the conservatory and main room a serious make-over - including the taps and bottle-fridges - and turned it into a highly-desirable venue for trendy weddings. When they’re not sending young lovebirds off into married life, they’ve been known to bring the barbie out of storage and set the decks up for al-fresco DJ sets, as well as the odd garden party headlined by the likes of Skream.
The Faversham, 1-5 Springfield Mount, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9NG.
Headrow House
While it’s probably most well-known for its neon 'this one goes out to the one I love' sign plastered all over Instagram, there’s a lot more to the Headrow House roof terrace than REM lyrics.
Belgrave’s more refined sibling has got classiness pouring from the wazoo. There's two roof-terraces here, with the new-ish Kennedy Meadows towering above the regular terrace and giving a view over the top of Victoria Quarter and Victoria Gate. There’s more than just a feast for the eyes though. Ground floor restaurant Ox Club has a rooftop set-up flogging hangar steaks off the charcoal grill, there’s a bottle-bar, as well as one of our favourite cocktail bars in the city, the West Coast-inspired Redondo Beach.
Headrow House, Bramleys Yard, 19 The Headrow, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 6PU
Kirkstall Bridge Inn
We all saw the photo last year; two blokes sat on a bench enjoying a pint as normal - raising a glass to whoever’s taking the photo. Oh, and they happen to be waist-deep in the Aire, thanks for the river bursting its banks.
That photo was taken at the Kirkstall Bridge Inn, and if the lads are willing to get that wet while supping their pints of Dissolution IPA, the pub must be doing something right. That flooding means a good chunk of the garden’s unusable now, but it’s still as popular as ever, thanks to the views of the river and Abbey, the pubs selection of ales and the range of pies and meat & cheese boards.
Kirkstall Bridge Inn, 12 Bridge Rd, Leeds LS5 3BW
The Mustard Pot
Chapel Allerton’s friendly, neighbourhood local is great all year round, but in the summer its garden is one of the best places the city’s got to offer.
Casque Mark ales on tap inside, with a sprawling lawn and trees decked out in bunting to give the garden an uncommon village-fete-on-the-common/Great British Bake Off finale vibe.
The Mustard Pot, 20 Stainbeck Lane, Chapel Allerton, Leeds, LS7 3QY
Nation of Shopkeepers
The interior has gone through some drastic changes in the past few years, taking it from Vice magazine fanclub’s unofficial HQ to white-tiled-diner, finally settling on its most natural-feeling incarnation yet - a relaxed hangout with computer games and ace booze.
Outside has remained fairly unchanged though, because it's never needed it. The benches are still vulnerable to peaks and troughs of the courtyard’s uneven paving (which can lead to sitting at some interesting angles), but it’s massive so there’s plenty of places to sit, it gets the sun and now there’s an outdoor bar. What more could you want?
Nation of Shopkeepers, 29 Cookridge St, Leeds LS2 3AG
Northern Monk Refectory
A little out of the way, but well worth the journey, Northern Monk Brewery’s first-floor taproom is one of our favourite places to drink in the city, and they’ve recently upgraded the outside area just in time for the summer.
Five tonnes worth of soil in raised planters means this actually functions as a garden for growing plants, herbs and veg, and brings a much-needed touch of greenery to the Old Flax Store. It also now hosts monthly markets and car boot sales, featuring The Real Junk Food Project on hand with their pay-as-you-feel barbecues.
Northern Monk Refectory, The Old Flax Store, Marshall St, Saw Mill St, Leeds LS11 9YJ
Roundhay Fox
It can be thirsty work walking around Roundhay Park catching Pokemon, luckily there’s a decent pub right next to it. With its carpeted floors and baroque-upholstered benches it’s not the trendiest pub on the list, but if it’s a classic village boozer literally surrounded by countryside you’re after, this one takes some beating.
Roundhay Fox, Princes Ave, Leeds LS8 2EP
Slate NQ & The Social
Two for one here. If you can drag yourself away from The Social’s free football table and expertly-stocked fridges, you’ll find a lush garden tucked away just off New Briggate, completely removed from the hustle and bustle of the street, but with the bonus of a tempting smell wafting over from one of the nearby fried chicken spots.
Joined onto The Social’s garden is the outdoor area for Slate NQ - the upmarket pool hall next door. They’ve decked out their area, which overlooks St John the Evangelist Church and it’s grounds, one of the few bits of green land in LS1.
Slate NQ, St Johns House, Merrion St, Leeds LS2 8JE // The Social, 1 Merrion St, Leeds LS2 8JG
