In this edition: new openings, cheese and golden balls
Don't Have A Cow, Man
(05/09) Described by some (ok, mostly just me) as 'Fight Club but with cheese', Homage2Fromage is coming back to The Adelphi for its monthly lactose love-in. As usual, there’s a theme, and this month’s is Cow-free cheese, where you’ll get chance to sample a variety of 'soft, hard, subtle, and full-on' goat's and sheep's cheeses in an environment that the organisers insist is relaxed and un-snobby.
There are 85 tickets for the event at The Adelphi this Thursday, which starts at 7pm sharp (No more cheese puns though, please try and act Mature). You can get yours for a tenner here.
Bundo-best
(04/09) A good weekend for the Indian restaurants of Mill Hill. Following yesterday’s news of Tharavadu doubling in size, their neighbours Bundobust have been named one of the UK’s 25 best vegetarian restaurants by Sunday Times Food.
The article - for which Bundo scored the cover - gave the Okra fries and the Vada Pav spicy potato and chutney burger a special shout-out, as well as a quick tease of their forthcoming Manchester restaurant.
Double Dosa Indian Food
(03/09) Award-winning Keralan restaurant, Tharavadu, has secured approval for plans to see its Mill Hill restaurant more than double in size.
Since opening in 2014, Tharavadu has been lavished with praise and awards, including a recommendation in the 2015 Michelin Guide, as well as a Top 10 spot amongst Tripadvisor’s top curry-houses in the UK.
Anybody who’s tried to get a walk-in table or secure a last-minute booking with no success should be pleased with the expansion, which is set to add 100 covers.
ARC Inspirations Bar Set to Come in Twos
(02/09) You didn’t hear it from us, but ARC Inspirations have applied for a new city centre premises licence.
Rather than introducing another new concept, the proposed East Parade bar will be an expansion of the Manahatta brand. The juiciest part of the news though is that they’ve applied to operate in Minerva House, but the last we’d heard, Manchester modern-Asian restaurant Tattu had plans to open a new restaurant there. We’ll keep you updated as we uncover more.
Sicilian Supper for Sheaf Street
(02/09) We went nuts for Golden Balls when they were in Trinity Kitchen the other month; we thought their arancini was the bollocks, etc. Now Becky and her team are expanding beyond the four walls of the street food stall and doing a full on supper club at Grub & Grog's Sheaf Street kitchen.
'A Sicilian Supper' will present diners with a feast of small plates inspired by traditional Sicilian cooking, all suitable for vegetarians, including courgette flowers with ricotta, mint and truffle honey, burrata with tomato and postachio, gemelli with aubergine and sultana, blood orange with biscotti, as well as a traditional aperitif, and espresso with Frangelico after the meal.
Tickets for the event on Monday 3 October cost £32 per head, and can be bought from Eventbrite
Good Food Guide Nods Towards City Restaurants
Yorkshire restaurants might have been overlooked in this year’s Good Food Guide Top 50, but some notable establishments have received an honourable mention.
The guide, sponsored by Waitrose, scores restaurants based on judges appraisal as well as reader feedback, and in Leeds, The Man Behind The Curtain, The Swine That Dines, Ox Club, Theravadu and The Reliance all picked up mentions, as well as Ilkley’s The Box Tree, and Norse in Harrogate - which we reviewed here.
The 2017 edition of The Good Food Guide is released on September 5th, pre-order here for free delivery.
Ox Club Dining Room, Photo by Tom Joy
OnRoundhay Unveils Festival Food Line-up
When OnRoundhay festival was announced and we heard Leeds Indie Food were going to be involved, we knew they’d be doing something special, and we’re finally able to tell you what’s in store.
The street-food lineup includes the kind of local favourites and stellar out-of-towners you’d expect from a LIF-backed event, including Yakumama, Laynes Espresso, Manjit’s Kitchen, Piggie Smalls and Golden Balls. Even more exciting is the announcement of the John Lewis Chef Demo stage, which will host Mamushka author Olia Hercules, The Boho Chef Stefano Corvuccio, and local talent like Horto/Ex-Norse head chef Murray Wilson, and more.
We’ll be digging deeper into the food side of OnRoundhay later on this week. Keep a look out for the chance to win a pair of tickets to the festival.
Clawhide at Leeds Feast, Photo by Tom Joy
New Bar Planned for the Grand
Licensing permission is being sought for a new bar, under the name of Speakeasy, in the Grand Arcade, and true to the origins of its name, it’s all a bit hush hush.
North-East based bar and leisure group Palagander have applied for licensing in Unit 7. With a name like that you can imagine it’ll do good trade with the moustache-waxed clientele of nearby Brotherhood of Pastimes and Pursuits. Leeds Confidential will bring you more detail as soon as we get it - unless prohibition officers get to it first...
Brunswick Birthday
Saturday 10 September marks The Brunswick’s first birthday, and to celebrate, the independent North Street bar will be hosting a week of special events.
Throughout the week they’ll be hosting a tap takeover by their friends at Tall Boys Beer Market, a 3-course lobster dinner private dining event, live Jazz sunday roasts, art raffles, print fayres, and the launch of their Autumn food menu.
For full details, check out The Brunswick’s 1st Birthday Facebook event
Roxy Road to Success
Having established itself as a firm favourite in Leeds and Liverpool, grown-ups' youth club Roxy Ball Room is expanding around the north - and beyond.
The Jones Group bar/ping pong arena/pool hall/mini-golf course opened in Leeds in 2013 and became an instant success, tripling their first-year targets. Following their expansion into the Roxy Lanes Bowling Alley and Roxy Ball Room Liverpool, they’ve opened another Ball Room in Huddersfield, with sights set on Manchester and Nottingham next.
“It’s clear that we have latched onto a winner there.” says Matthew Jones of The Jones Group. “We have to crack on before anyone else does - all our focus now is on Roxy Ball Room
Roxy Ball Room Huddersfield, Photo by Contakt Photography
