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Ex-Watermark Bar owner to open new all-day cocktail bar Tabula Rasa
Think speciality coffees, aperitivo and cocktails - with a menu that switches from pastries to small plates, cured meat and cheese as the day progresses
A well-known Leeds bartender and former co-owner of The Watermark Bar is opening Tabula Rasa, a new all-day cocktail spot in Leeds.
Greek bartender Filippos Filippopoulos has revealed his plans to open a new all-day drinking and dining spot in central Leeds later this summer, reports Class Bar Mag.
Called Tabula Rasa, it is due to open at 8 East Gate in late August and promises to bring an authentic aperitivo experience into the city centre.
Focusing on speciality coffees, aperitivo and cocktails; in the day it will house a ground-floor bar serving coffee and pastries, then transition to aperitivo and small plates like salads and sandwiches come the evening.
As the night winds on, this will then switch again to span classic cocktails, cheese and cured meats in truly continental fashion.
Ingredients will come predominantly from Leeds’ Kirkgate Market, and Filippos is keen to source everything as locally as possible - adding that he plans to establish relationships with other suppliers from Leeds, such as local gin distillers.
He is also currently talking to a Leeds-based company about making staff aprons from recycled bottles and plans to use the venue to showcase local art and music.
Filippos Filippopoulos pictured outside former bar The Watermark with then co-owner Dariush Haghighi
Aperitivo and cocktails will focus on "classics done well" with Filippos calling on his 17 years bartending experience to put together his own finely-tuned specs.
There will also be some boozy coffees on offer, like the classic Irish and a signature Mextaxa-coffee cocktail.
Drawing inspiration from day to night venues like The Clumsies in Athens and Dante in New York, Filippos has lofty aspirations for Tabula Rasa.
Interior design inspiration, meanwhile, comes from the likes of Death & Co in Denver and Swift in London: incorporating modern art deco influences with a colour palette of dark green, white and gold.
Filippos Filippopoulos hard at work shaking a cocktail inside The Watermark / Image: The Watermark Bar
Tables will be marble and gold, with green velvet stools and a wooden bar with marble top. Elsewhere, glass bi-folding doors will bring in lots of natural light.
Following the end of social distancing, Tabula Rasa will have room for roughly 55 covers - making it a rather intimate space.
Filippos has also put in an application for an outdoor terrace which would bring the overall capacity up to 100.
Tabula Rasa will open in Leeds in late August, serving from 9am until midnight throughout the week and as late as 2am between Thursday and Saturday.
For more information, follow them on Instagram for further updates.
A new Souvlaki Corner is set to open in south Leeds.
If you're a Leeds local who loves food, then you'll have most likely heard and dined at Souvlaki Corner.
It's an absolute gem of a restaurant and takeaway, situated in Wortley selling fabulous authentic Greek food at a great price.
And now they're opening a new site in the nearby town of Morley which is going to be even bigger and better. Get in.
The new site will feature a bigger space with more seating, offering both dine-in and takeaway options, as well as a brand-new bar.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Now you're talking our language.
Souvlaki Corner told The Hoot: "We’re excited to confirm that Souvlaki Corner will be opening a new site in Morley, Leeds. Our targeted opening is in around four weeks, although we don’t have an exact opening date yet and will confirm this closer to the launch.
"One of the highlights of the new restaurant will be a traditional Greek spit where we will cook whole lamb in the proper Greek way. It will be cooked over charcoal to give the authentic Greek flavour that people would experience in Greece.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
"Our chefs are Greek, bringing authentic knowledge and experience from Greece. The interior design will also reflect the style of the Greek islands, so when people visit they will feel like they are stepping into a little part of Greece."
They continued: "Souvlaki Corner was created to bring authentic Greek street food to Leeds, focusing on freshly grilled souvlaki, gyros, and traditional flavours served quickly and affordably. Since launching our first location, the response from customers has been fantastic, and Morley felt like the natural next step as we continue to grow."
Neighbourhood Leeds bistro hailed as ‘a bit horny’ and ‘brilliant’ by national critic Camilla Long
Clementine Hall
Food critic Camilla Long visited Leeds for her latest review for The Times with her sights set on Horsforth's finest - Bavette Bistro.
Ever since opening back in 2024, Bavette Bistro nestled in the leafy suburb of Horsforth has made waves across the country for its sheer brilliance.
It's pretty much received five star reviews across the board and been handed awards from left, right and centre. And rightly so.
The Good Food Guide crowned Bavette the best local restaurant of 2024, and Michelin handed them a well deserved Bib Gourmand - so it's safe to say it's not just us who think it's really something special.
So it was only a matter of time until The Times popped in for a review, and this one is truly glowing.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The review labels Bavette as "warm, unmannered and unpretentious" as well as "authentically French".
Long describes the food as "gorgeous, confident, surprising" with a menu that "isn’t too long" and "filled with sturdy, noble dishes, whiffing mightily of the sea and the soil."
It continues: "All of it made with generosity and cheer, served fast by nimble waiters, with a long, if slightly eccentric, wine list. To bang out French dishes with this much fiddly detail and to do it to a full room is not easy. Yet all four courses came in under two hours, for about £75 a head, which in London terms is nothing.
"It’s not that this place was perfect, it’s that it was decidedly not perfect. A bit too much chat about the menus; the oeufs in the meurette not quite runny enough. But the point is: it didn’t matter. All of it came charmingly together. It felt relaxed, just right."
The review is then wrapped up with a pleasing five stars, the cherry on top of the cake.
It's a review only restaurants can dream of, and we can't think of a more deserving team - congratulations Bavette.
Georgina Pellant -
22nd June 2021 
