There's a restaurant and bar in Leeds offering bottomless Japanese afternoon teas and we're absolutely smitten.
Putting an Asian twist on the classic English afternoon pastime, the contemporary rooftop restaurant in Victoria Gate elevates the typical cucumber sandwiches and scone offering - switching in sushi, gyoza and delicate sandos in their place.
Issho - meaning 'together' in Japanese - is a gorgeous spot in which to come together and lose a few hours wining and dining in the city, whilst sampling some of the best delicacies Leeds has to offer.
The outdoor terrace at Issho
Offering ninety minutes of free-flowing prosecco alongside its Japanese-style afternoon tea, swanky Leeds restaurant Issho's offer is up there with some of the best bottomless deals we've seen in the city.
For £47.50, you'll enjoy unlimited prosecco as you tuck into a host of delicate Japanese finger-food treats. The selection here is split into three: spanning sushi, savoury and sweet, and also includes a selection of fine Japanese and English teas.
There's a whole host of yummy delicacies included, with the sushi section boasting the likes of tuna tataki with wasabi cream, vegetable maki, salmon and avocado maki, and tuna and salmon nigiri - all served with soy for dipping and pickled ginger on the side.
Savoury and sweet treats on the Afternoon Tea menu
In the savoury section, meanwhile, think seasonal vegetable gyozas, prawn toast with black sesame seeds, and a selection of delicate Japanese crustless sandos with fillings like chicken katsu and tamago (egg).
For your sweet treat, finish on a high with Issho's selection of caramel purin (the Japanese name for creme caramel), matcha cheesecake, yuzu and raspberry tart and miso and chocolate brownies.
As for teas, alongside a classic selection of traditional favourites like English Breakfast and Earl Grey, there's also the choice of some special Japanese teas including sencha (loose leaf green tea), hojicha (roasted green tea) and konacha (a sushi drinking tea with a bitter taste designed to enhance the flavour of fishiness left in the mouth by your food).
The bottomless Japanese afternoon tea is served in Issho bar on Fridays and Saturdays from 12 pm - 2:45 pm. To find out more and book your table, head over to Issho's website here.
News
A massive food and drink festival is coming to Temple Newsam this weekend
We hope you're hungry Leeds, because a big festival dedicated to all things food is coming to Temple Newsam.
The Temple Newsam Food Festival is now in its second year after a resounding first edition, aiming to celebrate cultural diversity, independent businesses, and global cuisine.
It will take place this weekend on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August 2026, with the beautiful and historic Temple Newsam providing the perfectly picturesque location.
The festival will celebrate local talent, independent businesses, world cultures and international flavours.
The Street Food Arena will feature an array of global cuisines, cultural delicacies, and irresistible desserts whilst the event's bustling Artisan Markets will showcase a plethora of small businesses and local entrepreneurs offering freshly-baked goods, quality produce. hand-made crafts, unique experiences, vibrant art, and much more.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
And it doesn't stop there as festival-goers can enjoy a selection of independent bars serving cocktails, specialty spirits, fresh cider, wine and beer.
This year there will be a huge focus on live cookery demos, with ten demonstrations from a whole range of talented chefs including Leeds' own Josh Whitehead of Finer Pleasures, Bobby Geetha of Kerala Canteen and stars from Masterchef and The Great British Bake Off.
And it's not just about food and drink, as new for this year there will be a dog show, plenty of live music and lots of fun activities such as inflatable jousting and target paintball.
Tickets are on sale now, and you can grab yours here.
The hidden Leeds bakery serving giant cheese twists, pickle sausage rolls and chocolate focaccia
Clementine Hall
This spot in the city is baking up some weird and wonderful creations.
But you'll have to act fast if you want to get your hands on them, as it's only open one day a week for all your doughy desires.
Introducing Fold, a focaccia-focused bakery by the talented team behind The Cheesy Living Co.
Rewind to this time last year and with three restaurants flourishing across Leeds, the team needed a space to bake all their bread and sweet treats in-house to supply to sites.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
And this is where Fold came in, located underneath the arches of Brussels Street on the outskirts of the city centre - it may take a while to find this spot but once you have, it'll be worth it.
And they're making some of the most inventive bakes that we've seen.
Of course there'll always be a focaccia on offer, with flavours ranging from crispy chilli oil, sesame and spring onion to kimchi, cheese and pistachio.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
And it's not just savoury focaccia, you'll even find gooey chocolate and banana focaccia as well as Biscoff waffle focaccia....yep, seriously.
Elsewhere they specialise in gigantic footlong cheese twists with more crispy bits than soft, as well as chorizo and cheese stuffed sausage rolls and a range of freshly baked bagels for you to go home and smear in your cream cheese of choice.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Some seriously spectacular specials have been the gochujang cookies and the 'pickle roll', basically like a sausage roll but with...pickles.
It seems there's really no boundaries for where these bakes will go, and you can guarantee that every visit will be different than the rest.
Only open on Saturdays from 10am - 1pm, Fold are changing the baking game. Pop in and say hello, you won't be disappointed.
Georgina Pellant -
2nd September 2021 
