Now that the weather's turning, it's definitely starting to feel like Sunday roast season.
Don't get us wrong, we love a good Sunday roast at any time of the year. Pink roast beef or crunchy pork with crackling, giant fluffy Yorkshire puddings, and bountiful jugs of gravy are welcome in any season, they really come into their own once the nights start to draw in and there's that winter chill about.
Strong meat choices are always important, but we've also kept our eyes peeled for the best veggie and vegan roasts Leeds has to offer too.
No matter what your roast preference, trust that we've got you covered - and keep reading to discover where your next Sunday scran is coming from.
Image: Banyan Bar
Banyan
If there's anyone who knows how to put on a proper Yorkshire roast, it's Banyan. With a handful of Leeds-based restaurants, the chain offer a roast every Sunday with either topside or half roast chicken and served with carrot and swede mash, roasties, 'Banyan best' gravy, Yorkshire puds and seasonal gravy. Plus, you can get bottomless booze: what's not to love about that?
Grand Pacific
If you want a fine-dining Sunday roast set to the beat of a classical string quartet: look no further than Grand Pacific inside the Queens Hotel. Serving beef or chicken, roasts come as a grand self-serve platter, silver spoons included. Think savoy cabbage, roasties and creamy mash, giant yorkshire puddings and gravy so delish, you could drink it as a starter.
Offering a good mix of veggie, fish and meat dishes, Shear's Yard has one of the best-looking Sunday roast menus in town. Think truffled leek and potato wellington, tikka marinated cauliflower, or overnight-braised shoulder of pork, and we think you get the idea.
The restaurant has only got a sample menu listed, but trust that you can get a solid roast with all the trimmings or a more adventurous main - with plenty of good options for all dietary requirements.
For a truly indulgent Sunday roast, you can't go wrong with Gaucho. The Argentinian steakhouse is known for its melt-in-the-mouth, wet-aged steaks, but it also serves up a killer Sunday roast with bottomless meat and wine every weekend.
If you're coming here, it makes sense to go for the beef - sourced specially from premium Black-Angus cattle and bred at hand-selected farms in the southern Argentinian province of La Pampa. Cooked in its own dripping, each cut comes topped with crispy roast potatoes, glazed carrots, buttered greens, perfectly stacked Yorkshire puddings and lashings of gravy.
The Mustard Pot
This Chapel Allerton eatery has one of the most popular roasts in the city - and for good reason. Every weekend, you'll find a choice of 12-hour Yorkshire beef rump, Yorkshire rare breed pork loin with crackling, or a Mustard Pot nut roast served with giant Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, mixed seasonal veg, creamy leeks and gravy.
The menu's pretty big, too, so if you don't fancy a roast you can tuck into other pub favourites like fish and chips, lentil shepherdess pie, beef burger or steak.
Dating all the way back to 1822, The Tetley is housed in an old brewery first bought by Johnathon Tetley for just £400. Full of history, as of this summer the kitchen is headed by Connaire Moran, an experienced chef formerly of The Owl and The Reliance.
Options include beer-rested roasted sirloin of beef, roasted pork belly with sage and apricot stuffing, roasted chicken and nut roast. All come served wtih heart trimmings including crispy roasties, loads of gravy, carrots, seasonal greens, and massive Yorkshire puddings.
Sunday lunch with pies? SIgn us up. Think your chocie of big, meaty (or veggie) shortcrust pie, served on a bed of mash then topped with a Yorkshire pudding filled with roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes, carrot and swede mash, pork scratchings, and a pig-in-blanket.
Wapentake Leeds
This cafe bar in Kirkgate keeps it simple on Sundays, with two choices listed on its menu. Choose from either their 'meat roast' with mash, wedges, carrots, broccoli and Yorkshires with gravy, or their "veggie or vegan" roast.
Featured in the Michelin guide and the good food guide, the Ox Club's fire cooking is legendary in Leeds. When it comes to Sunday roasts, they don't disappoint. Think roast rump cap of beef with bone marrow gravy, wild garlic and sage porchetta with smoked trotter and fennel gravy, or roast breast of guinea fowl and confit leg with tarragon gravy - then tell us you're not hungry.
As for the non-meat eaters, there's coal-roasted celeriac with pearl barley risotto and truffle gravy, or a truffle cheese pie served with comte, and truffle gravy. Divine.
Image: The Beehive at Thorner
The Beehive
Located in the rural village of Thorner, for a proper country pub experience you can't go wrong with The Beehive. Think roast Yorkshire 28-day matured sirloin, English pork loin, or chicken breast, served with a variety of different accouterments.
The team here know that people love Yorkshire puddings, so they've made it an option to add more on for just 25p each. We'll take a whole plate, please.
Image: Whitelock's Ale House
Whitelock's Ale House
Often hailed as Leeds' oldest pub, Whitelock's also serves up a cracking Sunday roast dinner. Whether you're after a roast beef topside, leg of lamb or pork loin, trust you will find them all here served with a Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and gravy.
Cauliflower cheese can be added on as an extra, and as for veggies and vegans there's a lovely nut roast option - also served with all the trimmings.
The ultimate roast takeaway for those who don't want to faff about with washing up, Man V Roast delivers to Headingley, Burley, Kirkstall, and Hyde Park. Choices include beef, chicken, and pork, all served with gravy, roasties, Yorkshire puddings and veggies.
Feature image - Banyan Bar
Feature
Bad Bunny: What you need to know for Super Bowl halftime show
Global superstar Bad Bunny is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show and we're giving you the rundown about this reigning reggaeton artist.
Born in Puerto Rico, Benito Antonio, now more widely recognised by artist moniker Bad Bunny, is a Spanish-speaking act who has transported modern-day reggaeton from Latin America to all new heights.
The Puerto Rican powerhouse has only ever visited the UK once, performing at O2 Forum Kentish Town in London, seven years ago back in 2018, as part of his first ever world tour titled La Nueva Religión.
Since then, El Benito has dropped seven full-length studio albums and nine musical projects overall, which have all helped establish him as a major force to be reckoned with in the music industry.
Alongside his musical career, Bad Bunny has seen himself at the forefront of various pop culture moments thanks to his innovative fashion sense and notable charm.
Bad Bunny is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show on 8 February / Credit: Press Shot via Apple Music(Supplied) / Unsplash via Naveen Venkatesan (Supplied)
What iconic moments is Bad Bunny known for?
With his first album X 100Pre (Forever) dropping back in 2018, Bad Bunny has spent almost a hefty eight years in the limelight, so it will come as no surprise that there's plenty of iconic moments you might remember.
Bad Bunny as a Drag Queen - To coincide with the release of his single 'Yo Perreo Sola' (I Twerk Alone), Benito stepped into unchartered territory, debuting three different Drag personas to combat toxic masculinity in the reggaeton music scene.
WWE - Benito is a huge fan of wrestling. He first appeared for a performance at the Royal Rumble in 2021, before returning later that year and teaming up with Damian Priest to take down The Miz and John Morrison.
VMA Performance - The Latin multi-hyphenate made headlines in 2022 after kissing a male dancer on-stage. Both fans and media outlets stated the performance harked back to Madonna's similar showcase two decades prior - Watch Bad Bunny's kiss HERE (skip to 2:50).
Met Gala - Well-recognised for its glamourous and glitzy outfits, the Met Gala brings together A-Listers for a showcase of all things fashion. Bad Bunny was styled by fashion house Jacquemus and wore a backless suit with a 26 foot train.
The Super Bowl is a huge accomplishment for all artists, now Bad Bunny joins the headlining roster / Credit: Jorge Rojas via Unsplash (Supplied)
SNL - The LATAM star has appeared on American comedy sketch-show SNL numerous times, both as an artist and as a part-time comedian. In 2023, Bad Bunny and Pedro Pascal became an overprotective aunty and mum duo and had crowds laughing uncontrollably.
Carpool Karaoke - James Corden's nighttime show segment was welcomed into the reggaeton world courtesy of Bad Bunny. However, it's his cover of 'Break Free' by Ariana Grande where he discusses it's the first English-spoken song he ever learnt that had people falling in love with him.
Coachella - This desert-based music festival is known for its large-scale productions and in the early summer of 2023, Bad Bunny became the first Spanish-singing artist to headline this mega music celebration.
No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí - Translating to 'I don't want to leave here', this was the title of his Puerto Rico residency. As well as creating lifelong memories for fans, this 31 date experience also boosted the economy of his home country.
What songs will Bad Bunny perform at his Super Bowl halftime show?
With 28 songs over one billion streams, Bad Bunny is going to have a tricky time deciphering which of his hits to include in his upcoming halftime show performance.
His most recognisable album is the beach-inspired Un Verano Sin Ti (A Summer Without You) which features six tracks with over one billion streams, so it's safe to say this LP is guaranteed some love.
The latest addition to El Benito's discography DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (I Should've Taken More Photos) might also steal the spotlight due to its focus on exploring traditional Puerto Rican sounds.
And, after reconciling late last year, Bad Bunny might take his friendship with J Balvin to Super Bowl status, performing songs from their collaborative album OASIS as well as their Cardi B link-up 'I Like It'.
The Hoot's Bad Bunny Super Bowl setlist predicition:
NUEVAYoL
Tití Me Preguntó/ Me Porto Bonito/ Moscow Mule (Medley)
Dákiti
I Like It (With Cardi B and J Balvin)
La Canción (With J Balvin)
Callaíta (With Tainy)
Un x100to (With Grupo Frontera)
Baile Inolvidable
Super Bowl halftime show performances normally contain around 10 songs and the setlist is very tight-lipped, however, it's always fun to throw out a predicition or two before the event on Sunday 8 February.
Which special guests will join Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show line-up?
Bad Bunny has worked with a multitude of artists from reggaeton sidekicks to pop supremes like Jennifer Lopez, Dua Lipa and Drake.
Although it's highly unlikely these big names will all be free at the same time, when it comes to the Super Bowl anything is possible.
The 'Tití Me Preguntó' songwriter is heading to the UK for the second time ever in his career, for his Debí Tirar Más FotosWorld Tour and he's chosen Tottenham Hotspur as the location for this huge cultural moment.
If you're wondering where to get tickets, you have two chances to watch this superstar in his element as he's performing on June 27 - Tickets HERE and June 28 - Tickets HERE.
Hopefully now you've discovered more about who this Latin American artist is so you're not left clueless when the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots take a quick 15 minutebreak mid-game.
Featured Images - Press Shot via Apple Music(Supplied) / Unsplash via Naveen Venkatesan (Supplied)/ Jorge Rojas via Unsplash (Supplied)
Feature
Inside Pop Mart Leeds – the viral toy store that has taken the world by storm
Clementine Hall
The moment you've all been waiting for has arrived, Pop Mart has opened on Briggate.
If you were one of the many who were swept up in the viral Labubu craze last year, then you'll know exactly what we're talking about.
But if you're not familiar, then allow us to fill you in.
Pop Mart is a Chinese toy chain famed for its huge collection of designer toys and collectible items, often attracting fans from far and wide who are prepared to queue up outside the doors before opening.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The brand is most famously known for stocking Labubus.
A Labubu is the name of the viral plush toy created by Hong Kong-born, Netherlands-raised designer Kasing Lung, who drew inspiration from his love of fairytales to make this worldwide cuddly phenomenon.
They have been flying off the shelves and even creating some controversy, with some shops refusing to stock them due to customers fighting over them in the streets.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The new Leeds store, located in the old Dune site at the top of Briggate, is as joyful and as colourful as you'd expect.
The shelves are stacked to the brim with all the blind boxes you could ever want, but we don't see them sticking around for long as punters were already queueing round the block hours before they opened their doors this morning, 30 January.
With Yorkshire Pop Mart fans now being able to grab their next collectable here in Leeds rather than trekking across the Pennines to Manchester, we've no doubt it's going to go down an absolute storm.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Peter Shipman, Head of Europe and Managing Director at POP MART, said about the opening: "Bringing POP MART to Leeds is more than just opening a new store; it’s a long-awaited thank you to our fans in Yorkshire, who have long championed our brand and products.
"Our arrival here was only a matter of time! We are thrilled to create a space that sparks joy for both longtime collectors and newcomers alike."
Georgina Pellant -
5th November 2021 
