There’s a huge sushi festival taking place just under an hour away from Leeds this spring, and it sounds far too good to pass up.
Of course, we’re very lucky in Leeds with a whole range of eateries offering sushi all year round – from Sushi Waka to Little Tokyo, Kokoro, Koibito, Senbon Sakura, Issho and more. Still, an all-day festival dedicated to Japanese cuisine is not to be missed.
Happening in Manchester, which takes less than an hour to reach via train, the event will bring together a host of the area's best sushi parlors for a day dedicated to celebrating Japanese cuisine.
Taking place on Thursday 21 April, those heading down can expect to try a range of sushi from different local traders and restauranteurs, as well as other Japanese dishes like ramen, and a selection of different drinks from Japanese pop-up bars.
A mixed sushi platter served in a wooden boat at Kyotoya, Withington./ Image: Bidds Bites
For those who think that sushi is all about raw fish and have already decided they don’t like that, we’ve got good news: It’s not. You can make sushi with anything – and avocado, cucumber, carrot and ginger are all popular choices for those who don’t like raw fish.
Of course, there’ll be plenty of fishy sushi to go around too – and the festival will have a lot to offer those who are into the more adventurous side of things.
Where better, then, to discover the full variety of this amazing Japanese dish than at an all-day event dedicated to the stuff?
California rolls, maki, nigiri, temaki and more are all set to be on show, alongside other Japanese dishes like ramen, as the festival promises to ‘show you the greatest variety of sushi and Japanese cuisine’ that the city has to offer.
There’ll even be a live workshop hosted by local cookery school Food Sorcery teaching you how to handroll your own sushi at home.
That said, it won’t all be about sushi. There’ll be a live sake talk and tasting session, live performances from a Japanese taiko drumming ensemble, pop-up bars selling Japanese beer and more, plus Japanese-inspired art classes, fashion pop-ups, live music and DJ performances.
A bowl of donburi topped with scallops, salmon and tuna at Chinatown’s excellent Japanese tapas restaurant, Yuzu / Image: Yuzu
Tickets are priced at £20 per person and include entry to the Sushi Festival, access to the theatre with live cooking demonstrations, and a portion of sushi or delicious Japanese dish from one of the festival’s hand-picked vendors.
Tickets for the live sushi-rolling workshop hosted by Food Sorcery need to be purchased separately here.
Taking place at Audacious Church on Trinity Way, Manchester, Salford, M3 7BD, the Manchester Sushi Festival will run from Thursday 21 April to Saturday 23 April 2022. Sessions will last three hours, starting at either 3pm or 7pm.
Whilst the festival promises to feature some of the area's best sushi restaurants, the full line-up of traders is still to be confirmed.
If it's good enough for Anton Stach, then it's good enough for us.
Well, it really is the signing that nobody saw coming...and it’s happening right opposite the station.
Meat:Stack, the Newcastle-born, award-winning burger joint on Bishopgate Street in Leeds, is giving the people what they want - a burger with Anton Stach’s name on it.
Introducing ‘The Moustachi Burger', officially launching Tuesday 18 August where Anton Stach himself will be down at Meat:Stack to meet United fans, sign autographs and, of course, tuck into his very own creation.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Even better, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Elhadj Diouf Foundation (EDF), a charity chosen by Stach that supports children through education.
Not only that, but it's a great opportunity to support Meat:Stack that has been suffering from the ongoing road works for months on end now.
So really, you've got no excuse to come down and tuck into the special which will be available through the opening weeks of the season.
Anton Stach, Leeds United and Germany midfielder, added: “Leeds has felt like home from very early on, and a lot of that is the people and the places around the ground, the businesses fans go to before and after a game. Meat:Stack is one of them, and they’ve had a hard time with the building work on their doorstep. The Moustachi Burger is a lovely nod to my YouTube channel too.
"This is a team on the rise in a city on the comeback, and support has to go both ways. I wanted to back a business Leeds fans care about and raising money for a foundation my family has given so much to at the same time means everything. I’ll be there on the 18th, bring your appetite.”
Independent Leeds coffee shop crowned one of the UK’s best for 2026
Clementine Hall
A list of the UK's best independent coffee shops for 2026 has been released, and one in Leeds has come up trumps.
The coffee shop in question may come as no surprise to some of you, as some would say that after 15 years in the city it's become somewhat of an institution.
Of course it's none other than Laynes.
Founded in 2011 by Dave Olejnik, Laynes began life on New Station Street and quickly became one of the first venues in Leeds to focus on carefully sourced and roasted coffee beans, helping lead the way for the city's now-thriving independent coffee scene.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
It's a proper Leeds staple at this point, sat proudly with its glowing yellow exterior and queues out the door full of punters looking for their morning caffeine fix.
But it's not just us who think it's flipping fantastic, as a new study has revealed the top 10 most popular independent coffee shops in the country and Laynes comes in at a very respectable number 8.
The list, made by Capital on Tap, analysed coffee across the UK looking at Google reviews, monthly searches and social media success.
Laynes was in some pretty good company including Idle Hands in Manchester and Kaf Coffee in Glasgow. But most importantly, none of the top 10 were in London - make of that what you will.
The top 10 most popular independent coffee shops for 2026:
Neighbourhood Café, Belfast
Colonna & Small’s, Bath
Established Coffee, Belfast
Hard Lines Coffee, Cardiff
Rough Handmade, Liverpool
Idle Hands Coffee, Manchester
Full Court Press, Bristol
Laynes Espresso, Leeds
Kaf Coffee, Glasgow
Dom’s Coffee, Cambridge
Bravo Laynes, a well earned accolade for one of our favourite spots in the city.
Georgina Pellant -
14th January 2022 
