Bottomless brunches seems to be our speciality in Leeds.
As writers at The Hoot Leeds, we still manage to find new ones every single week- and to be quite honest we had no idea there were so many before embarking on a mission to cover them all.
Nevertheless, they're a fantastic experience and something our city has to offer. So when The Bottle Club announced they'd ranked all cities against they're bottomless brunches we were sure we'd come at least in the top ten.
We were right. Although we didn't actually rank as highly as expected.
Manahatta does a great bottomless deal that can be found in Leeds and Manchester. / Image: Manahatta
In order to find the perfect bottomless, cities were ranked against nine different criteria:
% of overall restaurants in the city that offer brunch
% spots with vegan options available
% spots with vegetarian options available
% spots with gluten-free options available
% spots with halal options available
% spots accessible/ wheelchair friendly
% spots with outdoor seating available
% spots that are dog-friendly
% spots offering live music
All in all, Leeds came a respectable but slightly disappointing seventh place.
Here's all you need to know to understand where that mark came from. Firstly, we have one of the highest bar : bottomless brunch ratio, with 29.8% of our bars and restaurants offering a free-flowing booze package, and within that a over half (56.9%) offered vegan options and 80% were vegetarian-friendly.
Fleur does great value 2-for-1 bottomlesses. / Image: Fleur Cafe
So far so good.
Then, we didn't do so well in near enough every other category. Did you know just 3% of bottomlesses cater offer halal options? Or that only 2.4% are dog friendly and only 5% provide live music at their events?
When you compare this to the unlikely contender Southhampton, where 58% of bottomless brunches have live music, you can see why we list out.
Overall, it was Cardiff that took the top spot though, with a respectable 1-in-5 bars offering bottomless and all of which scored highly against food allergies, dietary requirements and accessibility.
So turns out we're not as good at bottomlesses as we thought- or maybe that's just one study's opinion and we're going to continue to enjoy them anyway.
One of the city's best independents is expanding into a bigger premises.
Shokupan on Wellington Street is a proper little gem that food-lovers across Leeds will rave nonstop about if given the opportunity.
Husband and wife team Alan and Alison took inspiration from trips around the world to bring a taste of Japan to the city and over the past few years it's gained a loyal following.
They're famed for their delicious Japanese sandos made with pillow-like fluffy shokupan bread, stuffed with everything from crunchy chicken katsu and flavourful pork to fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
But it's not all just about sandwiches, they also serve rice bowls and katsu curries as well as small bites such as chicken karaage and octopus balls.
Their food is so bloody good, that they've had to find a better location and this time it's slap bang in the city centre on Central Road.
And they're joining brilliant company too, with the likes of House of Koko and Vinyl Grounds as neighbours.
Announcing the very exciting news to Instagram, Shokupan said: "You guessed right…we are moving to Central Road, LS1 6DE. We are nearly there…
Images: The Hoot Leeds
"All the building work is complete and now we are finishing off the decorating. You might also start to see some signage appearing over the next few days…It has been lovely seeing some of our customers dropping by to see us whilst we slowly lose our sanity.
"Powered on caffeine and determination! Not long to go before we can announce our opening date and welcome you through the doors."
We can't wait to check out the new space, keep an eye on their opening date here.
Cult favourite burger chain Burgerism is officially coming to Leeds this August
Clementine Hall
An award-winning burger chain is coming to one of Leeds' suburbs.
If you don't know Burgerism, then get to know.
The Manchester-based burger chain is known by many for its incredible smash patties and quick, reliable service.
Their concept is simple: good burgers made with quality ingredients and cooked fresh to order. Delicious.
And it's not just burgers, they've also got some great wings and fries available too with a range of homemade sauces on offer for dunking, drizzling and devouring. We're a particular fan of the buffalo wings with their garlic ranch dip.
The chain used to have a dark kitchen on the outskirts of the city where people could order via Deliveroo, however this closed down and since then there's been a Burgerism-shaped hole left in our foodie scene.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Burgerism recently applied to move into a vacant shop unit in Meanwood at 605 Meanwood Road, seeking change-of-use planning permission for the former Papa Johns site which was previously only allowed to serve...well, pizzas.
And the plans have now been approved, which means Burgerism will officially be coming to Leeds. Hurray!
Burgerism's new takeaway will be walking distance from the The Meanwood Tavern, perfect for those looking for some post-pint burgers.
It will be strictly takeaway with no dine-in option available.
The brand-new Burgerism will employ 15 people from the local area with food being served between 11am and 11pm.
We'll keep you up to date as and when we find out more, but for now we're aware that Burgerism Leeds is set to open this August.
Sophie Smith -
20th January 2022 
