Eats

The UK’s first dine-in-car dessert shop is only an hour from Leeds- and it looks incredible

Expect Instagrammable treats like waffles, freakshakes and fondues, all from the comfort of your car.

Sophie Smith Sophie Smith - 16th February 2022

All the dishes are made for the 'gram and beautifully decorated.

Your Girl Can Bake is the UK's first dine-in-car dessert shop, a hybrid between a drive-thru and a dine-in experience, where you never have to leave your car.

The idea is, you pull up your car and experience desserts like pancakes and waffles laden in thick sauce, washed down with giant freakshakes, mocktails and a whole host of fizzy drinks.

Image: Your Girl Can Bake

Set up in the height of the pandemic, owner of Your Girl Can Bake, Ikraa Riaz, started by selling homemade desserts on Instagram.

Like all the best lockdown success stories, Ikraa found success selling online and decided to pursue her dream of opening a dessert store and now operates from Ardwick in Manchester, which is a one hour drive from Leeds city centre.

Reimagining the dining experience in a world scarred by the pandemic, the concept keeps ahold of the intimacy of gathering and eating in small groups, but still provides the same service and food quality as a dine-in restaurant. It's certainly a far cry from the tight curbs and echoey tannoys of McDonalds drive-thru.

Image: Your Girl Can Bake

Whilst lockdown restrictions may have been the instigator for the dine-in-car idea, it's a concept that's continued to prove popular ever since.

The concept has drawn in influencers, who have taken to Instagram and TikTok to share their experiences, and there's plenty of positive reviews to choose from.

Reaching over a million views on a single TikTok video is the type of viral content any small business only dreams of: but it appears that the visual appeal of these tasty treats has kept customers continuing to visit Your Girl Can Bake long after its five minutes of fame on the social media channel.

https://www.tiktok.com/@yourgirlcanbake/video/7035677915069287686?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7054190244619372037

Read More: All these bottomless brunches in Leeds include unlimited pornstar martinis

And for good reason too. The menu includes mouthwatering Nutella-filled French toast sticks, cookie dough, fudge cakes and fondues in takeaway trays- just incase you can't finish it all in one sitting.

If that's not enough, there's those old school funfetti cakes (the ones you loved at school), giant bags of fizzy sweets, loaded brownies, mini dutch pancakes and cakesicles to try out.

Image: Your Girl Can Bake

There's even savoury dishes to balance the dining experience with loaded nachos, samosa chaat, samosas and kebabs all on offer.

To quench your thirst, there's berry-flavoured Fanta amongst other familiar and exotic soft drinks or mocktails that include a rainbow disco light ice cube for a late-night party experience.

If we're honest, it's the Easter collection that we're most excited about, even if it is only February. The Easter Madness Cookie Dough is half an easter egg loaded with cookie dough, melted chocolate and loaded with your favourite springtime treats like mini eggs and malteaster bunnies.

Image: Your Girl Can Bake

Read More: This Leeds takeaway is serving up giant neon burgers with Biscoff

You wouldn't believe there's a team of three behind this incredible concept.

For more information, or to book yourself a place at the UK's first dine-in-car dessert experience, you can find Your Girl Can Bake on Instagram. Please note bookings need to be made in advance to give time for preparation.

Feature Image- Your Girl Can Bake

Eats

Salon Madre – a new tequila bar and pool hall is opening in Leeds this month

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

Manchester's favourite Mexican bar is about to become your newest nightlife destination in Leeds.

It's been a long time coming, but Salon Madre is officially ready to open in Leeds.

Although we may have to wait a little bit longer for Madre, the day-to-night eatery that has made waves over in Manchester and Liverpool, Salon Madre, its lively tequila bar and pool hall sibling, is officially opening on Friday 20 February.

Salon Madre, which will be located just around the corner from Madre at 114 Wellington Street, is where the party really gets started.

Food and drink from Salon Madre in Manchester.
Image: The Manc Group

Expect tequila-fuelled nights, pool tables, lively DJs and Lucha Libre on the big screens.

There will also be plenty of tacos being flung out the kitchen to keep you going until the early hours.

If you’ve ever visited one of their venues in Manchester or Liverpool, you’ll know it’s an absolute riot and we can’t wait to welcome them to the city.

Images: The Manc Group

Co-founder Sam Grainger, inspired by countless trips to Mexico, says: “Mexico is alive with passionate artisans and cooks, mastering everything from street tacos to regional delicacies. It’s a world where traditions blend and evolve and we’ve built that ethos into the heart of both Madre and Salon Madre.”

Madre Leeds will open soon and you can even grab yourself a free margarita by signing up to their newsletter here.

We’ll keep you up to date with their opening times but for now, we'll see you at Salon Madre for a boogie, margarita and game of pool next week.

Read more:

Featured image - The Manc Group

Eats

Award-winning Leeds restaurant announces shock closure just months after opening

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

Emba in Leeds will be closing its doors with the owner blaming rising costs and pressure on the hospitality sector.

Back in April last year, one of Leeds' top restaurants The Owl closed its doors.

Run by renowned Chef Liz Cottam, The Owl was reimagine into Emba - a trendy restaurant tat bridged 'the gap between cosy bar and vibrant dining room'.

To open Emba, Cottam opened a Crowdfunder where supporters would be awarded with prizes such as VIP dinners and merch depending on how much they donated.

But sadly just months after opening, Emba is to close permanently.

Cottam confirmed the sad news with a statement shared with customers over the weekend, saying she was completely "heartbroken".

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by emba (@embagastrobar)

She said: “This is no longer the right time to own independent restaurants like Emba,” she said. “Under the current conditions they cannot survive and the recent budget confirmed what so many of us already knew: no meaningful help is coming for hospitality.

"The experience of being here and the harsh financial reality of running a business here no longer stack up.

"Being award winning, popular, admired and loved no longer means profitable and as an industry if we’re honest most of us have not truly been okay since Covid."

She signed off the statement promising to return to the restaurant world, she said: “What I do know is this, I am not done. I will keep cooking, keep creating and keep finding ways to do the thing I love.”

Emba will remain open until Saturday 1 March.

Read more:

Featured image - Emba

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