The outdoor food and drink venue have sadly announced that they will be closing their doors permanently as of next week.
One of Leeds’ most talked about open-air bar concepts has just announced that they are sadly closing down.
The team have said that due to the cost of living crisis, the business is no longer sustainable to run.
Their last day trading will be on Sunday 6 August, but after that Chow Down will be departing from Temple Arches.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
The Temple Arches venue served punters of Leeds fantastic food and drink throughout the seasons, and we are absolutely heartbroken to see it go.
Many will remember the fantastically chaotic drag brunches, the delicious array of food on offer and look back on nights watching the sun go down through the arches with fond memories.
A statement from the Chow Down team read: "It’s with very heavy hearts we announce Chow Down will be closing its doors for summer on Sunday 6th August and departing from Temple Arches.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
"What started out as a 10 week pop-up in response to the Covid restrictions of summer 2020, morphed into a three year successful residency and became a key event destination in Leeds. However, unfortunately after being impacted by the cost of living crisis, changing consumer behaviour for food and drink offerings and increases in all costs involved with running a temporary site, the business is sadly not sustainable to continue in its current format.
"We have achieved so many things at the current site, including helping to support the regeneration of the Temple district alongside our partners and site developer CEG, who we are hugely grateful to for giving us the opportunity to launch Chow Down and hope to work together again on fresh concepts for Temple Arches in the future."
Image: The Hoot Leeds
The statement continued: "While this is the end of Chow Down in its current guise, we are exploring new city centre opportunities and aim to relaunch a new concept in Leeds in the near future.
"We would like to say a huge thank you to our team, traders, DJs, performers, contractors, and most importantly our lovely loyal customers for supporting us. It would mean the world to us if you could join us for the last ever two weekends at Temple Arches for a final cocktail, beer, dance and some top notch scran. Chow for now, CD team xx"
We’ve been waiting for this one and trust us, it’s just as good as we’d hoped.
If you’re a fan of a cheeky margarita, a taco and a bit of a boogie then this is the spot for you - and let’s be honest, who isn’t.
Introducing Salon Madre, made famous over in Manchester and now with another spot in Liverpool, think late nights fuelled by margaritas, cosy dates over tacos and lively game nights.
The new Leeds site is located on Wellington Street, perfect for those wrapping up work over on Wellington Place and looking to blow off some steam.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The space is huge, with floor to ceiling windows letting loads of light in during the day and plenty of red neon lights setting the vibe for the evening.
There's about 20 different variations of margaritas and tequilas on the menu, as well as fresh Mexican beers on tap if you're not ready for a shot just yet.
But it's not just about the drink, the food menu is top notch too.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
There's tacos and quesadillas all made with hand-pressed tortillas, twice-cooked chicken wings in a range of flavours from Mexican cola to Yucatan buffalo, and of course there's stacked nachos which are perfect for snacking on between sips of margarita.
If you're feeling competitive then they've got six pool tables as well as darts, and Lucha Libre on the big screens if you'd rather watch the play happen than play yourself.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Salon Madre will have DJs on in the evening and on a Friday and Saturday they'll even be open til 1am.
Welcome Salon Madre, we can't wait for this to become our new late-night party destination. You can take a look at their menu here.
Inside Leeds’ newest Italian cafe and gelateria that’s inspired by the streets of Puglia
Clementine Hall
A slice of Puglia has landed in Pudsey and people are already flocking to the scene.
It's rare in the UK (let alone Leeds) that you find a real, authentic gelateria like you'd find on a cobbled corner in Italy.
But luckily for us, an Italian-inspired cafe serving up just that and more has opened over in Pudsey.
Meet Pino, a beautiful spot created by Fabio who has drawn inspiration from his hometown of Puglia - a region on the southern coast with a vast coastline.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Named after his father Giuseppe, at Pino you'll find proper punchy Italian coffee, pastries and homemade pizza which they'll warm up for you fresh. But what we're really interested in is the gelato.
Yes it may not be what you're craving during this time of year, but we're in no doubt that come summer there will be queues out the door full of punters looking to grab a scoop.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Fabio makes it fresh in the kitchen every single day in a variety of flavours, and you can have it in a cone, tub, takeaway tub or even via affogato. We can't think of a better afternoon pick me up.
The space is light, airy and inviting, and the service has that perfect Italian charm that you'd expect.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
It's a really honest spot that comes from humble beginnings, and it's exactly the type of place that we need to be supporting right now.
You can find Pino on Robin Lane in Pudsey, and you'll probably see us there. Take a look at their socials here.
Clementine Hall -
27th July 2023 
