The £1 million waterfront club come cafe and bar is almost ready to open its doors to the public.
Really, where can you go in Leeds to get your morning coffee fix and a later night boogie?
There are far fewer all-hour cafe-clubs than ever before, but Canal Club on Granary Wharf are set to change this.
Opening next month, the brand new cafe, bar and club will provide an eclectic mix of live music and DJs in interior oozing with a decadence and hedonism.
Granary Wharf will welcome Canal Club in December. / Image: Canal Club
The concept has embraced the changes that the pandemic have brought to our lives, but the brand is keen to ensure that their pre-Covid globetrotting-inspired-decor can still take visitors on a trip to parties around the world whilst restrictions are still in place.
Iconic party hotspots such as Havana, LA and Miami will have nothing on Canal Club as new club-cafe effortlessly brings the best of all three to Leeds.
£1m has been invested in Canal Club to create a multisensory space. Living walls and ceilings, dripping with lush palm leaves and bougainvillaea are peppered throughout, whilst neon signage, twinkling lights and kitsch furnishings mean that no two tables are alike.
This exotic, tropical flair is designed to transport guests straight to a Havana-style club night that's perfect to grab a few photos for the 'gram, let your hair down and party like you're under the tropical heat of the Caribbean.
Guests can also tuck into world tapas dishes and light bites like Beet Hummus Toast, sliders, salt and pepper squid and sweet potato crostini, day and night.
Even the Canal Club menu will be colourful, eclectic and inspired by worldwide travels. / Image: Canal Club
Cocktails are beautifully garnished and served in stunning glassware. Try a cherry Blossom ‘Tini, served Asian-style with sake and Cointreau, or turn up the heat by sipping on a spicy Strawberry and Coconut Margarita with jalapeño-infused tequila.
The food and cocktails are playful and innovative, blending the familiar with the exotic to create menus filled with promise and temptation.
The cocktails are just as colourful as the menu. / Image: Canal Club
Speaking ahead of the launch, Operations Director Jade Renner said:
"It’s an eclectic space, with lots of picture-perfect fixtures and fittings. Our food and drinks are also exceptional and are presented in a way that adds to the whole experience for our guests.
"No stone has been left unturned. The pandemic gave us time to think about what it is that people are looking for when they socialise now.
"We’re looking forward to welcoming people when we open next month because we do have to be seen to be believed.”
The Canal Club will open its doors next month, but visitors will have to wait until early 2022 to check out the Canal Cafe.
Opening its doors in Spring 2022, guests will be able to choose from a selection of coffees as well as grab ‘n’ go breakfast options and sweet treats. Think edible granola gardens and charcuterie jars, as well as freshly baked pastries almost too pretty to eat.
Canal Cafe will open in 2022 and serve coffee as well as bottomless brunch on the weekends. / Image: Canal Club
Of course, a new cafe-bar-club concept couldn't open in Leeds without a bottomless brunch option.
On weekends, step things up a gear in the highly anticipated venue and grab a bottomless brunch from a plentiful menu that will be released closer to opening.
The Merrion Centre is set to welcome one of the UK’s fastest-growing specialist music retailers.
K-pop fans, you're going to love this one.
Soft launching on Friday 22 May, K-pop Korner Leeds will open initially as a pop-up store, becoming the brand’s fourth UK location and its first in the north of England.
Recognised as the UK’s leading dedicated K-pop retailer, K-pop Korner stocks official K-pop albums, signed albums, light sticks and rare collectibles imported directly from Korea.
Not only that, but the brand has developed a strong national following through fan events, trading days, concerts and exclusive product launches.
The Leeds opening follows the success of K-pop Korner’s existing stores in London Waterloo, London Euston and Nottingham, with growing demand from fans across Yorkshire and the north driving the expansion.
Anastasia Tsappis, Director of K-pop Korner, said: “We’re incredibly excited to bring K-pop Korner to Leeds and finally create a dedicated space for fans in Yorkshire and the North of England. Community has always been at the heart of what we do and we’re looking forward to building a welcoming environment where fans can meet, discover new merchandise, celebrate their favourite artists and enjoy special events together.
“Our community has been asking for a more accessible location outside London and the Midlands for a long time, so Leeds felt like the natural next step. The Merrion Centre stood out because of its vibrant atmosphere, fantastic city-centre location and strong connection to entertainment and youth culture.
“We want the opening to feel like more than just a store launch. It’s about celebrating K-pop fandom and creating memorable experiences for the local community. We’re especially excited to see fans come together for our opening events and experience the energy and excitement that makes K-pop culture so special.”
Inside Pardon Me – Leeds’ newest neighbourhood record bar inspired by Japan
Clementine Hall
Farsley is now home to an ultra-cool record bar with coffee, cocktails and an unbeatable sound system.
Tucked away in the beautiful Sunny Bank Mills, Pardon Me is a record bar built around 'music, atmosphere, and detail'.
It's been launched by Scott Rapson, who grew up in the Scottish Highlands and fell in love with music around the time of the arrival of hip hop in the early 80s.
He then spent time travelling for raves, and visiting venues like Glasgow’s Sub Club and London’s Plastic People, giving Scott an appreciation for how 'music can shape a room, not just fill it'.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Scott and his partner Laurie have then spent the past three years travelling, visiting listening bars across Europe to shape the foundations of Pardon Me.
Listening bars, also known as hi-fi bars, originated in 1920s Japan - and you can really see the Japanese influence within the space and it's super cool interiors.
Images: The Hoot Leeeds
Bartenders here create a small but perfectly formed menu of cocktails and pour natural wines from Wayward Wines in front of a wall of vinyl, while a collection of Scott's records play as a soundtrack to your evening.
The sound system Scott claims is one of the "best in the North East", which he says has a "real sense of depth and balance to it" with a "coverage that stays incredibly consistent across the room".
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Whether it's for coffee during the day, or drinks into the evening, they want Pardon Me to be a place to spend time, looking out across Sunny Bank Mills.
Pardon Me is open Thursday - Sunday, and you can find out more about this wonderful new opening here.
Sophie Smith -
23rd November 2021 
