Head to the back of Kirkgate Market, weaving through fish stalls and greengrocers, until you hit the bustling food trader quarter. Here, you'll find one of the most satisfying fish butties in Leeds.
It's a far cry from your traditional deep-fried, battered fish finger butty. To start with, this is no light, flaky white fish filling, but robust, rich and oily mackerel. Slapped on a hot grill to sizzle right in front of you, this is Turkish street food at its finest.
We're talking about Mr Mackerel, the popular Leeds market trader that recently featured in a rave by Guardian food critic Jay Rayner.
Encased in a soft white roll, with lashings of chillies, pickled red cabbage and cucumber yoghurt, it makes both a comforting and filling lunch - the oiliness of the hot, grilled mackerel tempered by a generous squirt of lemon juice. Even better, it's only a fiver.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
On a visit to the city at the end of last month Rayner enthused about MorMor at Kino, the Levantine-inspired street food gaff serving up gorgeous mezze and small plates, as well as namechecking Quebec Street's old-school French restaurant Sous Le Nez.
But it's Mr Mackerel that he described as "the best £5 you can spend on lunch anywhere in Leeds right now".
The critic wrote: "The next day I went for lunch to the old Kirkgate Market, from where I used to buy thick slabs of fabulous bacon when I was a student.
"Now it is a smart mix of traditional stalls, many selling old-school cream cakes and intriguing, modern food stands.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
"Head to the back and Mr Mackerel, a Turkish grill where you can get a soft white bun filled with a whole grilled fresh mackerel fillet with shredded red cabbage, salad and chillies. It’s fantastic.
"It’s probably the best £5 you can spend on lunch anywhere in Leeds right now."
If it's good enough for Mr Rayner, it's definitely good enough for us. Yes, there are non-fish options. But if you want the real balik ekmek experience, make sure to order the real thing.
It looks like even more new flats could be popping up in Leeds city centre.
The land in question is located near Leeds' Aire Park development, next to The Adelphi Pub in a prime location smack bang in the city centre.
It's looking like over 240 flats could be built on the site after the council has agreed to sell the coveted plot of land to a housing developer.
The current land that is surrounded by heritage assets has been sold by Leeds City Council to property developer Glenbrook.
A planning application from Glenbrook proposed mostly 246 one and two bedroom apartments in a whopping 24 storey development.
Around 20% of the homes would be classified as affordable housing, being rented out at 80% of the current private market rate.
The application will be discussed when the council's City Plans Panel meets next Thursday 14 May.
A council planning officer’s report said: “The emerging proposals present a significant opportunity to regenerate a prominent vacant brownfield site within the city centre.
“The development would deliver a substantial number of new homes, alongside the provision of some employment opportunities.”
A council decision report when selling the plot back in 2022 said: “It is surrounded by heritage assets in an area undergoing rapid regeneration and is widely considered to be a prime plot capable of supporting a high quality residential development.”
Well then Leeds, what do you make of these plans then?
You can watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 for FREE across Leeds
Thomas Melia
Did you know you can watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 for free across Leeds just by taking a quick trip to the shops?
If you’re eager to watch Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) and the Runway Magazine crew on the big screen once again, you can do so for free.
After making its cinema premiere earlier this month, 20 years since the first film, The Devil Wears Prada 2 continues the story with more iconic quotes and a whole host of celebrity cameos.
One of these is pop phenomenon Lady Gaga, who also appears on the soundtrack for this stylish sequel alongside artists like Miley Cyrus, Doechii, and Brit acts Raye and Olivia Dean.
Just like real life, the story follows the real-life fashion news outlet and media brand, Runway Mag, undergoing some major changes.
For instance, they’re wrestling with scrapping print editions of their beloved publication and swapping this for online short-form content.
The sequel to this fashion-focused film also sees role reprisals from Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt, with new additions from Lucy Liu, Kenneth Branagh and Justin Theroux.
Now, enough of us talking at “a glacial pace”, let’s get all of you fashion fans those free cinema tickets before they go out of style.
An all-new promotion courtesy of not one, but three notable names: The Devil Wears Prada 2, Diet Coke and Sainsbury’s
The UK Supermarket chain is currently running a promotion during the film’s big-screen run, where if you purchase a 30-pack of Diet Coke, you can get free tickets to The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Simply purchase one of the big crates of Diet Coke between Wednesday, 29 April and Tuesday, 19 May, before snapping a picture of your receipt and uploading it online.
So it really is that simple, all you have to do is buy a 30 pack of Diet Coke and get a free cinema ticket for doing so – did somebody say girl maths?
For more info and to upload your receipt, visit the promotional website HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
17th March 2023 
