Looking to escape the hustle and bustle of Leeds City Centreand take on the role of your beer-loving dreams?
We might have just found the ultimate day trip for any Leeds beer-lover on the hunt for their new favourite spot out of town- and with every dream daytrip, comes a dream job for those that work there (but more about that later).
Whilst the task of getting a table in the city centre on a Saturday afternoon may be considered almost an Olympic sport, we understand that having a delicious pint in a venue with amazing atmosphere might be something that you crave.
Leeds is blessed with a huge array of amazing venues, but sometimes it’s nice to take a short train to a town or village nearby. Imagine a place 20 minutes train ride outside of Leeds, filled with an amazing craft beer selection, cocktails ‘on tap’ and just about something for everyone.
Imagine a Grade II listed Tramshed, filled with the best craft beer Saltaire has to offer, complete with a huge brewery at the rear of the building where you’ll find the ultimate craft beer experience.
SALT Beer Factory is the home of one of the UK’s fastest growing craft beer brands, and you’ll certainly find a large selection of their brews on tap at any time. Hidden away in the UNESCO heritage village of Saltaire, SALT Beer Factory is on a mission to unify heritage and modern brewing with a difference.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Find out more about the brewery and its heritage from friendly bar staff who are more than willing to give you more information. The brewery taproom is complete with a dramatic yet pristine backdrop, and you’ll be surrounded by fermenter tanks where the beer you are sipping on once was. Grab a seat in the heart of the action during its opening hours – Friday – Sunday, and enjoy an intimate and one-of-a-kind drinking experience.
There's also ample opportunity to visit SALT Bar & Kitchen every single day of the week for a taste of real ales and SALT beers. There’s certainly something for everyone available, with high strength speciality beers and low strength sessionable ales available all week long.
So whether you’re looking for a weekday or weekend visit, SALT have fantastic food and craft beer available all week long. Along with a Shuffleboard table which is available in the Taproom all week and SALT even host their very own live music events, with bands playing once a month and DJ’s every Friday and Saturday.
Sample their brand-new selection of 'on tap' cocktails, each poured from a draught line or taste artisan wines at the bartender's recommendation.
How could we forget about food? Both SALT Bar & Kitchen and SALT Taproom offer a huge menu, with freshly prepared food to your liking. So whether you’re in the mood for wood fired pizzas, or looking to just get a light snack, the menu is complete with a huge array of delicious treats – whatever your budget or portion size.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
So where does the dream job fit in? If this sounds like the sort of place you want to spend your days: strolling amongst the hops and testing out SALT Beer Factory's finest, you could become one of their expert members of staff.
If you know your craft beers from your IPAs or just fancy talking about beer all day, SALT is looking for those that know a thing or two about brewing to join their Brewery Tour team.
The staff here are knowledgeable, but make the whole experience exciting and relatable and exciting, so you need to be able to give those visiting an informal but informative insight to the beer factory business, so that they can leave with plenty of fun facts.
We really can’t think of a better dream job to swap our 9-5s for.
Those interested in a position with SALT Beer Factory should contact the business themselves to find out more information.
Feature Image- The Hoot Leeds
Leeds
The Leeds bakery serving up fresh pastries straight from their backyard
In case you missed it, a bakery in Bramley has received lots of attention recently after people have sampled some of its impressive bread and pastries before raving about it online.
Since then, Ruth, the mastermind behind it all, has generated queues from her summer house-turned bakehouse with people coming from far and wide to sample her flaky favourites and doughy delights.
Baking for more than 10 years and opening The Fat Pigeon just outside of Leeds city centre three years ago, there's no denying that the pastries and more produced here are some of the best.
This micro-bakery has a mighty menu and although Ruth's personal tastes might lean more savoury, the menu heavily favours sugary baked goods.
Anyone who loves a good sweet treat will be glad to know there's croissants, traybakes, cinnamon buns and the star-studded kouign-amann, a French-originating buttery pastry that covers all bases as it's sugary, sweet and slightly salty - heaven in baked form.
Ruth posing with a pigeon statue alongside some of her delicious golden creations / Image Credits: The Hoot Leeds / The Fat Pigeon
There's plenty more dough-based delights that cater to the savoury palate too. Think sourdough loaves, baguettes and focaccia that's oozing with perfectly paired herbs and generous amounts of oil.
What makes this place even more special is the fact that not only the products being created and consumed made by a Leeds local, most if not all of the offerings are made using Yorkshire produce.
Ruth has made sure to keep local produce at the heart of all her bakes with Met's in Farsley who providing cheese, Whiteley's contributing fresh vegetables like parsley and rhubarb, flour from East Yorkshire's own Stringers and The Organic Dales for any dairy items - it really doesn't get more Yorkshire than this.
Enough from us, social media user's are singing this bakery's praises too as one commented "Delicious. Delicious. Delicious" and another going as far to say, "Beats every pastry I had in Copenhagen".
The sourdough loaves and bloomers at The Fat Pigeon are homemade and look as good as they taste / Image Credits: The Hoot Leeds / The Fat Pigeon
Hopefully you're reading this on a Friday or early Saturday morning, otherwise all I can do is apologise for tempting you with all this bakery's homemade golden goodness so far in advance.
The Fat Pigeon is open from 9am to 12pm every Saturday meaning you can stock up on some of Leeds' best bread and pastries to tie you over until the next weekend, depending on your will power.
Here’s five of the best new openings coming to Leeds this year
Clementine Hall
We're almost half way through the year, so let's see what else we've got to look forward to...spoiler alert, it's a lot.
So far we've had everything from ice bath cafes to listening bars open up in Leeds, and it seems like 2026 is the gift that keeps on giving.
Allow us to get you excited about what's coming to the city...
Dishoom
68–78 Vicar Lane, LS1 7JH
Images: The Hoot Leeds
This one is a biggun' as the ever so popular Indian restaurant is set to open this August in a beautiful Grade-II listed building on Vicar Lane which was formerly Flannels.
First opening in London, Dishoom now has restaurants dotted all over the UK including a huge site in Manchester. The group is famed for its lavish and grand interiors, as well as its home-style curries, grills and breakfasts including its legendary bacon naans.
Acai and the Tribe
88 Vicar Lane
Image: The Manc Group
Acai and the Tribe first opened four years ago in Manchester, and ever since then it's only gone from strength to strength opening up three other locations across the country.
Next stop? Leeds. And we couldn't be happier about it.
So, what can we expect from this aesthetically-pleasing and ultra trendy female-owned business? Well, loaded acai bowls that look almost too good to eat, superfood smoothies, coffees, matcha and savoury options like avocado toast.
This Japanese restaurant serves a menu full of sushi as well as grilled meats on sticks, sharing sides and build-your-own hand rolls. All of this is wrapped up in the most gorgeous interior, which you can see from their jaw dropping new Manchester site.
Occupying the Grade II-listed space on Vicar Lane, the three-storey building will include a 220-cover dining room, 30-cover terrace and an upstairs bar.
New York-style pizza pop-up, Edges Pizza, is set to open in Leeds.Last summer you may have had the privilege to enjoy a slice of Edges Pizza at one of their many pop-up residences across the city.
Their longest stint was at the sun-drenched roof terrace of Green Room, and it's safe to say their pizza went down an absolute treat. Edges will be opening their doors in Leeds city centre on Thursday 18 June.
Okay, this one might not be happening this year...but we still had to mention it so please forgive us.
Trinity Leeds is embarking on a major transformation with a £15 million expansion, introducing a second food court called ‘Freight Island’ The upgrade will add around 72,000 sq ft of new space, including a stunning rooftop terrace overlooking City Square the perfect spot to enjoy great food with skyline views.
Sophie Smith -
31st May 2022 
