Nineteen venues, and a whole lot of Margaritas to celebrate National Margarita Day.
If you're a fan of Margaritas, then you will most definitely want to keep reading.
As of next week, from Monday 19 - Sunday 25 February 2024, a mile-long Margarita crawl aka the Margarita Mile is coming to the city.
Why? Well it's all down to El Tequileño. Produced in the Mexican town of Tequila, the award-winning Tequila brand together with everyone's favourite posh salt, Maldon Salt, are helping venues across Leeds to create the very best tasting Margarita cocktails.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The Margarita Mile started last year in Manchester with a bang, and now Leeds is getting in on the action.
Cheers'ing big to National Margarita Day on 22 February, nineteen of the coolest venues across Leeds will be showcasing their very best El Tequileño Margaritas and other El Tequileño tequila cocktails for just one week only.
The bars, which include fan-favourites like Tabula Rasa and Neon Cactus, will all be putting their own signature flair on the drink – so you can make it your own mission to decide whose is best.
Challenge accepted if you ask us.
Embark on the mile-long crawl and drink as many or as little as you like, but remember you've only got one week to sample them all and you should always drink responsibly.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
And it doesn't stop there, there will also be some exciting events taking place at the venues during the week for you to get involved in.
On Wednesday 21, The Domino Club will be hosting 'Music To Drink Margaritas To', a raucous version of their usual live music evenings, so grab your sombreros and get ready for a fiesta at one of the city's best speakeasies.
Fancy making the drink yourself? Well you're in luck as The Liquor Studio will be hosting a consumer Masterclass on National Margarita Day itself, 22 February.
Closing the celebrations, The Watermark will be hosting 'La Loteria', a wild version of Mexican Bingo – expect lots of fun and frivolity which you'll want to raise a Margarita to.
And if you'd like to have a guided experience of the mile, then The Gin Journey crew will be hosting a Mini Margarita journey on Saturday 24 where you can drink 3 different Margaritas and 3 El Tequileño tasters in 3 of the city’s bars with an expert guide. Find out more here.
Take a look at Leeds’ Margarita Mile map below.
With the hospitality industry suffering greatly in recent times, the Margarita Mile is a fantastic initiative to help venues draw in and generate business.
Steffin Oghene, Global Ambassador for El Tequileño, says: “El Tequileño encourages everyone, from cocktail fans to tequila lovers to those who want to learn more about quality craft spirits, to get out on the mile to try a Margarita.
"We are super proud to be extending the Margarita Mile to 3 key UK cities in 2024 including Leeds. Tony and I look forward to meeting the people of Leeds out on the mile!”
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.
Five of the best new openings in Leeds recently – from ice bath cafes to listening bars
Clementine Hall
It's been a brilliant couple of months for new openings in Leeds.
We don't know about you, but we think our city is really thriving with all it has to offer at the moment.
There's been a flurry of new spots opening up, and if you haven't visited them then we urge you to check them out.
But first, allow us to tell you all about them...
Domo
Tower works, 2 Globe Rd, Holbeck, LS11 5QG
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Introducing Domo, an independent restaurant born in Sheffield that is loved by many for its delicious food, inviting atmosphere and stellar service.
Run by Raffaele Busceddu and Sarah May Elliott, Domo serves a range of traditional Sardinian specialities that aren't often seen outside the island, all made entirely in-house.
Located right on the water's edge, we've got a feeling this is going to be our go-to spot this summer for long lunches fuelled by spritzes.
Also born in Sheffield, this one's for the matcha lovers and we know there's a lot of you. Think iced banana bread matcha, superfood smoothies and refreshing acai bowls served in a super cool setting.
Kontrast
84-86 Railway Street, Saxton Gardens, LS9 8HB
Images: The Hoot Leeds
After already making a big name for themselves over in Manchester, Kontrast has brought its popular sauna and ice bath cafe concept over to Leeds. Located under the railway arches, Kontrast features two traditional saunas, one infrared sauna, and four ice baths, each varying in temperature between three and 13 degrees. It's the perfect space to enjoy solo or with a group of like-minded wellness-loving people.
Scott and his partner have opened the coolest, 70's inspired record bar that is full of his massive record collection alongside a carefully curated cocktail menu with a twist. With the best view of Sunny Bank Mills, Pardon Me is just the most chilled out place to watch the world go by whilst sipping on a coffee or a glass of wine whilst hearing everything from hip hop and soul to deep house, and disco. We loved our visit and we know you will too.
We all know and bloody love Silver's Deli over in Bramley, but now they’ve branched out to Farsley and opened the wonderful their very own bakery which is already a sell-out.
The all-new neighbourhood bakehouse is slinging out the likes of homemade focaccia, buttermilk brownies, sausage rolls, cookies, tiramisu and, of course, the ever-so-famous sandos but this time in homemade, fluffy focaccia.
Clementine Hall -
15th February 2024 
