The Junction is offering its residents exclusive discounts to try exciting independents and local favourite food, drink and shopping spots, all included in its rental packages.
If you're unfamiliar with the new neighbourhood that's popped up next to Wellington Place, it's home to a whopping 665 apartments that come with near enough every amenity you'd add to your ‘must haves' and 'dream of' list - including private dining rooms; multi-use sports pitch; super-fast broadband, built-in appliances; co-working spaces; and resident lounge areas, plus apartments that are totally pet-friendly.
All Junction residents are given a special 'Junction Card' upon moving into the neighbourhood and it allows you to celebrate your new surroundings and support your new local independents - but with extra perks and discounts.
Named Neighbourhood Heroes, the list includes hairdressers and lunch spots, coffee shops and cheesemongers, fitness centres and plant shops - mostly within a fifteen minute walk of The Junction with a few dotted around the suburbs.
Here's just a few of the Neighbourhood Heroes where you can make the most of your Junction Card...
Brewery Tap
18 New Station Street, Leeds LS1 5DL
Located right next to Leeds Train Station, Brewery Tap is a popular watering hole for footy goers, locals looking for lunch and visitors eagerly awaiting their first pint after being stuck on the train. It's also home to Big Buns, a smashed burger joint popularised by Rate My Takeaway star Danny Malin.
Dastaan
473 Otley Road, Adel, Leeds LS16 7NR
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Over in Adel, Dastaan is all about providing 'Mayfair cooking at a fraction of the price'. The popular Indian restaurant opened in Leeds last year and has since seen city dwellers flocking to the leafy suburb to taste the XXX for themselves.
Good Luck Club
6 Wellington Place, Leeds LS1 4AP
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Anyone living at The Junction is probably going to make Good Luck Club a regular. The restaurant and bar features a wide spanning menu of classic burgers and meaty dishes straight from the grill, as well as offering leafy salads perfectly accompanied by a beer in the sunshine, sat on the benches outdoors.
Iberica
Hepper House, 17a East Parade, Leeds, LS1 2BH
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Authentic Spanish tapas inside a truly stunning venue, Ibérica owns a handful of restaurants over in London and has brought its artisan cheeses, cured meats and moreish paella to Leeds
Issho
Victoria Gate 3rd Floor Rooftop, George St, Leeds LS2 7AU
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Dubbed as one of the best places in the city to watch the sun go down, Issho is home to Japanese dishes, swanky cocktails and a killer terrace overlooking the city centre. Meaning 'together' in Japanese, Issho has a selection of sushi, sashimi, bao buns and tempura meats perfect for sharing.
200 degrees
31 Bond Street, Leeds LS1 5BQ
Image: The Hoot Leeds
200 Degrees started its journey in Nottingham before conquering cities across the UK, bringing strong caffeinated drinks and laptop-friendly cafes to the masses. Head over to Bond Street to blast through your morning emails over a cup of Joe or join the Barista School and learn all about the trade - either way you'll be welcomed in.
Trib3
68A Wellington St, Leeds LS1 2EE
Image: The Hoot Leeds
For those looking for a serious workout, Trib3 is home to "scientifically-proven HIIT workouts" where you're tracked with heart-rate monitors and studio displays to ensure that you're putting yourself through your paces to burn up to 1,000 calories per session.
No. 3 Gentleman's Hairdressing
3 Lower Briggate, Leeds LS1 4AE
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Looking to get a trim and want to make sure you're supporting a local business at the same time? Josh and the team at No.3 promise to be "professional but laid back, welcoming everyone with open arms, a beer, good music and a chat".
You know the venue, and you know the operators behind it, but things are looking a little different over on Sovereign Street.
Leeds' very own Kirkstall Brewery has teamed up with street food legends Little Bao Boy to totally reinvent the city centre taproom formerly known as North Taproom.
At the all-new The City Taproom, you'll find a way cosier space alongside their sun-soaked terrace, as they aim to reimagine a traditional city centre pub.
Across 16 tap lines there are loads of Kirkstall Brewery classics, like Kirkstall Pilsner, Virtuous and Judicious, plus a rotating selection of guest beers from top British breweries - and Guinness, of course.
The City Taproom will also feature two new cask lines: one serving Three Swords as a staple, and the other on rotation starting this month with Golden Hour.
There's a bigger kitchen for Little Bao Boy too, which means an even larger menu of bao and Asian street food, like loaded fries, noodles, and rice bowls.
Little Bao Boy was founded 10 years ago by James Ooi, specialising in home-made bao buns and traditional Asian street food with a contemporary western twist.
Kirkstall have injected the huge space with the traditional essence of a proper Kirkstall establishment, with that kind of cosy atmosphere you know them for at the brewery's other sites.
Little Bao Boy at City TaproomKirkstall Brewery pints and cocktails
This is yet another of the local brewery's openings in the city centre, joining their recent renovation of The Victoria & Commercial in partnership with Whitelocks, plus their stewardship of the historic Tetley brewery building.
James Ooi, founder of Little Bao Boy said: "We have been part of this venue since day one, through COVID, outside seating, and new owners, and we are so excited for this refurb.
"On the food side, expect more collaborations, faster service, and a better overall customer experience. We are extremely grateful Kirkstall saw the value in this refurb and can't wait to get back open."
Steve Holt, founder of Kirkstall Brewery, said: "We're delighted to unveil a new presentation for the Taproom on Sovereign Street.
"It has been named The City Taproom after a famous but long-gone Leeds pub known as ‘The City’, which was situated where the statue of the Dortmund Brewer now stands. Images of the original City pub are a feature in the new look City Taproom, which can best be described as a 're-imagination' of a traditional city-centre pub.
"The City Taproom celebrates Leeds and its rich pub and brewing heritage. We hope that it will become a popular addition to the amazing and diverse venues that make Leeds such a vibrant City for hospitality and entertainment."
It's all the bits you loved before, just a little bigger and a whole lot better.
The City Taproom opens at 3 Sovereign Street on Thursday 23 April.
The route for next year’s historic women’s Tour de France has been announced – and it all starts in Leeds
Danny Jones
The route for next year's women's historic Tour de France has been announced, with some of the best riders in the world set to begin the race from right here in Leeds.
Announced back in January, the 2027 Tour de France Femme avec Zwift will be making its British debut next year.
And this week, the full route has been revealed, which will all begin here in the race's host city of Leeds.
From here, riders will zip across through Yorkshire to Manchester, before turning back and heading down through the Peak District to Sheffield.
Around 230,000 people packed into the city centre to cheer the riders on their way during the Tour de France’s Grand Départ in 2014, with another two million spectators lining the rest of the race’s Yorkshire route. It's hoped that similar scenes will happen again this year.
It's yet another big coup for the region and Yorkshire's sporting scene.
Speaking with Manchester City Council earlier this week, Dame Sarah Storey joined many in celebrating another huge moment for us; the female Tour de France is not just back up and running, but aiming to become bigger than ever.
🚴♀️ The world’s best cyclists are heading to Manchester! 🚴♀️
The routes for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2027 have now been revealed, with Manchester set to host the Stage One finish on Friday 30 July and the Stage Two start on Saturday 31 July. pic.twitter.com/OMMlhdorqP
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) April 21, 2026
The Stockport-born swimmer turned Team GB cyclist and multi-Olympic gold medallist knows all about what makes this particular sport special, having swapped a previous and highly successful career for an entirely different discipline.
As has now been fully confirmed, the 2027 Grand Départ will be getting underway in Leeds, before heading through Yorkshire and on to our friends in Greater Manchester.
Spread across two incredible days, the race itself will finish in Sheffield, with another UK first happening down in London, as the capital will also host the inaugural team time trial held in this country.
You can see the official event's breakdown of what locations feature in which stages of 'The Big Loop' in more detail below.
Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: "We might be more than a year away from welcoming the Grand Départ of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift to Leeds, but there is already a good deal of excitement building around the event.
"Today’s route announcement will hopefully whet people’s appetites still further and get them thinking about where in the city they will be watching the race.
"We recognise that some residents and businesses will now have questions about how an occasion of this size could impact local communities on the day.
"They can be assured that we will be working hard alongside the race organisers to minimise any disruption and will also make every effort to keep people fully informed as plans for the event continue to take shape."
Sophie Smith -
19th July 2023 
