It's officially the first full week of March, so let's kick this month off with a bang.
This week is jam-packed fun events, from World Book Day and International Women's Day to Mother's Day wrapping up the weekend.
So, to help you fill up your diary we've cherry picked the best of what's on in and around Leeds.
Keep reading to see what you can get up to.
British Pie Week
Monday 4 - Sunday 10 March 2024 | All over the city
Image: The Hoot Leeds
It’s British Pie Week, not that we need much of an excuse to celebrate that flaky, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth pastry, but we’re taking all the excuses we can this week to embrace all things pie related.
So celebrate this National holiday and enjoy a pie or two, because it really would be rude to.
Friday 8 March 2024 | The Marriott, Leeds City Centre
Image: Yorkshire Businesswoman via Instagram / Roth Read Photography
Founded by regional magazine Yorkshire Businesswoman, the awards recognise the talents and achievements of inspiring women across the wider Yorkshire area.
There’s 11 awards in total that celebrate women from all four corners of Yorkshire, at varying stages of their career. From the rising stars to lifetime achievement, the Yorkshire Businesswoman Awards plan to showcase the very best of mentors, managers and founders in a ceremony right here in Leeds.
The Closer singer is going back on tour this year with Champagne & Roses with special guest Mario along for the ride too. The last few seats are available via See Tickets for £64.55 here.
Our parental figures, be it a mum that’s biological, step, adopted or honorary, deserve to be treated way more than once a year. From changing nappies to helping you navigate the adult world, Mother’s Day is about celebrating all that these figures have done, and continue to do for us. And if you're stuck for ideas on how to spend the day celebrating, we've rounded up plenty of games, events and one-off foodie menus and offers to share with you. Read more here.
Psycho Sandbar opening
Friday 8 March 2024 | Vicar Lane, Leeds City Centre
Image: Psycho Sandbar via Instagram
The new venture from Michael O’Hare is going to be unveiled later this month. The restaurant will still be refined “but in a more accessible way” and will have a ‘surf shaky’ feel to it.
Priced at £165 per person, the taster menu will be available for tables of one to four and features a pesci-heavy luxurious menu with turbot, Caviar Donburri, hand dived scallops and oysters along with Bresse Chicken AOC and A4 beef with froi gras.
Food critic Camilla Long visited Leeds for her latest review for The Times with her sights set on Horsforth's finest - Bavette Bistro.
Ever since opening back in 2024, Bavette Bistro nestled in the leafy suburb of Horsforth has made waves across the country for its sheer brilliance.
It's pretty much received five star reviews across the board and been handed awards from left, right and centre. And rightly so.
The Good Food Guide crowned Bavette the best local restaurant of 2024, and Michelin handed them a well deserved Bib Gourmand - so it's safe to say it's not just us who think it's really something special.
So it was only a matter of time until The Times popped in for a review, and this one is truly glowing.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The review labels Bavette as "warm, unmannered and unpretentious" as well as "authentically French".
Long describes the food as "gorgeous, confident, surprising" with a menu that "isn’t too long" and "filled with sturdy, noble dishes, whiffing mightily of the sea and the soil."
It continues: "All of it made with generosity and cheer, served fast by nimble waiters, with a long, if slightly eccentric, wine list. To bang out French dishes with this much fiddly detail and to do it to a full room is not easy. Yet all four courses came in under two hours, for about £75 a head, which in London terms is nothing.
"It’s not that this place was perfect, it’s that it was decidedly not perfect. A bit too much chat about the menus; the oeufs in the meurette not quite runny enough. But the point is: it didn’t matter. All of it came charmingly together. It felt relaxed, just right."
The review is then wrapped up with a pleasing five stars, the cherry on top of the cake.
It's a review only restaurants can dream of, and we can't think of a more deserving team - congratulations Bavette.
A new female-founded business has opened in Leeds and it’s a trinket-lover’s paradise
Clementine Hall
Lisa Angel has just opened inside the Victoria Gate and it’s an Aladdin’s Cave full of jewellery, prints, gifts and everything in between.
The best part? It’s a female-founded brand that has chosen our wonderful city for their first Yorkshire site. We absolutely don't blame them.
Founded in 2004 by Lisa hand making jewellery which she sold at craft fairs local to her Norfolk home, the business has gone from strength to strength every since.
The brand is now a recognised part of the British high street landscape, boasting seven other stores across Norfolk, Suffolk, and the Midlands.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Shoppers can expect beautifully handcrafted jewellery, unique trinkets and wonderful staff who are open to have a natter.
It's the perfect shop for when you don't exactly know what to buy that someone special, just pop in here and you'll be hit with a wave of inspiration immediately.
We could've genuinely spent a good hour in there and come out with a much lighter wallet.
Lisa herself spoke about the opening: “As an independent retailer, we are thrilled to launch in a destination with such a reputation as Victoria Leeds.
"We believe retail should remain grounded in inspiration and discovery, and we look forward to bringing just that to the vibrant city of Leeds, in our first store in the north.”
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Managing Director James Moody said: “We're incredibly excited to be opening our first northern showcase store in such a prestigious location.
"Victoria Leeds represents exactly the kind of vibrant retail destination where we can bring the full Lisa Angel experience to new customers. This is a significant milestone for us as we continue to grow our retail presence."
Clementine Hall -
4th March 2024 
