In a coup for the city’s bartending scene, some of Leeds' best cocktail bars have been named amongst the UK’s creme de la creme – with three ranking amongst the top 50 in the country.
Local favourites Tabula Rasa, Hedonist and Below Stairs were all recognised for their top-notch drinks, atmosphere and service at a glitzy awards ceremony held in London last night, coming in at numbers 48, 45 and 42 respectively.
Over in neighbouring Sheffield, meanwhile, natural wine bar Bench (#50) and cocktail bar Public (#39) were also given honours, whilst, in Manchester, cocktail bars Speak in Code and Schofield's both made the UK's top 10.
Whilst London once again dominated the list, there were still a large number of northern drinking spots included with a total of 14 of the Top 50 Cocktail Bars to be found in Scotland and the north of England.
Liverpool bar Present Company also cleaned up at the awards, ranking at number 20 – a jump of 23 places from its 2022 position.
Over in Scotland, meanwhile, Edinburgh bars Panda & Sons (#6) Bramble (#13) and Hey Palu (#27) all got a mention, as did secret Glaswegian bar The Absent Ear (#25) and natural wine and cocktail bar Lunar (#49).
The Top 50 Cocktail Bars list is compiled by bar industry experts and offers a unique perspective on where those in the know like to go for a drink.
Image: Tabula Rasa
Each year, the list is chosen by a mixture of bartenders, bar owners, writers, critics, and other hospitality professionals.
To ensure each region in the UK has an equal opportunity to shine, voters are broken down into six geographical regions. Each voter then has four votes, including for one cocktail bar in their region and three others from anywhere else in the UK.
Top 50 Cocktail Bars community manager, Charli Tomney, said: “I am so excited to bring back this event with a bang. We have a real variety of bars, some with a capacity of 24 people some with 300. There are bars with spirit specialities, new bars that have opened just months ago and some female-owned businesses from across the UK.”
Image: The Hedonist
Chris Lowe, publisher of Top 50 Cocktail Bars, said: “We have created Top 50 Cocktail Bars to help people find the best bars, which are often hidden, around the UK.
“London still has more bars on the list than any other city but having almost all of the UK’s major cities represented showcases the explosion of great venues on the cocktail scene.”
Feature image - The Hoot Leeds
Eats
Independent Leeds coffee shop crowned one of the UK’s best for 2026
A list of the UK's best independent coffee shops for 2026 has been released, and one in Leeds has come up trumps.
The coffee shop in question may come as no surprise to some of you, as some would say that after 15 years in the city it's become somewhat of an institution.
Of course it's none other than Laynes.
Founded in 2011 by Dave Olejnik, Laynes began life on New Station Street and quickly became one of the first venues in Leeds to focus on carefully sourced and roasted coffee beans, helping lead the way for the city's now-thriving independent coffee scene.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
It's a proper Leeds staple at this point, sat proudly with its glowing yellow exterior and queues out the door full of punters looking for their morning caffeine fix.
But it's not just us who think it's flipping fantastic, as a new study has revealed the top 10 most popular independent coffee shops in the country and Laynes comes in at a very respectable number 8.
The list, made by Capital on Tap, analysed coffee across the UK looking at Google reviews, monthly searches and social media success.
Laynes was in some pretty good company including Idle Hands in Manchester and Kaf Coffee in Glasgow. But most importantly, none of the top 10 were in London - make of that what you will.
The top 10 most popular independent coffee shops for 2026:
Neighbourhood Café, Belfast
Colonna & Small’s, Bath
Established Coffee, Belfast
Hard Lines Coffee, Cardiff
Rough Handmade, Liverpool
Idle Hands Coffee, Manchester
Full Court Press, Bristol
Laynes Espresso, Leeds
Kaf Coffee, Glasgow
Dom’s Coffee, Cambridge
Bravo Laynes, a well earned accolade for one of our favourite spots in the city.
A bakery serving giant NYC-style cookies and fluffy cinnamon buns has just opened in Leeds
Clementine Hall
If you've got a seriously sweet tooth, then you're going to love this new opening.
It seems like there's been a flurry of new bakeries popping up in and around Leeds recently, and we're certainly not complaining.
Introducing Crumbb, a beautiful new bakery that has just opened its doors on Hyde Park Road just moments outside of the city centre.
Owner Naila started the businesses as a wholesaler six years ago, stocking up local businesses from far and wide with sweet treats.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Since then, Crumbbs opened its first location in Bradford just a few months ago that has been nothing short of a resounding success. So much so, that Crumbbs 2.0 was born right here in Leeds a few days ago.
Right, let's talk you through what's on offer.
For the sweet toothed out there, there's a whole myriad of treats for you to enjoy. We're talking giant NYC-style cookies, fluffy cinnamon buns topped with gooey icing, brownies slices, cookie muffins, rocky road, flapjack, the list is truly endless.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
You can even get warm cookie trays and hot brownies to enjoy in house that can be topped with ice cream or thick custard.
And it doesn't stop there, Crumbbs also whip up freshly baked savoury focaccia slices as well as cheese twists, pizza slices and savoury rolls filled with creamy mozzarella and herbs.
They've also got a fabulous drink selection on offer including matcha, coffee and hot chocolates.
Located in Headingley, we've got a feeling this spot is going to be a huge hit with students and locals alike looking to get their sweet treat fix. But they'll have to beat us to it first.
Georgina Pellant -
8th February 2023 
