Performances from local Queens to celebrate the bank holiday.
Celebrating the Queen's Jubilee bank holiday weekend and all of our favourite foodie experiences, Yard & Coop is putting on an afternoon tea like no other next month.
With only one sitting available, make sure you book this one before its inevitable sell-out stops any more purchases.
Afternoon tea like you've never seen it before. / Image: Yard & Coop
From the creators of the 12 inch 'Massive C*ck' burger comes afternoon tea in true dirty bird style at Merrion Street's favourite fried chicken restaurant and bar. Expect three layers of crunchy, sweet, savoury and all round delicious servings, starting with a huge bowl of fries with buttermilk fried chicken and crispy smoked bacon.
Served with Yard & Coop's locally famous cheese sauce, spicy bees knees, Dr Pepper BBQ and blue cheese sauces, this mouth-watering mix is complimented by another tier of fried chicken up top.
Expect two types of buttermilk fried chicken wings (Buffalo Ranch and Stateside BBQ) amongst crispy hand cut onion rings and veggie-friendly ‘not chicken’ talgani nugz, as well as a generous offering creamy mac n’ cheese.
Tickets include a cocktail of your choice. / Image: Yard & Coop
If that wasn't enough, sweet treats come in the shape of Kinder Bueno cookie pie and dulce de leche sea salted brownies with marshmallows, fresh strawberries and oozing with chocolate sauce laden over the desserts.
Wash all this down with a cocktail of your choice before watching in awe of a fabulous Royal Variety spin-off performance set to shake the whole house down.
Yard & Coop have said: "Dedecked and bejewelled in their finest Crown Jewels, they gonna sashay, shantay, fried chicken on the runway. Regal realness" is to be expected, and for a more than reasonable price of £25, this exciting event is set to sell out quickly.
The restaurant hosts drag brunch and afternoon tea outside of the Jubilee weekend too. / Image: Yard & Coop
If you can't make it to the single sitting on Friday 3 June 2022, 12-2pm, the popular fried chicken joint does offer afternoon tea with a dirty bird twist on a regular basis with occasional drag brunch specials, but bare in mind that the Jubilee weekend is the only place you'll see the Royal Variety version.
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.
Team behind Headrow House and Belgrave to take over and reopen Woodside just one year after opening
Clementine Hall
The foodie-favourite restaurant and bar is now under new management.
The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that Woodside has sadly been closed for a few months.
We certainly have, and ever since December we've had a Woodside Sunday roast-shaped hole in our hearts that's been gasping for one of their glorious Marmite glazed parsnips.
But luckily, it has now been confirmed that Woodside isn't going anywhere as Superfriendz, the team behind Headrow House, Belgrave and many other top Leeds spots will be taking over. Hallelujah.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Woodside opened at the end of 2024 from the owners of The Brunswick and The Melbourne.
Labelling itself as a 'neighbourhood eatery and bar', Woodside quickly became a favourite amongst Leeds foodies and was known for its smoked meats, great cocktails and stellar Sunday roasts (do I need to talk about the parsnips again).
The menu was fresh and innovative, with oysters topped with kiwi granita and an incredibly garish banana split standing out as highlights.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
We hope that the new management continues to maintain Woodside's brilliance, but mainly we're just so glad that it's sticking around.
Superfriendz take care of a whole host of spots in the city, including proper Leeds favourites Headrow House, Belgrave Music Hall and Waterlane Boathouse.
Announcing the news to Instagram, Woodside said: "After a longer-than-expected winter break, Woodside is back and will reopen on Thursday 19th March!
"Your favourite neighbourhood bar and eatery returns with the same warm welcome, but an all new management team.
"We can’t wait to see you so keep your eyes on our socials for news on great food and drinks, big screen sports, quizzes and more.
"We’d also like to thank Sam and the original team for all the hard work that went into setting-up the venue. We hope we can do it justice."
Sophie Smith -
16th May 2022 
