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Leeds
Roxy Ball Room on Merrion Street ready to reopen revamped three-floor venue
Leeds-based Roxy Ball Room is set to return bigger and better on Monday 17th May when it reopens to reveal a supersized gaming utopia spanning three floors.
The revamped venue will still focus heavily on the ball games, food, and drink that the brand has become famous for, whilst unveiling some exciting new gaming options to make it the city’s premier gaming bar.
Former sister venue Roxy Arcade has been completely ripped out and refitted as Roxy Ball Room, creating one mammoth gamer’s paradise with its spacious basement area. Here, a diverse range of entertainment will be available offering endless hours of fun, along with a shiny new bar area.
This includes an all-new Crazy Pool course, which offers up an insanely playable mash-up of crazy golf and pool. Players must navigate a variety of obstacles to pot the ball on a waist-high mini-golf course bathed in UV light, using a pool cue instead of a putter.
Roxy Ballroom
The basement will also feature two newly installed Duckpin Bowling Lanes, where players can flaunt their competitive streak with a game that splices ten-pin bowling with skittles. Another game to make its Leeds debut is Bank Shot Shuffleboard, which twists the popular game with a board that loops back on itself, making it even more challenging to get the puck into the scoring zone. The basement area will boast two Bank Shot Shuffleboards, as well as a ping pong table.
Also new to Roxy Ball Room are three hi-tech private karaoke rooms, where budding performers can order a round of drinks at the push of a button,
and a selection of iconic arcade machines, including the ever-popular basketball.
The ground floor bar will feature no less than five beer pong tables, whilst the light and airy first floor will boast 4 full-size American pool tables, two shuffleboards, two beer pong tables and two more ping pong tables.
Guests can expect the same stellar selection of draught lagers and craft beers as before, including Roxy Lager, Camden Pale and ABK Weissbier.
The Roxy bar team will be on-hand across the venue's three bars to shake up both classic and signature cocktails, including the bestselling Ping Star Martini and the Tropical Rumbull. Hungry gamers will be able to hit up Roxy’s bold and tasty food menus, which spans loaded nachos, chicken wings, pizzas, and burgers.
And, whilst Roxy fans will have to hold on until May the 17th to get their game on, they can get a taste of their signature food and drink menus from Monday 12th April onwards at the Merrion Street party.
Roxy has joined forces with neighbouring bars including Mojo, Verve and Yard & Coop to create the city’s biggest outdoor hospitality area. A roof spanning the full street will ensure guests are kept both safe and sheltered from the elements, whilst DJ’s will be on hand with a diverse party playlist to suit the highly anticipated return of the iconic nightlife scene synonymous with Leeds.
Roxy Brand Development Manager Joel Mitchell had this to say ahead of the re-launch: ‘’We are all extremely excited about taking our Merrion Street venue to another level! The people of Leeds are long overdue for a big night out on the town. Roxy Ball Room is coming back in a big way to help create memories that can make up for all those special occasions that we’ve all missed out on.’
‘’The bar is ready to go from Monday 17th May, and I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, from our loyal customers to co-workers and friends from our neighbouring bars. I’m confident the people of Leeds are going to love our new-look, supersized venue when it finally reopens, and I know jaws will drop when they check out the new basement bar and see the massive selection of gaming that is now on offer.
With Bank Shot Shuffleboard, Crazy Pool, Karaoke, Arcade Machines and Duckpin Bowling thrown into the mix, Roxy Ball Room Merrion Street is going to be the city’s number one gaming hotspot, with an unrivalled selection of entertainment options. 2021 is going to be a year to remember for sure.’’
Follow Roxy on Facebook and check out their website to keep up to date with the latest news.
Leeds
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.
Everything you need to know about watching the solar eclipse in Leeds
Emily Sergeant
People all across the UK will be able to see an almost total solar eclipse in the sky this evening.
For the first time this century, with the last one being all the way back in 1999, people in the UK and Ireland – including here in Leeds – will get to see 90-96% of the sun covered by the moon today (12 August 2026), and if that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, this will be the last chance to do so until 2081.
NASA and Royal Museums Greenwich has confirmed that tomorrow’s solar eclipse will be the most coverage seen from the UK and Ireland since the 1999 event.
But what can astronomy fans in Leeds expect from today’s eclipse? When will it be happening? How much coverage is our region going to see? And where are some of the best places to watch?
First up, let’s get the basics out the way – what is a solar eclipse? A solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the sun and the Earth, blocking the sun’s light either partly or fully.
Although the UK will only see a partial solar eclipse this time, some other countries – such as parts of Iceland, Spain, Portugal, and Greenland – will be lucky enough to witness the spectacle of a total eclipse for a duration of up to two minutes and 18 seconds.
When will it be happening?
The eclipse is set to start at 6:13pm in Greater Manchester, and will run right through to 8:03pm – with the peak happening at 7:10pm.
How much coverage can Greater Leeds expect?
Of course, we always have to preface anything we say about astronomical events like this by saying ‘it depends on the weather’, as we do like in the north after all, and even though it is the height of summer, that won’t stop the skies from being overcast.
Luckily though, the Met Office is predicting some of the best weather conditions for an event like this in a long time, so it really is worth watching.
Spectators in Leeds will see 90 - 92% coverage, according to expert sources.
How can I watch the eclipse safely?
If there’s one thing experts are stressing, it’s the need to take correct precautions if you are planning to watch tomorrow.
The most important thing is to wear eclipse glasses and avoid looking directly at the sun.
It’s true that during an eclipse, the sun does appears dimmer therefore making it easier to look at directly, however solar radiation can still reach and damage the retina, often without causing any pain, so you may not realise harm is occurring until it’s too late.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advises that there are two safe approaches – specialist eclipse viewers, or indirect viewing methods.
Eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers must be genuine, sold by a reputable retailer, and have specially designed filters that meet the international safety standard ISO 12312-2:2015(E). They must also have no scratches, tearing, or damage to the lens.
Old pairs may not be reusable, and sunglasses should never be used.
Indirect view methods include viewing the sun’s image projected through a colander or the gaps between tree leaves on to white paper, or using a pinhole pierced in one sheet of card and projected on to another.
The Hoot -
9th April 2021 
