A bar in Leeds has come up with a 'sweet shop' cocktail menu and we're absolutely here for it.
Mad Frans on Wellington Place is a cute little cocktail bar and restaurant, dishing up a host of classic and signature cocktails plus a good range of spirit mixers and beers too.
But the thing that's really caught our eye is their sweet shop selection, inspired by all of our tuck shop favourites - with everything from giant strawbs and fruit salad chews, to parma violets getting a look in.
Photo credit: Mad Frans
Some of the quirkier drinks on the new menu include a meringue-topped 'fruit salad' cocktail made with raspberry, pineapple, white rum, citrus and sugar; and a 'lemon sherbert' drink comprised of sharp limoncello, lemon sorbet, prosecco, sugar, citrus and lashings of lemon sherbert.
They've also infused their own gin with parma voilets to create a purple-hued (and lethal-sounding) sour that combines the sweetie-flavoured spirit with vanilla vodka, apple, cirtus, sugar and egg white for a drink that will knock your socks off.
Mad Frans has a whole host of classics on its menu as well as the sweet shop cocktails / Image: Mad Frans bar
Elsewhere, other drinks include a candy floss-inspired creation with gin, apple liquer, apple juice, lemonade and grenadine, and a 'cola bottle' drink; made with orange marmalade, spiced rum, bitters, caramel and soda.
The drink that really catches our eye, though, is their 'sour cherry one', which pits vodka and cherry liqueur together with cherry jam, bitters, sugar, lemon and egg white for the ultimate sweet-meets-sour treat.
Photo credit: Mad Frans
As well as offering plenty of fun drinks, Mad Frans also has a good kitchen offering tasty scran throughout the week and bottomless brunches and roasts during the weekend.
Head down during happy hour to make the most of your money here, with all their cocktails priced at 2 for £12 between 12 and 6 pm Sunday and Friday, and 12 - 4 pm on Saturdays.
Find Mad Frans at Building 6 Wellington Place, Whitehall Rd, Leeds LS1 4EQ. For more information, head over to their Instagram page here.
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Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Georgina Pellant -
26th August 2021 
