The 13th Oliver Awards, hosted by the Yorkshire Evening Post took place last night at the Queens Hotel.
It was the biggest event in the Oliver Awards history, with over 400 guests joining in on the celebrations. The awards celebrate the brilliance of the food and drink sector in Leeds and after two years of resilience throughout the pandemic, there was certainly a lot to celebrate last night.
From the city's best late night bars, fine-dining restaurants and trendy brunch spots; there were awards to commemorate all the outstanding talent in the hospitality sector from in and around Leeds.
BBC's legendary Harry Gration hosted the glitzy and glamorous awards, which was then followed by a night of live entertainment.
Image: Below Stairs Bar
Noticeable wins include Below Stairs, an underground cocktail haven on South Parade taking home the award for Best Bar. Best cafe went to Grön who have locations in both Leeds and Harrogate and serve up healthy, nourishing dishes all day long. Lamb and Flag on Church Row took Best Pub and Overall Restaurant of the Year went to Chef Jono at V&V.
Image: The Lamb and Flag
Here is the full list of winners at the glamorous Oliver awards this year:
Best Cafe/Deli - Grön Kafe
Best Pub or Brewery: Lamb & Flag
Best Brunch: Grand Pacific
Best Use of Local Produce: The Beehive Thorner
Best Bar: Below Stairs
Best Speciality: Tharavadu
Best Family Friendly: Grumpy's
Best Use of Outdoor Space: Chow Down
Sustainability Award: The Alchemist
Best Customer Service: Kuala Lumpur Cafe
Newcomer of the Year: CORA
Best Takeaway Offering: Bomba Paella & Tapas
Best Fine Dining Experience: HOME
Chef of the Year: Jono Hawthorne of Chef Jono at V&V
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.
Clementine Hall -
29th March 2022 
