Serving up fresh, nutritious and fully customisable poke bowls - your newest lunchtime spot is landing in the city centre.
When the sun is shining and you're out and about in the city, there's nothing better than a refreshing and healthy lunch to keep you fuelled up for the day.
And Leeds' newest opening, Honi Poke, can provide just the thing. And just in time for summer.
But what is a poke bowl you may ask? Well, allow us to fill you in.
Images: The Manc Eats
Poke, meaning 'to slice or cut' in Hawaiian refers to chunks of fresh, raw fish which is tossed over sticky rice and vegetables and topped with umami-packed sauces. Delicious.
If you’re new to the world of poke bowls (which you soon won't be), these pacific delights are fully customisable and you can choose from a variety of options like tuna, salmon, hamachi, octopus or even tofu.
Image: Honi Poke
Honi Poke pride themselves on using the best ingredients, using responsibly sourced and sustainably caught fish which will transport you immediately to the island of Hawaii.
Either take your bowl away with you or sit and eat in, but don't forget to wash it down with one of their iconic bubble teas.
Speaking about the opening, they said: "At Honi Poke, we put a lot of pride in our bowls and we're passionate about using the best quality, most wholesome, mindful and uncompromising ingredients we can get a hold of. We only use sustainable, sashimi-grade raw fish, premium Japanese rice and the very best quality fruit and veg."
Image: Honi Poke
The new opening inside Trinity Leeds shopping centre comes alongside a whole host of others including Five Guys, Zara, Knoop and Jack & Jones.
Steven Foster, Centre Director at Trinity Leeds, said: “As a leading retail destination which is so embedded in the city it serves, it’s important for Trinity Leeds to continually evolve. These new brands will bring a dynamic and fresh attraction for guests and give them more reasons to come back time and time again. It’s set to be a very exciting year for Trinity Leeds.”
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.”
The Swine That Dines announces the official opening date of its brand new restaurant
Clementine Hall
Much-loved Leeds Bistro The Swine Bistro, formerly known as The Swine That Dines, has moved to a bigger space in Headingley.
Although it’s gone through a few name changes over the years since launching as The Greedy Pig cafe in 2012, this independent spot has long been a firm favourite for Leeds locals for some time now.
Run by chef couple Jo and Stu Myers, they’ve been operating out of North Street where it’s all about cooking seasonal produce simply and with an added ‘little bit of sunshine’.
But now Swine Bistro has moved up over to Headingley, taking up a unit previously occupied by Jam hairdressers on Otley Road.
Image: Supplied
And the time has finally come for them to open their doors, as they announce their first service will take place on Friday 4 April with bookings open from today, Thursday 20 March.
The Myers will be welcoming head chef Kirsty Cheetham, who won Observer Food Monthly’s Best Sunday Lunch award in 2018 and 2022 when she ran The Queen o’t owd Thatch in South Milford, Leeds.
The expanded space in the restaurant has allowed the team to curate a bigger wine list which will include natural wines from Wayward Wines and Latitude Wines as well as local beers from Ilkley Brewery and Horsforth Brewery.
Image: Supplied
The team remains passionate about locally sourced ingredients and has partnered with a variety of Yorkshire suppliers including R&J Yorkshire for its fresh meat, Tarbetts fishmonger, cheese from George & Joseph cheesemongers and beans from micro roaster, Chipp Coffee Co.
Jo Myers, co-owner of the Swine Bistro said: “It’s taken a huge amount of time and effort to realise our dream to revamp what was previously a hairdresser into a fully functioning kitchen and restaurant. It’s been a wild ride but we’re excited, and slightly nervous, to finally open our doors.
“We love the vibe in Headingley and the time out has allowed us to have fun with our menu as well as take part in lots of essential taste testing of ingredients and drinks from our brilliant local suppliers. We can’t wait to welcome guests into our new restaurant!”
Clementine Hall -
23rd April 2024 
