Much-loved local brewers Kirkstall Brewery has joined forces with five star Indian restaurant Dastaan, based in Adel, to bring together a fusion of Indian street food and IPAs, in a brand new setting.
Kirkstall Brewery announced it would be taking over the former Banyan site on New Road Side in Horsforth last month.
But this new opening is going to be far from your usual suburban boozer.
Karobar, the working name for the new bar partnership, plans to bring together the best of Kirkstall Brewery's beers with 'modern fusion' Indian street food that's been inspired by trends seen back in India.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The idea is that all of the food on the menu will be based on Kirkstall's IPAs and the flavours for each dish will be shaped around the beers - a rare but exciting way to work, and by working in tandem with the flavours in both food and drink, it promises some seriously exciting pairings.
To give a glimpse of what lies ahead for the new bar concept, Dastaan has begun to work on an impressive street food menu with innovative dishes like Pani Poori, puffed semolina shell with chickpeas paired with Kirkstall's 3 Swords and potato tornado chaat with white pea ragda, herb yoghurt and taramind chilli chutney to serve with longtime Leeds favourite Virtuous, an Aromatic Session IPA with grapefruit peel, lemon and lime.
Like the rest of the award-winning menu Dastaan has to offer at its restaurant in Adel, everything is homemade, right down to the whole wheat tacos individually filled with pulled masala jackfruit, Punjabi paneer bhuriji and pulled masala pork before being garnished with pickled ginger, raw mango marmalade, Tekhi chutney, tadka yoghurt, onion tomato kachumber and potato salli. Naturally there's a Mango IPA and more crisp, bitter West Coast IPA, Spokane that goes perfectly.
Homemade tacos in three flavours.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Hoping to bring some of the food trend spotted on a recent trip to India, the team at Dastaan is working on fusing together popular street food items with the more traditional Indian curries found on the menu.
"Bao buns are trending, tacos are trending - but you're not seeing that in the UK yet and it takes time for things to filter through" a spokesperson for Dastaan told The Hoot Leeds.
Elsewhere on the working menu, you'll find Pao Sliders with potato vada, Amritsari fish and Chicken 65 pakora inside, as well as Tandoor Se, a lamb seekh kebab or tandoori soya chop as a plant-based alternative, with sirka onions and mint chutney, ideally paired with a Belgian Blond.
Tandoor Se. / Images: The Hoot Leeds
Pao Sliders.
Kirkstall Brewery announced that they "believe in tradition, authenticity and innovation and this is an opportunity to show us what we can do" with their new partnership with Dastaan.
And for those wondering about the name, Karobar translates to 'business' in Hindi and is the popular term for street food stalls, amongst other businesses, in India. "When you put a shop on the street, it's 'your Karobar', it's your business" - so it perfectly encompasses the partnership between Kirkstall Brewery and Dastaan, as well as hinting at the street food element of the menu in a single word.
Work is now underway to bring Karobar to life, with plans to open this summer - and we can't wait to hear more.
Feature Image - The Hoot Leeds
News
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.
Sophie Smith -
5th May 2023 
