There's a restaurant and bar in Leeds offering bottomless Japanese afternoon teas and we're absolutely smitten.
Putting an Asian twist on the classic English afternoon pastime, the contemporary rooftop restaurant in Victoria Gate elevates the typical cucumber sandwiches and scone offering - switching in sushi, gyoza and delicate sandos in their place.
Issho - meaning 'together' in Japanese - is a gorgeous spot in which to come together and lose a few hours wining and dining in the city, whilst sampling some of the best delicacies Leeds has to offer.
The outdoor terrace at Issho
Offering ninety minutes of free-flowing prosecco alongside its Japanese-style afternoon tea, swanky Leeds restaurant Issho's offer is up there with some of the best bottomless deals we've seen in the city.
For £47.50, you'll enjoy unlimited prosecco as you tuck into a host of delicate Japanese finger-food treats. The selection here is split into three: spanning sushi, savoury and sweet, and also includes a selection of fine Japanese and English teas.
There's a whole host of yummy delicacies included, with the sushi section boasting the likes of tuna tataki with wasabi cream, vegetable maki, salmon and avocado maki, and tuna and salmon nigiri - all served with soy for dipping and pickled ginger on the side.
Savoury and sweet treats on the Afternoon Tea menu
In the savoury section, meanwhile, think seasonal vegetable gyozas, prawn toast with black sesame seeds, and a selection of delicate Japanese crustless sandos with fillings like chicken katsu and tamago (egg).
For your sweet treat, finish on a high with Issho's selection of caramel purin (the Japanese name for creme caramel), matcha cheesecake, yuzu and raspberry tart and miso and chocolate brownies.
As for teas, alongside a classic selection of traditional favourites like English Breakfast and Earl Grey, there's also the choice of some special Japanese teas including sencha (loose leaf green tea), hojicha (roasted green tea) and konacha (a sushi drinking tea with a bitter taste designed to enhance the flavour of fishiness left in the mouth by your food).
The bottomless Japanese afternoon tea is served in Issho bar on Fridays and Saturdays from 12 pm - 2:45 pm. To find out more and book your table, head over to Issho's website 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 -
2nd September 2021 
