A grandad in East Leeds has built the ultimate garden 'super pub' behind his house - and it looks absolutely incredible.
What started out as a 'man cave' building project for Richard Spear 4 years ago has become so much more, with his backyard build taking on a whole new life during the past year's successive lockdowns.
Initially, the plan was just to find somewhere quiet to put him and his pizza oven - but then the pubs closed, so he kept on building.
Finally finished after four years of construction, today the back garden pub is seriously impressive and could give a lot of places in Leeds a good run for their money.
Richard Spear and his wife Maria inside their garden 'super pub', the Taverna Mexicana
Called the Taverna Mexicana, it has its very own pizza oven, bar, dance floor, and a karaoke machine for the family to crank out the tunes on after a few bevies.
It also has a pool table, darts board, and three TV screens - perfect for watching the football together on.
There's a good selection of spirits on the bar, as well as several taps pouring beers and bitters like Stella Artois and Tetley's Bitter.
It really looks the part - right down to the branded drip mats laid on the wooden bar and a stack of pint glasses behind it/. .
The pub has disco lights and beer barrels with stools, to really give it that 'going out' feel - and out back, there's a smoker that Richard has built from an old filing cabinet, dart board and a table football game.
The pub took him four years to complete, growing over the years into the epic garden 'super pub' it is today.
The family regularly get together in the pub to watch the football or just have some quality time together
According to his family, it's "way better" than the real thing and has become the perfect place for them all to come together. His daughter Fiona Lyons, who lives next door, also loves not having to bother with getting a taxi home at the end of the night.
Speaking to Leeds Live, she said that the garden 'super pub' has been great for bringing their family and friends together and that they often gather at the pub to watch football matches and celebrate special occasions.
We have to say, we're pretty jealous and wouldn't mind something like this in our backgarden. Especially for watching the final on Sunday.
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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 -
8th July 2021 
