Welcome back to The Date Edit. We’ve done the planning, so all you have to do is turn up and be good company. This week we’re in Leeds, a city that people from London keep “discovering” and that the rest of the North has known about for years.
The whole city centre is small enough to walk end to end in twenty minutes. That means everything below is within about ten minutes of the last thing, and the only time you’ll need a train is to get there. The best days to do it are Thursday to Saturday, when everything on the list is open. The galleries close on Mondays, and the market and dinner spot close on Sundays.
Vibe: Victorian arcades, natural wine, a hidden bar with a live band
Area: Leeds city centre, from the station to Call Lane
Best For: A first proper date, or an away-day if one of you lives there
Budget: ££
Length: Late morning to whenever the band finishes
The Morning Thing
Laynes, New Station Street
Two minutes from the station, so it’s the obvious place to meet if one of you is coming in by train. Laynes has been one of the best coffee shops in Leeds for years and it’s busy for a reason. The brunch menu leans towards Turkish eggs and sweet potato hash rather than a full English. At the weekend it fills up early, so either book or get there before ten.
Price: ££
The Day Thing
Leeds Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute, The Headrow
A ten-minute walk up to The Headrow. Leeds Art Gallery is free and has one of the best collections of twentieth-century British sculpture in the country, which is a sentence you can say out loud to sound informed. There’s a bridge through to the Henry Moore Institute next door, which runs its own changing exhibitions and is also free. Do an hour, maybe less. Nobody has ever regretted leaving a gallery while still wanting more.
On the way out, have a look at the Tiled Hall Café. It’s a Victorian reading room covered in glazed tiles and mosaic, with big windows. The coffee is fine, but you’re really there for the room. If the Laynes queue beat you, have your first drink here instead.
Price: Free
The Lunch Thing
Kirkgate Market
Another ten minutes, downhill this time. Kirkgate is one of the biggest covered markets in Europe, and it’s also where Marks & Spencer started as a penny stall, which is a useful fact for any conversational lulls. The old Victorian halls have fishmongers, butchers and sweet stalls. Head to the food hall at the back to eat.
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Pick a stall each and share. Mr Mackerel does a grilled mackerel sandwich in a soft bun that people cross the city for. Eastern Oven’s cheese pide with honey costs about the same as a bus fare and is one of the best things you’ll eat all day. Seoulful Bites does kimbap and bibimbap if you want something else. The seating is benches, the noise is constant, and that’s the point.
Best thing to have
The cheese and honey pide from Eastern Oven, split down the middle.
Price: £
The Afternoon Thing
Leeds Corn Exchange
Two minutes round the corner. It’s an oval Victorian grain exchange with a huge domed roof that’s now full of independent shops, vintage clothes, jewellery makers and plants. Don’t treat it as a shopping trip. Walk the balcony, look up at the ceiling, and let one of you buy something small and slightly pointless. It closes at six, or nine on Thursdays.
Price: Free to wander
The Early Evening Thing
Rinse Natural Wine, Call Lane
Across the road from the Corn Exchange. Rinse is a small, stylish natural wine bar and bottle shop. The staff are good at listening to “I like something crisp but not sour” and actually finding it. The bread basket is worth ordering, and the sandwiches have a reputation of their own if lunch has worn off. It’s small and tables go fast, so don’t count on booking. Get there by five and you’ll be fine. It opens at midday from Thursday to Saturday and later on weekdays.
Price: ££
The Dinner Thing
Tharavadu, Mill Hill
A six-minute walk back towards the station. Tharavadu cooks Kerala food. It’s been one of the most-recommended restaurants in Leeds for years and still fills up midweek. The menu is long, so ask the staff to point you somewhere. Fish curry and a flaky paratha are the safe bet, and the paper masala dosa is big enough to share and looks great on the table. Book ahead. It’s closed on Sundays.
Best thing to have
The fish curry, with more paratha than you think you need.
Price: ££
If It Goes Well
The Domino Club, Grand Arcade
Ten minutes’ walk north into the Grand Arcade. Go into the barbershop, and there’s a door at the back. Behind it is a low-lit speakeasy with a live band most nights: jazz, soul, blues, sometimes brass. The cocktails are good and not cheap, so set a round limit or don’t. Book a table near the stage online. The ones at the back can’t see the band and aren’t worth the money.
Price: £££
Or, the loud option: Viaduct Showbar, Lower Briggate
If the evening calls for a dance floor over a double bass, Viaduct is five minutes from Tharavadu in the Freedom Quarter, Leeds’ queer bit. Expect drag, big pop, a mixed crowd and a DJ who is fond of the microphone. It’s open until five on Fridays and Saturdays, so you can choose how responsible you’re being.
Price: ££
See you next time for the next instalment of The Date Edit.
Nonchalant x
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Babs heads up Logistics and Product here at Nonchalant Magazine.
