Bars in Leeds
Ian Jones, Food and Drink EditorAs you’d expect from a city as vibrant and exciting as Leeds, the bar scene is among the best in the North.
Leeds has a young population, thanks to its University and the thriving businesses which employ many young professionals. The city boasts not one, not two, but three ‘Main Drags’: Call Lane, Merrion Street, and Greek Street, where you can find booming nightclubs that stay open until the small hours. Around the big clubs, you’ll find the bars, likely to be buzzing with live music and comedy over the weekend and throughout the week as well.
One of the defining features of Leeds’ nightlife is the vast range of real ale and craft beers brewed in and around the city and flowing nightly from the tap. Leeds is a long-time centre of the brewing industry, with a beer history going all the way back to medieval times and beyond. Today, Northern Monk, Wilde Childe, and the Northern Brewing Company are just a few of the big names in beer operating in the Leeds metropolitan area.
That being the case, there are plenty of places to go to savour beer as an art form, and the overall culture is perhaps a bit more savoury than in other somewhat binge-drinking oriented city centres – though, should you wish, you can of course have a wild one.
And if you’re after sophisticated wines, spirits, and cocktails, fear not, as these coexist merrily with all the beer, in venues such as the Thewlis, the Alchemist, and the Maven,
The LGBT scene in Leeds is massive, with drag shows and gay and lesbian bars that guarantee a good night out in safe, respectful spaces.
So, whether you’re looking for vast bustling spaces or intimate backdoor dive bars, this city has them all. Here’s our pick of the best bars in Leeds.
