I don’t know if you are like me but when I’ve done a festival weekend I do tend to indulge one more day after it's done.
Perhaps, that’s to stop those dreaded festival blues kicking in or I feel more a case of being knackered so it is rather nice just to have a treat. So, after a weekend at Temple Newsam covering Slam Dunk and the new Live at Leeds: In The Park, over the jubilee bank holiday weekend, I headed into Leeds city centre
It was a dreary day, thankfully it wasn't on either day for the festivals, and we were a little unsure what we were after so eventually we decided for a first trip to the new Roxy Lanes - which opened at The Light earlier this year. Upstairs, where we dined, it was a somewhat quiet during our Sunday afternoon trip - ideal for us to be honest. We later discovered that’s because many others were downstairs taking on bowling and the pool tables.
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Roxy has been hugely successful since it first launched with many venues in Leeds and others cropping up all over the country - later this year its first Sheffield branch will open.
Their food menu varies slightly from branch to branch but given the nature of the establishment its unapologetically burgers and pizzas comfort food. The latter is nearly exclusively on offer at the recently-opened venue at The Light.
There’s a decent choice of pizza options but as some might agree the margherita (£10) is always the true test before you can venture into toppings. So, that’s what I went with while my festival buddy wasn’t feeling as greedy as me.
They ordered a slice of pepperoni (£3). And, not wanting the party to stop we sampled a couple of cocktails. Ordering at the table online, although the barman upstairs was very friendly and we would have gone to him if we weren’t feeling lazy. We sampled the passionfruit daiquiri and bramble (both £7.50).
It didn’t take long for our food to arrive and the pizzas were certainly a mark above the basic level you might expect from a sports bar - which might surprise some. They were thin and had a nice crispy texture and really helped us achieve what we were looking for that Sunday afternoon.
Helped by the chicken fillets (£6) and the huge portion of skin on fries (£4) on the side. It genuinely took us a rather long time to eat our indulgent lunch. I’ll admit, I’ve been a fan of Roxy and their various offshoots since first visiting. We didn’t really have the energy for too much gaming on this particular visit but I know their venues to be great places to have a catch up with friends taking on all kinds of challenges - I was also recently on a rather rambunctious stag at their Merrion Street branch.
Towards the end of our time at the Light branch, it saw us move on to the mocktails in the form of a berry smash each (£5). Upstairs, which is decorated in that distinctive Roxy style with sports on the walls, and had an array of indie bangers from years gone by playing, as it started to get a lot busier.
The group playing the rather loud basketball game did little to appease our hangovers, it must be said…
The bill
- Passionfruit daiquiri - £7.50
- Bramble - £7.50
- Two Berry smash mocktails - £10
- Margherita pizza - £10
- Pepperoni pizza slice - £3
- Crispy chicken fillets - £6
- Skin on fries - £4
Roxy Lanes, The Light, 44-48 The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 8TL. To find out more and book you can visit their website.
Don’t forget, if you want to know all the latest food, drink and event news from across our city you can visit the Best in Leeds homepage. You can also sign up to the Best in Leeds homepage by heading to this page - and it's completely FREE.
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