New in Food: Gasworks, Leaf and more

If you're anything like us, you'll sometimes feel overwhelmed by the number of new restaurant and bar openings in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. To help you conquer this feeling – and hopefully give you some new ideas for Sunday brunch – we're going to be rounding up the best new openings across the region every month, from craft beer bars to coffee places, to street food pop-ups and fancy restaurants. Opening a new food and drink venue in Leeds, Liverpool or Manchester? Let us know – send the details to jess@theskinny.co.uk.

Fondue parties and sushi in Leeds

[The Winter Mountain Lodge]

Concept bar The Hedonist Project unveils its latest seasonal incarnation with The Winter Mountain Lodge, where you're invited to go and get piste on festive cocktails and wintry punches, complete with rustic alpine wood panelling and cosy seating, meat and cheese boards, Swiss-style toasties and fondue parties. Perfect for offsetting the prevailing chill, no? Open now, Lower Briggate.

Japanese kitchen and cafe Senbon Sakura has moved into the former home of Cafe Centro. Paying homage to the site's past life, throughout the day the menu harbours Centro staples (full English brekkies, sandwiches, salads and jacket potatoes), before making way for gyoza, tempura, sushi, ramen, bento boxes and more with a new evening takeover of celebrated flavours from the far East. Open now, Great George Street.

Belgian all-day bakery and cafe Le Pain Quotidien (meaning 'Daily Bread', which is nice) has now made the move up North with a new opening in Leeds, serving up organic breads and pastries, petit dej', soups, tartines (aka Belgian open-faced sandwiches), salads and shareable platters of charcuterie, cheese, beetroot hummus, avocado, roasted baby potatoes and more, plus main dishes including pies, tarts, stews and fritattas. In summary, ALL THE BEST THINGS. Open now, Victoria Gate Arcade.

The 'Three Bs' and Parisian elegance in Liverpool

[Castle St Townhouse]

Multi-storey restaurant and bar Castle St Townhouse has now opened, where it's all about all-day dining and drinking – or what they collectively term the three Bs: breakfast, brunch and bar. With no separate evening menu, the brunch dishes stick around for all-day classics like Eggs Benedict, French toast and baked eggs, plus salads, hake and spinach hash, slow-roasted shin of beef, pan-fried salmon and more. Open now, Castle Street.

Meanwhile, Allerton Road is continuing to swell, with another batch of new openings including Three Piggies from the team behind Neon Jamon and TriBeCa, who assure us that the ethos revolves around craft beer and good wine first and foremost, complemented by unfussy pub grub such as burgers and moules frites. Also new to the area is Verdant, where head chef David Mao is serving up some Parisian class through the likes of lobster bisque and confit duck leg. The early evening prix fixe menu costs £16.95 for two courses or £19.95 for three, while a la carte mains hover somewhere between £12 and £21. Both open now, Allerton Road.

[Yard and Coop]

Manchester chicken hotspot Yard and Coop now sets its sights on Liverpool, opening a new joint in Liverpool ONE this December. Given that fried chicken competition in the city is already fairly stiff, they'll have their work cut out to impress – which they're aiming to do with artwork from local artists, chicken coop-style seating areas and, erm, a huge tree at the entrance, all bringing a novel touch to the 6,425 sq.ft. space, which will be set across the ground floor and basement levels. Opens December, Wall Street.

The temperature may be dropping, but that doesn't mean the mere mention of a roof terrace doesn't get us all hot under the collar for what will one day be a return to summer climes. You'll find one at Hus, a new bar and restaurant for Liverpool's business district serving up breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks until late, all set against a backdrop of some seriously sexy Scandi interiors. Open now, Tithebarn Street.

[Xiringuito]

Following its launch in Margate earlier this year, moveable restaurant concept Xiringuito (pronounced 'chi-rin-gito') will pop up in a disused warehouse at Cain's Brewery this November to continue its journey. The collaborators behind the project, Conor Sheehan and chef Jackson Berg, will be returning to home turf, armed with inspiration from their time working at top London restaurants and channelling it into exciting, modern British cuisine – whipped up from an evolving structure designed by award-winning architect Asif Khan. Can't say you're not intrigued, can you? Opens 15 Nov, Stanhope Street.

From the team behind Aintree's The French Quarter now comes Artisane, a French patisserie for the ever-vibrant Bold Street. As with its Woolton Road sister site, expect speciality breads, cakes and viennoiserie. Opening date TBC, Bold Street.

Speciality tea and a hip hop chippy in Manchester

[Leaf]

Reputation – and much anticipation – has preceded tea shop Leaf, the Liverpudlian stalwart that's finally delivered the goods with a new Manchester branch. The cafe-bar and arts space will, much like its older sister venue on Liverpool's Bold Street, serve up simple fare like classic brunch dishes, soups, sarnies, flatbreads, sharing platters and decently priced hearty mains including burgers, stews and salads, along with a full roster of events, exhibitions and gigs. Open now, Portland Street.

The Northern Quarter braces itself for a 300-capacity beer hall, due to open at some point this winter from the team behind NoHo, Dusk 'Til Pawn and Wood & Co. Taking over the huge Sevendale House, Cooper Hall will be all about European beer, including freshly-brewed Tank Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic. Opens later this winter, Lever Street.

[Gasworks Brewbar]

Following a busy launch do at the end of October, the team behind The Dockyard have added to their empire of modern-day local pubs with Gasworks Brewbar on First Street. The first micro-brewery bar in the city centre area, named after the old Gaythorn Gasworks site, channels an industrial chic decor that honours to its heritage, with leather sofas and plush banquettes sitting alongside wooden cable reel tables and exposed lightbulb fixtures. Brewing up to three beers at a time on-site, the signature beer is Refractory Pale Ale, while food-wise things stay classic gastro-pub with pies, burgers, sarnies and roasts. Open now, First Street.

Henry C is a new cocktail cafe in Chorlton, inspired by bijou cocktail bars and cosy cafes from around the world where it's all about intimate charm over showy, boisterous theatrics, offering some welcome respite from the larger, hyperactive bars that Manchester's become obsessed with – not naming any names, of course, but rather unsubtley pointing in the direction of a certain Bavarian beerhouse. There's a small menu of New Orleans-style po' boys, along with snacks like artichoke and sourdough with chilli butter, proving that it's a simple, relaxed vibe that owners Joe and Sophie (both already admired within the local bar community) set out to create: their own 'drinking haven' that you're invited to too. Open now, Manchester Road.

[Hip Hop Chip Shop, photo: Adam Pester]

Witness the fishness as street food slingers and local favourites Hip Hop Chip Shop take over the Kosmonaut menu, restyling and freestyling the traditional fish and chips blueprint with nods to golden era hip hop culture. Smothering everything from gherkins, onion rings and plantain to fish, smoky bacon and vegan sausage in their inimitable batter, highlights include the Feastie Boys (battered fish biters, chips, minty mushy peas and tartare sauce), the Shell L Cool J burger (Louisiana spiced crabcake, battered smoky bacon and slaw on a brioche bun with chips) and the C.R.E.A.M brulee. Open now, Tariff Street.

Stockport's new vegan restaurant The Allotment opened recently to save the reputation of veganism from the tired cliches of pasty, lentil-loving, sandal-wearing hippies. Here, it's all about showcasing the animal-friendly diet as one that serves perfectly in mid-to-high end dining, as proven through Confit Aubergine Fillet,  Chocolate Orange and Buckwheat Brownie and more. We've had a tip-off that the Curried Cauliflower Hot Wing is a total beaut, and a whole lot happier than their clucking equivalent, while the 'Cheeseboard' wins in both taste and intrigue. Go check it. Open now, Vernon Street, Stockport.

[Little Espresso Co]

New mobile coffee shop Little Espresso Co will be stationed on Portland Street from 10 Nov, with a view to open somewhere more permanently in the not-too-distant future. Serving up the locally-roasted and widely cherished Ancoats Coffee Co's speciality coffee, along with organic loose tea from Brew Tea Co and award-winning hot choc from Kokoa Collection, they'll also have freshly-baked cakes from Silver Apples – all locally sourced wherever possible to keep the food miles low. And, get this Starbucks: all food packaging is fully compostable and they recycle the used coffee grounds in their composter. Thumbs up all over the shop. Opens 10 Nov, Portland Street.

The long-awaited Manchester branch of Shoryu Ramen is set to open up shop in Piccadilly Gardens this November, as its first outside of London. Following a soft launch period between 10-20 November, the noodle bar will be poised to serve you Hakata tonkotsu ramen, which is from the Hakata district of Fukuoka city on the southern island of Kyushu, Japan. Opens 29 November, Piccadilly Gardens.