Exciting new Spanish restaurant serving up paella and tapas opening in Leeds city centre

Bomba has opened in Holbeck Urban Village today (Friday, January 14).

Specialising in paella and tapas, the restaurant is located in Saw Mill Yard, in the heart of the Round Foundry and Marshall’s Mill complex in Leeds’s South Bank.

It is the newest venture from Joe McDermott, who set up the original Arts Café in Leeds and Ilkley Moor Vaults in Ilkley.

McDermott has been a regular in the Yorkshire food and drink scene since setting up and running the popular Arts Café in Leeds from 1994-1999.

After spending a few years running a crepe venue in London, McDermott returned to his native Yorkshire to run the Ilkley Moor Vaults, building it into a neighbourhood hot spot, before heading back to Leeds city centre to focus on street food opening a crepe stall in Kirkgate Market.

During lockdown, McDermott started cooking and delivering paella locally.

It proved popular so he went on to change the concept of his crepe stall to sell the Spanish staple alongside other Spanish street food dishes.

Joe said: "We’d been looking for a venue that would allow us to move into evening service for a while and when we saw this space, in such a fantastic heritage area, we knew it was perfect for us.

"Holbeck Urban Village and the Leeds South Bank is quickly becoming a bustling community with lots of new places to live and work, it feels like the place to be, atmosphere is incredibly important to us and this area has it in spades".

Occupying a 1,574 sq ft space with extensive terrace, the informal venue allows Joe and his team of five including chef Manuel, wife and business partner Elizabeth to develop popular elements from the market menu.

This includes the Spanish breakfasts and churros con chocolate, popular boccadillo sandwiches and classic tapas dishes.

Paella will be made in large pans to serve individual portions at lunch and then made to order in pans for two, four or six people in the evening.

The restaurant will open from breakfast through to lunch and dinner for eat-in, take away and delivery.

Bomba will also bring back their paella and tapas delivery service allowing Leeds locals to eat their speciality at home in a traditional pan, returning the pan afterwards so cutting out packaging waste.

Paul Taylor, Director at Creative Space Management who oversaw the letting, said :“Bomba will be a great addition to the area, we already have some of the best independent pubs and cafes in Leeds here and this will complement them by adding something different, in a restaurant space already well known from previous owners including Matt Healy.

"This neighbourhood has attracted creative and successful people and businesses for years and with the significant investment and development around Marshalls Mill, the number of businesses and residents based here is growing all the time.”