The Faversham

I used to love the Faversham until recently. I loved the variety (Cheesy chips, Nachos to share, mediterranean wraps, Fish&chips).They have now undergone a major revamp to include the menu. Result?
The choice is limited and the portions smaller. There are hardly 3 – 4 types per category (eg:sandwiches) and the taste is definitely inferior. The prices have become dearer too!
Oh dear!

I have been here for one night out.
I didn’t like it.
There were far to many mixes of music trying to please all the verity if croud they had in.
I felt so misplaced and even I was confused with my dress. If you think of a kind of dress sence then they were there that night.
Overall I would like to try this place again. Maybe in the day or another night. It had great reviews from friends but maybe the night I went just wasnt there night.
(the week after fresher you would think there still trying)

Ah, the Fav. A Fav-​ourite (haha, get it?) of the University crowd. Many a times have I gone there to celebrate birthdays, doctorate dissertation hand-​ins or just for fun. It’s mostly full of biology PhD students, i.e., the best kind of people.
The layout includes the café/​restaurant section and the club section. The former is tasteful, well-​lit and spacious. The latter is pretty big, with a huge bar to accommodate.
The food there is delish. The menu is Goldilocks-​esque: not too short, not too long, and just the right amount of variety to suit all palates. Food includes sandwiches, burgers, soup, and some Mediterranean-​style dishes. It stocks a full bar, and the prices won’t bite even a student’s wallet.
I have yet to go there for any of their live events, but have heard that it’s a bit hit and miss, with some good nights and some mediocre.
Downsides: the toilets are REALLY REALLY cold. It can also get surprisingly busy when you don’t expect it to, so booking is recommended. Also, 50p charge for card payments — seriously?

I had good and bad times there. Franz Ferdinand was good. £15 in a room that doesn’t fit more than 250 persons, just a tiny metal bar to separate the band from the crowd. You get an idea of the kind of surprise you can get there. Dj nights are unpredictable. Sometimes excellent, sometimes ok, sometimes bad. Sometimes, it was easy to guess. Sometimes, it wasn’t.
Basically, you know the Fav if you work or study at the University. So, the crowd is a mix of students and employers, mostly scientists as it’s close from the science departments. If you’re not part of them, most likely you won’t interact with them. So, crowd is average. Drinks are ok. Food is ok (they serve burgers, meat pies or soup). Price is ok. The Fav is not fab but who cares? It’s ok.

Been going to the faversham since i was a teenager and this place just keeps re-​inventing itself to keep itself very fresh. There is always something going on at the faversham all year round and have many artists and bands playing live throughout the year, but for me what i like about this place is the outside during the long summer days and nights. Sitting out in the beer garden drinking reasonably priced drinks in a well maintained garden just cant be beaten. This place has an air of practicality about it and unlike many bars nowadays isnt pretentious in any way whatsoever. Bottom line if youre looking for a well run and managed bar to watch live bands and music acts, or as i like it to sit out in the summer drinking, this place simply cannot be beaten.

As one of the biggest student cities in the country, Leeds is awash with places to drink, eat and drink a bit more. Some more geared at the university crowd and some managing to spread that appeal across to the city crowd and professionals. The Faversham bridges that market.
Don’t get me wrong, primarily I’d say it is a favourite hang out for students. Especially as it’s situated on the cusp of the University and the student populated Hyde Park area, but that really doesn’t give this venue a true picture.
It’s a great venue in its stand alone grounds, even if it is a slight walk from the city centre. Indeed, plenty of cash was spent on a full refurbishment in 2004 and the décor is stylish and fresh. A top notch terraced area and plenty of room add further to its merit. Yet it’s not all about how this place looks. It’s about what it is and that is a great music bar/​club.
Not many places can brag about such an impressive past gig list. The likes of the Artic Monkeys, Maximo Park, The Gossip and Franz Ferdinand have graced the stage. True, not quite in their upmost pomp days but isn’t that an added joy, discovering immense new acts before they break into the mass public line of fire?
You want hip-​hop, broken beat or dance music instead? No worries, done. The club nigh New Bohemia is where it’s at and should definitely be checked out for a rather large dose of cool. Next up you want more drink promotions than you can shake a stick at? Double done! You’ll be hard pushed to find many places with more continual offers to tempt you into a cheeky Jäger or delicious sandwich.
By day, take advantage of the fair trade coffee and fresh ciabatta or even indulge in a little (okay not that little but it makes me feel better) slice of lemon drizzle cake.
Is that enough for you? Are your days and nights covered now? Again if you have an aversion to all things student and nice loud grimy music then this isn’t for you. For the rest of us, enjoy.

The Faversham is a bit of a mixed bag, a haribo selection of a venue. The come under several categories, with an ever changing face, so it is difficult to know which particular area to review. By day the Fav is a really pleasant café, with the particular bar area sectioned off for this offering a light and relaxing atmosphere in which to enjoy a tasty cappuccino. By night the Fav acts as a variety of things — gig venue, events venue, restaurant of sorts. Having never eaten here I couldn’t comment on the food, but I have certainly attended their gigs and events.
The Fav is a fantastic venue for DJ and club style music events. I’ve been here to see Bonobo before and the atmosphere, sound quality and lighting were all utterly fantastic. Obviously a massive part of that was that I love Bonobo, but that in itself is a part of why the Fav is great. The book tons of those middle ground artists, ones that are still fairly underground but have broken through the blockade and gotten signed. With a few reasonably priced tequilas and a lot of beer I was as happy as a sandboy!
For bands I’m not so convinced that the Fav has gotten it sussed, I once came here (though ill-​advisedly) to see Lily Allen and that was potentially one of the worst gigs I’ve been to. Not only was her performance lack lustre, to say the least, the sound quality was completely off. Perhaps she just couldn’t sing but my opinion was that the sound engineer hadn’t balanced things well at all. This was a while ago, however, so given the success of previous gigs perhaps that is all in the past!
Finally, the Fav also holds some awesome themed events. My most recent, and most favourite, was spearheaded by the Marvellous Tea Dance Company — a local organisation who, as well as promoting all things vintage, make the most exquisite and exciting cakes. They held a huge vintage fair inside and the whole event was marvellous.
All in all, be it coffee, tequila, cake or clubbing — whatever your poison — the Fav’s got it covered.

The Faversham was a good place for me to go for a sunday lunch if I didn’t fancy going to The Mine at Leeds uni.
Cheap and cheerful… the venues massive and there’s a large outdoor seating area which is really needed as the inside fills up quick!
I visited here and got a large sunday lunch for less than a fiver… perfect for a hungry student!

I like to think of The Fav as a bit of cameleon. It is a completely different bar/​club experience, determined by what day and which night you decide to go to.
On a Monday in the day, Fav have a 2 for 1 buger deal that entices students who opt out of the daily £1 sarnie routine, in turn for a bit of a treat. The food isn’t bad. With a selection of bar snack and pub style meals available in the conservatory, they have just ‘done-​up’ their menu to now include paninis and other lunchtimey treats to make their food slightly cheaper and more student friendly, which I see as not a bad idea, considering the uni is the closest thing to it!
Wednesday night, the Fav transforms into ‘Jaegerbomb’. Its namesake are discounted, and it is a student favourite, due mainly to the fact it is solely aimed at them. Expect ‘inexplicably’ drunk students with a DJ that plays several different genres, from indie-​pop to dubstep, as well as irritating cheesier student favourites and the majority of Radio 1’s latest playlist.
Friday night plays host to the award-​winning hiphop and broken beat night, New Bohemia. Often, though not always, with live acts, I have been witness to Roots Manuva dabbling on the decks, Akala spitting at a sell-​out crowd, the Nextmen and even Bonobo performing a beautiful live set, the music is diverse, as are the attendees.
Saturday sees the weekly return of Bad Sneakers, Indie/​Electro (often leaning towards one side or the other, the night is always very different, focussing on the electronic, or the bandier side of the incredibly wide genre. Expect skinny jeans and good hair.
The Fav is a quite large venue, with several rooms (2 in terms of music, though the conservatory is more a bar area than a club). They have a large patio outback, and an area out front for smokers at night. There are often events on, midweek, including vintage fairs that can go on into the evening. Look out for them on posters around the Uni.
In terms of parties, The Fav is a good place to consider hiring. Having been there for a couple of times for 21sts etc, free entry to the main club, and the conservatory (almost completely-​aside from strays that wonder in-​to your party), make it worth it!

Buzzing with energy all night of the week, Faversham is ideal if you like a vibrant and busy evening out at a night club.
The Faversham is well known for it’s Wednesday evenings in Leeds where they promote Jaegermeister based drinks at cheap prices and three rooms full of current tracks ranging from Indie/​Alternative, to chart pop hits to Hip Hop. In addition to a Wednesday, The Faversham puts on an indie and rock’n’roll evening named «Bad Sneakers» on a Saturday evening where the coolest dressed young people in Leeds all come together and dance to current and classic rock tracks!
The Faversham is basic with minimal décor and bases it’s self solely on a fresh vibe due to it’s quirky dressed custom and music choice.
Not only does the Faversham provide a buzzing club night but holds gig nights for some of the biggest names in alternative music. Acts such as The Dodo’s and Adam Green have graced the Faversham stage!
Prices are cheap, staff work hard considering the busy atmosphere (I don’t envy them!) and the atmosphere (particularly on a Wednesday) is unbeatable!

One of the most rock ‘n’ roll joints in Leeds. The Faversham is hidden amidst the Leeds University campus and has developed a reputation as the on-​trend nightspot attracting Leeds’ indier than thou population, bedecked — of course — in their Blue Rinse and Best Vintage attire.
Three rooms, a cosy lounge with really comfy settees, a big airy light conservatory that hosts acoustic performances and smaller gigs and the main room — full with sprawling bar, disco ball and small stage.
Expect thrombosis inducing jeans, pointy shoes and slicked side-​partings by night. But by day, imagine a bohemian bar/​café serving good grub that isn’t exactly cheap, but if you pick the right time of day and hit the equivalent of a happy hour — hungry hour? — then there’s some cracking deals t obe had.
There’s an indefinite music policy that not only is different each night, but seemingly each minute. In my most recent visit, it went from Franz Ferdinand to Nelly Furtado to Kraftwerk to Lady Gaga. Bizaree. But strangely enough, it worked.
My favourites: Jagerbomb, on a Wednesday, of course. And the Sunday roast is brilliant. Especially when it’s soundtracked by a lovely person with a nice guitar.

The Faversham is a large pub that holds all sorts of different nights. It plays a wide variety of music from hip hop, funk and soul on a Friday at New Bohemia to indie, electro and rock at Bad Sneakers on a saturday night. As well as these nights they have live bands on most nights of the week. Its got about 4 pretty big rooms and an outside terrace for when the weathers good.
There is a great selection of drinks on offer with lots of different beers and spirits. They do food too with the roast on a sunday being a winner!
Great venue with a wide variety of music played.

I’ve only been to Leeds a couple of times on a night out and ended up in the Faversham both times. Saturday nights are ‘Bad Sneakers’ and is one of the best nights I’ve been to. Live bands and drinks offers, I couldn’t ask for more! There is a bit of a trendy/​studenty crowd but if you can see past that, I’m sure you’ll have fun!

The brother venue to the HIFI Club, The Faversham offers the same dedication to good beer. This is headlined by the Belgian Duvel lager, which is 8% and comes in a really nice glass you can try and steal. The stage area of the venue is actually quite intimate, which is why loads of cool bands go and play there. The famous NASTY Fest is held there every year, which used to be sponsored by VICE magazine. In the summer it holds garden parties around its huge conservatory, and also the excellent ‘Carnaval’ South-​American club nights.

Great outdoor terrace to chill and drink from good choice at bar. Have had big up coming names playing there, lily allen, cherry romance, …food good, bit expensive but good food, spacious place for good night of dancing