Wise ideas as Northern Monk teams up with The Owl

LANDING soon in Europe’s biggest covered market, Kirkgate's new gastropub The Owl is the latest venture from HOME’s Liz Cottam – and it sees her teaming up with brewing sensation Northern Monk for a special house beer. Called Wisdom, it’s a brand-new 5% hazy Pale Ale brewed especially for this autumn’s opening. The food-friendly pour has a flavour profile based around the fragrant herb lemon verbena, and is described as delicious and super-refreshing.

Just as Liz pairs all of the dishes with wines at fine-dining restaurant HOME, she will offer special beer pairings at The Owl

Northern Monk x The Owl’s Wisdom will sit alongside five other beer lines, including Spanish lager Estrella Damm, Liz’s sponsor, plus a number of fine wines available, unusually, on tap.  

The innovative new gastropub – a 44-seater taproom and dining room – will bring a completely new and vibrant feel to Fish & Game Row in the historic Leeds institution that is Kirkgate Market. It is the first of four market venues Liz has planned to bring in new visitors to Kirkgate, including a Champagne and oyster bar and a fine-dining, exclusive Chef’s Table experience. Read more about it here.

The Owl’s main dining room menu will revolve around simply but expertly cooked whole roast fish and game, prepared by Liz and her Michelin star-winning co-head chef, Mark Owens. Liz has also created a grill-based, beer-friendly snack menu, inspired by time she spent living in Barcelona – think wild boar and bone marrow sausages served on toasted brioche buns, with melted cheese and house pickles. The variety of Northern Monk beers will go perfectly and, just as Liz pairs all of the dishes with wines at fine-dining restaurant HOME, she will offer special beer pairings at The Owl.  

Liz says: “I love working with Northern Monk; my team and theirs share a genuine commitment to doing things right, and we all love creating cool stuff. I’ve always been drawn to owning a pub (having grown up in them), but wanted to do it differently. The opportunity at Kirkgate Market, together with the NM collaboration, just makes so much sense to me. I know people want to support the market and local businesses, and I hope that more businesses will follow us into this great space.”  

Russell Bisset, founder of Northern Monk, says: “At Northern Monk, we’re determined to create some of the best beer experiences in the world. When we were approached by Liz and the team at HOME, and presented with the chance of working with a team with the same ambitions for food experiences, it was something we jumped at. Pair that with delivering those food and beer experiences in the largest covered market in Europe – a building steeped in local history and heritage and one of the North’s great treasures – and we knew we were on to something special.”