'Beating heart' Liverpool venue reopens as new restaurant this week
Bold Street’s newest restaurant is set to open tomorrow (February 4), following the closure of LEAF last year.
Natalie and Graham Haywood made the decision to close the much-loved venue, described as “a beating heart”, for good in September.
Opening in 2010, the venue hosted thousands of live gigs, DJ sets, art events, weddings, parties, talks, and more. This echoed its past as The Yamen Café, where similar experiences were shared over a century ago and only discovered when a near-pristine menu from 1913 fluttered down from the rafters during building work, in a story which went global.
LEAF later expanded to Smithdown Road and West Kirby, though the West Kirby branch sadly closed at the start of 2025.
Shortly after the Bold Street venue closed, restaurant chain Loungers – behind the likes of Cosy Club, Milo Lounge and Brasco Lounge – lodged plans to take over the iconic building.
Now, the former LEAF site has been transformed with Deco Lounge set to open on Wednesday (February 4). The new venue will be a “home-from-home” cafe bar, offering breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner dishes, as well as gluten free and vegan menus.
Deco Lounge will open at 9.00am, closing at 4.00pm for its VIP opening party, before reopening to the public from 8.00pm.