BUNDO X LIBF 10 YEARS ON

Bundobust and Leeds International Beer Festival. Some things just go together. Kind of like Indian Street Food and Craft Beer.

Bundobust was born out of a collaboration between two Bradford boys, Mayur Patel and Marko Husak. In 2013, Mayur asked Marko on Twitter to collaborate on a street food event. Mayur’s family own Prashad – one of the UK’s most highly regarded Indian restaurants – while Marko operated cult craft beer spot, The Sparrow Bier Café in Bradford. Bringing together curry and beer the pair set out to update the classic combo, focusing on authentic dishes and boundary-pushing brews. They hosted a pop up at each other’s venues, before setting their sites on the Town Hall.

2013 saw the first Bundobust pop up at LIBF. Our red gazebo proudly announced we were ‘Opening Soon’ in ‘LS1’. The eagle eyed noticed that the second half of the postcode hadn’t quite been confirmed yet…

There was one dish on the menu: Chowpatty Beach Pav Bhaji. A spicy potato, cauliflower, and peas bhaji was cooked Juhu Beach-style on a giant tava, served with buttered pav. Two drinks were on offer; Bundobust’s first Coriander Pilsner and Saltaire’s Stateside IPA.

Things have got a little bigger since that first gazebo in September 2013, with Bundobust opening our first bricks and mortar location in Leeds in July 2014 before adding restaurants in Manchester, Liverpool and, most recently, Birmingham. In 2021 (after one hell of a Covid related delay) we took our love of beer in house, opening Bundobust Brewery on Oxford St in Manchester.

This year we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary by taking over LIBF’s new area, The Refectory. We’re paying tribute to their first ever pop up with ‘Pav Bhaji Live’ on timed cook offs throughout the festival. We’re bringing a menu of festival favourites (including the iconic Vada Pav) alongside a selection of beers from their brewery. Make sure you try Dhoop, the summer wheat beer which has been flying out of the restaurants. Bombay Mix DJs, pani pur with a tequila twist, and Indian inspired slushies will be keeping the tipi dancing all weekend long.