Sweet Treats Await at the Pontefract Liquorice Festival Food and Drink Trail

Mark your calendars – Pontefract Liquorice Festival is back on Sunday 13 July 2025, and it’s set to be sweeter than ever!

This much-loved family favourite brings Pontefract’s unique connection with liquorice to life with a day full of delicious treats, vibrant market stalls and entertainment for all ages. One of the tastiest highlights? The famous Food and Drink Trail, inviting you to savour liquorice-themed delights at venues right across the town.

Cllr Hannah Appleyard, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, says:

“Pontefract Liquorice Festival is a great day out for all the family to enjoy, as we celebrate our town’s unique association with liquorice. As well as the wide variety of entertainment and colourful market stalls, you can also visit many of our local, independent businesses. Some will be selling treats with a liquorice twist, which I’ll be looking forward to trying myself.”

Whether you’re a liquorice lover or just curious to try something new, there’s something to tempt every taste bud. Take a stroll through Pontefract and discover these sweet (and savoury!) creations:

🍬 Where to find liquorice-themed treats

Here’s just a taste of what’s on offer:

• Alleyc’zam Cafe & Bar – Liquorice cakes, tea and cocktails
• Cromwells – Steak and liquorice ale pie with liquorice stout gravy, liquorice fruit scone with homemade jam and fresh cream, and a chocolate and liquorice loaf cake with a dark chocolate ganache
• Cryer & Stott Cheesemongers – Taste the Pomfret Monk, a Yorkshire cheddar infused with Pontefract’s iconic liquorice
• House of Ales – Pontefract Liquorice stout, gin and liquorice & blackberry rum
• Iron Dram – Try the Pomfret Bootlegger cocktail, crafted with O’Donnell Wild Berry Moonshine and Pernod topped with a Pontefract cake
• Jollys – Freshly baked liquorice scones
• Kaylas Kandy – Liquorice milkshake made with their very own Pontefract Cakes
• Lush Bakery & Co Cafe – Liquorice muffins
• Myxology – Creative cocktails like the Liquorice Martini, Liquorice All Sort and Raspberry Lace, plus blackcurrant liquorice brownies, candyfloss cupcakes and Liquorice All Sort cookies
• Salter Row Coffee Lounge – Liquorice scones and cake
• The Counting House – The Counting House cocktail
• The Hideaway – Liquorice cheesecake and cocktails, plus free liquorice sweets for kids with every meal
• The Old Grocers – Liquorice stout brewed with Chin Chin Brewery
• The Printers Draft – Liquorice cocktails and complimentary sweets!

This tasty trail is the perfect way to support Pontefract’s independent bars, restaurants and cafés – and to experience the town’s famous sweet side in a whole new way.

🎉 More festival fun

This year’s Pontefract Liquorice Festival is sponsored by Haribo and run in partnership with Pontefract Civic Society, who will host ‘Liquorice Shoots’ on Saturday 12 July – a community warm-up event full of entertainment, artisan stalls and family activities.

So, grab your friends and family, and get ready to explore, taste and celebrate all things liquorice in Pontefract.