York
The Shambles Is Great for Tourists. It Won’t Solve Your Love Life.
York's South Asian community is established and growing, contributing to the city's multicultural identity
We're Coming to York!York is on the tour list. Sign up below and help us get there! Everyone on the list gets tickets first when we announce.
University of York has a significant South Asian student population across its computer science, management, and healthcare programs. The campus at Heslington is its own world, and the students who come here from India and across the British Asian diaspora find a city that’s gorgeous but socially limited if you’re looking to meet other desi singles. The Shambles is great for tourists but it doesn’t exactly solve your love life.
The format from New York: real contestants go on live dates on stage while the room watches and reacts. Afterward, the whole crowd mingles. In York, where the desi community has depth but no dedicated singles programming, this format creates exactly the concentrated energy the city needs.
York sits between Leeds and the coast, and its South Asian community is smaller than the big West Yorkshire cities but distinct. The tourist economy brings a transient element, but the university and the healthcare sector (York Hospital is a major employer) create a stable base of desi professionals and students who stick around.
The city’s cultural calendar is packed with festivals, theatre, and food events, but nothing specifically targets South Asian singles. Given how many desi students and professionals are here, that’s a gap that’s overdue for filling. A show in York also naturally draws from the surrounding area, pulling people from Harrogate, Selby, and even the East Riding.
Waitlist is live. York is part of our Yorkshire expansion. , or apply to be a contestant.
York's desi students pass through a postcard without meeting
The University of York's computer science, management and health cohorts bring a steady South Asian population to a city preserved for visitors: the Shambles sells fudge, the walls sell history and nothing anywhere sells the possibility of meeting someone who shares your culture. The students cycle through three year degrees dating via Leeds' apps, and the city's own young desi professionals barely register each other's existence.
One show inside the walls converts a postcard into a scene, however briefly, and briefly is all a good mixer needs.
What a Garam Masala night in York looks like
A York data science masters student and a hospital physio who have never met, on stage, going on a first date in a city that has hosted everything for two thousand years except this. Comedian hosts, live votes and a mixer in the Shambles' shadow where the gothic atmosphere does overtime.
to give York its first, or apply to be a contestant and add your chapter to a very old city's very new scene.
No York dates are live yet. The show tours nationally and sells out every stop. Watch full episodes while we make our way to you!
Watch Full Episodes on YouTube Follow on InstagramHelp bring us to York! Everyone on the list gets first access when tickets drop.
See All Upcoming ShowsStay in the Loop
Get notified about future York shows, discount codes, and free ticket drops.
Add your number for text-only discounts and free ticket drops.
You're on the list!
Questions About York Shows
When is Garam Masala Dating coming to York?
No date confirmed yet. York is on our UK expansion radar. to be notified first.
Will the show be in English?
Yes. The show runs in English. York University's South Asian students and the city's South Asian healthcare professionals all work and study in English daily. The historic city setting adds atmosphere to an English-language live show.
Can I apply to be a contestant?
Yes. Apply now. Applications stay active for 12 months. York applicants will be prioritized when we confirm a date.
Is there Indian speed dating in York?
York's event economy serves tourists and ghosts, not desi singles. The university's South Asian cohort and the city's young professionals have Leeds twenty five minutes away and nothing at home. One booking changes the home fixture list.
Where do South Asian singles in York actually meet?
The university's Heslington campuses, the hospital and the Micklegate run on weekends. Small pool, high turnover, zero desi occasions between graduation ceremonies.
York show or Leeds show for this corner of Yorkshire?
Leeds has the mass, York has the setting. Realistically Leeds hosts first and York's waitlist decides whether the medieval walls get their own night after.
From the Journal
Also coming to: Leeds , Sheffield , Newcastle , Manchester , Huddersfield