Very good restaurant, good food, people quite nice people are working , and food so testread more

Since moving to Leeds I've been trying to find a good coffee shop to replace my favourite back in…read moreYork. Next stop was Mrs Atha's. Trying to locate Mrs Atha's was not the easiest. The proverbial vulture circling in the sky looking for its prey I eventually located and headed towards. You'd be forgiven for following suite, the outside is painted black to match the shops that surround it. This is a slight downfall from it's location and one I presume they have no control over due the nature of the area. Time to take the plunge, my caffeine levels where dropping rapidly. Upon entering you are greeted with the feeling of entering a cave, dark and sparsely lit. On your right is the coffee station, to your left are the stairs downstairs and in front a selection of eclectic seating. A warm greeting was given and after a short perusal I plumbed for my statuary cappuccino. Now normally it takes about 15 seconds for me to place an order but this never happened. My eyes kept wandering, looking at the delights and my mouth kept watering. I have a weak spot for chocolate and cakes and my knees started to tremble. Laid before was a bevvy of delights for me to try. I had to have a nibble and so I did. Just a quick nibble, a little delight, a chocolate truffle shaped piece of heaven. So I ordered my cappuccino and truffles and was asked to take a seat while my coffee was readied. Unfortunately upstairs was full to the brim so I plumbed for a seat downstairs. That was a shame, upstairs is quaint, quirky and generally original. What a difference to upstairs. Crammed between the entrance to the toilets and a small kitchen area are a few seats/tables, the highlight being an old school desk. Not the atmosphere I thought it would be. While talking to the friendly staff member while she cooked was nice it's not the type of area I really want to sit and enjoy a coffee. I think if I come back I'll make sure I get a seat upstairs. My coffee arrived after about 5 minutes along with my truffles and I sat back to do some work and enjoy my caffeine fix. I know there are people that like a drink as hot at the inside of a volcano and I know there are those that like to tip it down their throats but me, I like to sip on it over a period of 30 minutes to enjoy the full potential of the ground beans. This could not happen with this coffee. By the time 5 minutes had reached my coffee was on the verge of the next Ice Age. Not good. Don't get me wrong, it's a damn fine coffee, not as good as La Bottega/Laynes but damn good non the less. So in a nut shell, the coffee was good (if a little too cold), the downstairs is not good, the truffles AMAZING and the service good indeed. I will return if only to try more chocolaty delights.

Oh my, a quaint English Tea House in a delightful town. It's where TIP comes from - Victorian tea…read morehouses had a small box on each table. If you dropped a coin or more in the box, as you were being sat down, the waiter made sure you got served efficiently - the boxes had written on them to improve promptness. as I've said before, I can resist everything but temptation and the pastries, cakes and of course the smells here just yelled buy me. Happy to oblige me dears. I mean iced fancies, sweet pies, crispy tarts, buttery shortcrust, fresh cream, grated lemon zest, meringue. Oooh. Expect to pay a sum commensurate with quality. We got lots of cakes and pastries to share with our grandkids. Everything we got was exceptional quality and looked so inviting. The servers were charming and all the goodies were boxed up and tied with ribbons. Just proper.

A beautiful tearoom, I'm partial to the York location but Harrogate is lovely too…read more This is an English tea to die for, but the menu has fantastic choices and I swear all of them tasty. The staff are so friendly and with crisp clean uniforms they bring a touch of nostalgia. If you have the chance this is a must visit, or grab some cakes to take home and nibble on.

After our 'usual walk around a town with no idea where to eat' we decided to go to the Organic…read morehouse simply because of its diverse menu....so we knew we'd find something to suit us both. That said we both ended up ordering the same thing.... the cooked breakfast. No complaints there, nicely cooked, decent bacon, non greasy and lots of toast. Good brekky! They also do a variety of other breakfast / lunch / brunch offerings, so dont mistake it for a greasy spoon. its not. instead its a nice cafe with plenty of choice.

Nice cafe situated on main road through Hebden Bridge. Food good but service chaotic, avoid on busy…read moreweekends. Our visit in January 2010 was ok, but not being greeted at the door by counter staff and overall frought nature of service wasn't that conducive to a relaxing lunch. Good selection of baby food was a plus and great tea and coffee and cakes. It could be so much better though with a bit more focus. Certainly food was healthy and fresh.

This is going to be a quick one as I've only just nipped in quickly and grabbed a sandwich, but!…read moreOh. My. Word! What an amazing place! A stunning building, gorgeous food and a great cause! The Arch Cafe only opened yesterday, it's run by Age UK and has been set up to bring in a bit of income to help support the work that Age UK does in Leeds, a bit of a social enterprise you could say. The (amazing!) cakes are homemade, the bread for the sandwiches is from the lovely Riverside Sourdough Bakery in Dock St Market, and I spotted some Nanaimo Bars made by the lovely local business Fayre By Alley. I'm sat here now scoffing as I type - I've got a ciabatta with tuna carrot and mayo with thai dressing, and it's lovely. I've also picked up a peice of the homemade lemon layer cake which is a huge doorstep and I can't wait to have a bite. In fact, hang on.... *scoffs*... mmm have just tried a bite and that is really something (excuse me yelping with my mouth full) So - yummy food? Check Lovely surroundings? Check Locally sourced? Check In aid of a good cause? Check So why not that fifth star? Quite simply, the pricing structure. Some items on the menu are well worth the cash - for example that massive slab of lemon loveliness I'm eating was £1.60 which I think is very reasonable. However the sandwich was £3.25 (take out price, eat in was £3.75), which I think is a bit steep, as is £3.50 for a bowl of soup (albeit homemade). At those kinds of prices it takes it out of the realms of affordability for somewhere I'd eat quite often on my lunchbreak, and turns it into somewhere I'd only really be able to go as a treaty lunch, maybe just after payday. But I'm hoping this is just a 'newly opened, finding it's feet' kind of issue, and I will absolutely definitely be going back again fairly soon. Even if it's just for some more of this gorgeous lemon cake! *wipes crumbs off of keyboard*

I nipped into The Arch earlier on for two reasons. One was the ever burning desire to find places…read morein Leeds to quaff a coffee/tea & munch on some chocolate/cake etc without having to resort to the ubiquitous and (let's be honest here) blandly samey generic multi-national coffee chains that so many people seem to think are the only options when in a city/town centre. (In their defence - they frequently are..but let's save that rant for another time..) Yes Starbucks, Caffe Nero, Costa Coffee etc - I mean you. *waves rather crumpled copy of "Socialist Worker August 2004" in the air threateningly* ; ) The other reason was that I'd walked by here several times before & thought it looked interesting. (There was also a third reason - the desire to increase my blood sugar levels after a few, erm, swift halves in the pub after finishing a rather dull Friday at work & then several more vinos in my flat singing along & waving an unsuspecting pet rabbit around to the eternal and ever chirpy strains of the one and only Steven Patrick Morrissey..but enough about my Friday nights in..) The decor in the cafe is nothing special, if I'm absolutely honest (it would be an even poorer review if I wasn't..). It's a bit plastic and modern looking really, but you shouldn't always judge a book by its cover (unless it's published by Mills & Boon, in which case it will provide you with a pretty good idea of the "plot"). However, the staff are friendly, the prices are reasonable (not insanely cheap, but it is in the heart of Leeds city centre) and the coffee & the Rocky Road cake very enjoyable. I paid £2.95 for a cappuccino & (a rather delicious) Rocky Road cake, which I suppose is a bit cheaper than average. The main reason I'm really recommending this cafe is that the proceeds go to helping Age UK, which in my opinion is a good enough reason to go in there and support them. It's not a trendy place at all - there are quite a few elderly people in there (as to be expected) but personally, given the choice of some polite OAPs having a gossip about War Bonds, Neville Chamberlain and the ever increasing cost of Brylcreem (all right, that was a tad stereotypical..I think they were actually discussing Justin Bieber, "iPods" and the Harlem Shake..three things I personally know absolutely nothing about) or sitting in a bog standard find-me-anywhere-in-the-world-and-possibly-on-Saturn-too corporately bland coffeestuffs emporium surrounded by hipsters all perusing their "iPods" or suffering mothers & squealing children (presumably crying about not having an "iPod") I know which I'd prefer : ) And best of all - the proceeds go towards helping elderly people. Did I mention that part? ; ) *retires now to the strains of Pulp's classic 1997 number 8 hit "Help The Aged". All right : )

If you are starving and in the area, Miro is a perfect place to pick up a bite to eat or a coffee,…read moreat good value for money. They sell a huge selection of 'not your average' baguettes, focaccia and ciabatta sandwiches, pastas, salads and paninis (all freshly made that morning) and also do very good coffees. No such thing as nescafe in here! The prices are very competitive at between £1 - £2.50 per food item. They also sell the BEST chocolate cake I have eaten in a very long time, and trust me, I have eaten a lot. Situated just opposite the University steps of The Parkinson Building, it does get hoards of students and local professionals through the doors at peak times. It is also quite small so sitting in can be a problem in peak times. It is unfortunately non-wheelchair friendly as it is down a small flight of steps, with no lift. Great for when you're on the move and you want something real to eat at a good price (as opposed to plastic muffins or soggy sarnies). But if you can, avoid the lunch rush hour.

This pleasant little café is another addition to the array of little eateries just opposite the…read moreParkinson steps of Leeds University. They offer a range of slightly more exotic sandwich choices, certainly compared to the standard, such as Leerdammer and Chorizo baguettes, amongst others. All appear to be hand made on the premises, which suggests they are that little bit fresher than the standard choice, and range from around £2 in price. Although seating is a little cramped, on my visit I squeezed in at a table near the door to enjoy my extremely cheap latte - £1.30 no less! The space is freshly decorated and the atmosphere was fairly pleasant and buzzing whilst I was there. The service was swift and friendly and little pleasures, such as soya milk being offered as an alternative, make this thoughtful café a decent place to visit. All in all I was pretty impressed with the ensemble and will certainly be re-visiting for more than just a coffee sometime soon.

This was the perfect place to go with a hangover after a long night at the Victoria Works. Big…read moregreasy fry up with a cup of tea...perfect! It's cheap and doesn't really care whether you like it or not. It is what it is and doesn't try to impress. Full of workmen at all times ordering a ton of food, it's always pretty busy. It's not hard to see why.

Next to Milford's Merchants, this little cafe is a proper builders cafe serving up no-fuss food…read morewithout fannying around trying to be something it's not. It caters for its surroundings offering up butties and builders tea and it's all good value for money. If it's a proper greasey spoon you're after around the Hyde Park/ Burley area, look no further than Sharen's Den.

Cafe Lento is one of those places that seamlessly combine coffee culture with local community. It's…read moreunassuming and inviting from the outside, with a couple of table and chairs outside for sunnier days, and modern but homely on the inside. With lots of exposed brick and coffee coloured walls it's nice and clean and inviting without being intimidating. It sits in steep contrast to it's surroundings, but that shouldn't put anyone off from taking a step inside. Coffee and food. Two of the simple things in life that are often beautiful leisure time indulgences that so so many people seem to get horribly wrong. I am happy to report that Cafe Lento is not one of them. The coffee is fairtrade, this will be impressed upon you whilst you cogitate what to order, it's all fairtrade. Lovely. But who's is it and how does it taste. It's Lavazza Tiera, not my particular favourite brand of coffee, but it packs a nice smooth punch so fair enough. They do well with what they have, and offer a good range of hot beverages, with large latte's at £2.30 and Americano's at the good price of £1.50, amongst others. Cold drinks for sunny days are also available, adding a shot of espresso to one of their milkshakes is a lovely way to waste some time over a good book outside. If your belly is rumbling, then unlike Starbucks and Costa and Nero and all those others, Lento offers food beyond the panini, there's soup and a roll, Greek salads, jacket potatoes, hot sarnies, cold sarnies, and the saving grace the full English breakfast. The only thing missing from the full English is a nice side of black pudding, but that could be my Mancunian routes shining through. £5.50 for juice, sausage, egg, bacon, beans, tomato, mushrooms, bread and butter, it's definitely a feast worth the indulgence.

I've only been to Café Lento a few times but it has fast become one of my favourite places to go in…read moreLeeds. It feels so laidback in there that you can't help feeling relaxed too. On my first visit, I wasn't sure whether it was table service or I was supposed to go up to the counter to order. When I asked, the lovely chap behind the counter merely replied, "Whichever you'd prefer!" The menu is classic café food: hot and cold sandwiches, full english breakfasts, baked potatoes etc. They have a cabinet full of homemade cakes at the counter and a good variety of hot & cold drinks. All very reasonably priced as well. In theory, it sounds like nothing different to many other cafés, but there's just something special about this place in my opinion. Everyone else there seems to be regulars, people who pop in for the atmosphere and to wile away a few hours, have a chat with the owner or read a book in the corner. It just feels like a really nice getaway from the hubbub of Headingley and it's easy to lose track of time. But at no point do you feel a glare from any of the staff implying you've been there too long nursing your cup of tea and/or using their free wifi. In fact, the warm friendly demeanour of the staff is probably the biggest factor as to why it has such a lovely atmosphere in there. There's seating outside too, if you're lucky enough to visit on a day when the weather is behaving itself, and live music now & again though I haven't experienced that myself yet. Oh, and though it's small, there's a lot of seating and it can fit more in than you realise - on my last visit, the entirety of Leeds Rhinos seemed to be getting coffee in there and there was still plenty of room for a friend & I to tuck into delicious generously-filled bacon sandwiches!

I've been to Milly's a few times now and I can't fault it…read more This is a fabulous cafe which has the bonus of selling really beautiful gifts and cards too. As well as teas, coffees and soft drinks, there's also a nice selection of bottled local ales, which my partner really enjoys sampling! The food is lovely and the service is friendly and professional. As one of the other reviews says, the cafe is quite small but I think that's the beauty of it, better than a chain costa or starbucks any day!

Cute little cafe set just off Burnley Road by the medical centre's car park. Good range of food and…read moredrink and little trinkets for sale too. The cafe is alittle small so if you fancy a good chin wag you could feel a bit awkward if it's not busy.