Brunch at North Star Roast, Leeds

Best Brunches in Leeds City Centre

Brunch has become my favourite meal – it has most of the same food and drink elements I love about breakfast, but without the requirement of getting up early in order to enjoy it. For me there’s no better way to start the weekend than rolling out of bed after a lovely lie-in and catching up with friends over pancakes, bacon and endless refills of tea and coffee.

There no shortage of choices if you’re looking for brunch in Leeds, but if you’re indecisive (like me) so many options can just make it harder to choose. So where can you find the best brunches? These are my five favourite places in city centre to get a brunch that sets me up for the weekend. Continue reading

Review: Archie’s Bar & Kitchen, Leeds

The latest addition to ever-expanding Granary Wharf is Archie’s Bar & Kitchen, a bizarre mix of VW camper vans and industrial decor in primary colours with an ‘under the sea’-themed dancefloor thrown in for good measure. I’ve been twice now, for weekend brunch and weekday night dinner, and for the life of me I can’t work out exactly what their deal is. That’s not to say I don’t like it – in fact I’m sure I’ll be returning again – but I’m pretty sure I’ll never get to the bottom of exactly what the decorators were going for. What’s life without a little mystery anyway?

I must admit I found the dinner menu to be slightly underwhelming – I think they were going for British classics crossed with the seaside, but I can’t be quite sure. I went for the brisket burger and it was nice, served with coleslaw and a generous helping of light, crispy chips, but if you’re craving a burger there are plenty of better options in Leeds. Apart from this, the party was already getting underway in the bar, making the dining experience a little loud.

But enough, negative, onto the brunch. Oh, the brunch. For a start it’s served until 2pm; I do love those non-judgemental restaurants that serve breakfast foods way into the afternoon. The restaurant was a little quiet when we arrived around midday but I think we were in the lull between breakfast and lunch as it soon got busy during our meal. We chose to sit at one of the high tables in the bar area, where food gets prepared in an adorable orange VW camper van.

VW camper van at Archie's, Leeds

The brunch menu covers pretty much anything you could want – breakfast and lunch foods, sweet and savoury. I have a real sweet tooth so I was ton between the banana pancakes and brioche toast with berries and pear. I opted for the pancakes which came in a stack of three with banana slices layered in the middle, drizzled with caramel sauce and topped with mascarpone and fruit.

Pancakes at Archie's, Leeds

The plate looked small when it arrived but trust me, it’s more than enough. The pancakes are light and fluffy but filling, and sweet enough that you can just about finish them, but probably wouldn’t want any more. And only £4 – bargain much?! I broke the sweetness up with a delicious fresh orange juice (and bits of sausage stolen off the boyf’s plate of cooked breakfast).

Fresh orange juice at Archie's, Leeds

The prices are good too – after 2 filling plates of food, a fresh orange and a mint tea the bill came in at just £18, and I stayed full for the whole day. A price I’m definitely willing to pay. Pretty sure I’ll be returning here to try out a few more delicious brunchy treats…

July in Pictures

So, what have I been up to in July? Unfortunately not writing as many blog posts as I’d have liked; I’m trying to get to two a week but this month has passed in a blur of work, moving house (twice) and planning exciting trips. Not that I’m complaining, I just need to get myself some self discipline. I’m great at keeping up-to-date with the content calendars I create at work, but somehow I’m a lot more slack here…

So, July’s whirlwind has included two new houses, first visits to a few places around Leeds including Northern Monk Refectory, the new Gusto restaurant on Greek Street and the latest Five Guys branch, and many, many cocktails! Let’s take a look at how it looked through my camera lens…

Prosecco at Gusto, Leeds Strawberry and passionfruit mess, Gusto LeedsPraline Soother, Hotel Chocolat Summer PartyMe and Emma, Hotel Chocolat partyFive Guys burger, LeedsLatte at Love Rouge Bakery IMG_20150722_183158Cocktails at The Alchemist Screwball cocktail, The AlchemistBreakfast as Northern Monk RefectoryScrewball, Roundhay Park

My August has already got off to a great start – I’ve successfully co-hosted my first blogger event at work (more on that to come!), tomorrow I’m jetting off to Croatia, and we’re only 3 days in!

Have a wonderful month everyone…

Review: Love Rouge Bakery, Headingley

If you live in Headingley and have a weakness for cake, you’re probably familiar with Love Rouge Bakery. If you’re struggling to place the name, it’s the almost painfully adorable cafe tucked away next to Dare, with a fabulous vintage interior and a random musing about cupcakes chalked on a board outside. You’ll have walked past it a million times, and possibly drooled on their window upon catching sight of the cakes.

Cupcakes at Love Rouge Bakery, Headingley

You may not have guessed this yet but I’m a big fan of the cupcakes from Love Rouge; there are so many different flavours and they always look so beautiful! Chocolate & peanut butter is one of my favourites; I’m of the personal opinion that everything is a little bit better with a schmear of peanut butter on it. What I didn’t know is that they also do a pretty awesome breakfast menu, which was revealed to me a few weekends ago when I went for a girly catch up with a few friends.

Love Rouge Bakery, HeadingleyLove Rouge Bakery, Headingley

I put in my usual coffee order of a latte; I’ve only recently started drinking coffee and still need a lot of milk to make it taste good to me. I’m also more than a little seduced by late art and Love Rouge are fantastic at it – on this occasion I got an expertly drawn rose on top of my froth! Also note the incredibly cute cup and saucer…

Latte at Love Rouge Bakery

We gazed longingly at the cakes in the counter as we queued up to order, but all reluctantly agreed that 10am was a pretty unacceptable time to eat cupcakes. Instead I went for American-style pancakes – a short stack of thick, fluffy pancakes topped with crispy bacon and a generous drizzle of maple syrup. I’m fairly convinced they contained my recommended calorie intake for the whole day, but I have absolutely no regrets; they were delicious. I only wish they looked more appealing through my camera lens – my friend’s Eggs Benedict was a lot more photogenic…

Pancake breakfast at Love Rouge Bakery, Headingley

I love going out for breakfast and Love Rouge has definitely been added to the list of go-to options. All that’s left for me to do is drop by to test out the lunch menu, probably with a cupcake for dessert…