A café built around a pie
We are a small kitchen in Leeds with a counter at the front, a pastry board at the back and a rolling pin that never gets put away.
How it started
One recipe, and a lot of practice
best cafe began with a single steak and ale pie, made at home for family on a Sunday and argued over for years afterwards. When the shop came up, it was the only thing on the menu we were certain about.
Everything since has been built around it: the pastry, the gravy, the tables, the brew that goes with it. We would rather make six pies properly than sixteen that nobody remembers.
Where we are
A Leeds café, through and through
Our beef comes from a Yorkshire butcher, the ale from brewers we can drive to, the cheese from a stall on the market and the coffee from a roastery in the city. When something on the board is not local, it is because it cannot be.
It is the same reason the café looks the way it does: built for people who work nearby, shop nearby and want feeding properly on a Tuesday.
What we care about
Three things we will not budge on
Pastry made here
Mixed, rested and rolled in our own kitchen. Nothing arrives frozen in a case, and nothing goes in the oven that we would not eat ourselves.
Bought close to home
Yorkshire meat, Yorkshire ale, market veg and coffee roasted in Leeds. We know the people we buy from and we pay them on time.
A proper welcome
No one is hurried off a table. Come in for a pot of tea and a read, or for a full plate — both are worth the same to us.
The room
Room for everyone
There are tables for two by the window and a long one at the back that gets shared by whoever needs it. Dogs are welcome, prams fit down the middle and there are high chairs behind the door.
- Dogs welcome, water bowl by the counter
- High chairs and a changing table
- A long table for groups, first come first served
- Free wifi, and plugs at the back if you are working
Come and judge the pastry yourself
The kettle is on and there will be something out of the oven within the hour.