Unknown Leeds

Think backpacker bar in Nepal or hippy hangout in London and you can start to picture Cafe Lento. It is a cool, quirky and fantastically laid back hangout in Headingley. With an eclectic mix of wooden chairs and dark blue cushions that go all around two walls, there is a comfortable, cosy and relaxed vibe making it an easy place to spend time. Posters, books, games and lanterns decorate the walls, bringing a colour and vibrancy to the cafe  We actually discovered Cafe Lento one night when we had the admirable intention of doing a big food shop in the Headingley Sainsbury’s to save money but three bottles of wine later in Cafe Lento we hadn't managed this! Advertising itself as a bar as well as a cafe, Lento serves good quality wine from £13 pounds a bottle. 

Choose from a diverse menu including full English Breakfasts in the morning to thick granary bread sandwiches and homemade soups for lunch. Cafe Lento uses all free-range animal products which are sourced locally in Yorkshire making their hearty meals with the freshest ingredients. Prices are reasonable with soup and a chunk of bread at £3.95 and coffees at about £2.

As the best venue for Jazz in Leeds, Cafe Lento also puts on fantastic evenings where you can be transported to another time and place listening to live music whilst drinking their (very reasonably priced) wine. Check out their events on the cafe's own Facebook page for more information about when they are open late.

Open 7 days a week, the very friendly staff and incredible homemade food, fantastic array of teas and coffees and chilled atmosphere make it the perfect place to work, meet friends and eat. The name 'Lento' taken from the Italian for 'slow' suits this lovely cafe's chilled vibe.

Check out their website for more information: 

http://cafelento.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cafe-Lento/165864073425293?fref=ts&rf=284366161679425

Hours Mon - Sat: 10:00 - 17:00

Sun: 11:00 - 16:00

Emma Russell 

The walls tell you to ‘follow the swallows’ and just as Alice did in Wonderland, when you enter the Bird’s Yard you find yourself moving between utterly exiting and unique rooms packed full of vintage crockery, retro records and couture clothing.

Bird’s Yard consists of three floors. On the ground floor there is a cute café with crafts for sale, continue upstairs and you find a room with beautiful English china, glasses, pots and vintage biscuit tins. If you like kitsch interior design then this is the place for you. Next to this jumble of hidden treasures is a small but well stocked record shop with an impressive collection. On the top floor there is a beautiful vintage boutique where you can hire or buy fantastic outfits that are reminiscent of the years gone by. If you can imagine Carrie Bradshaw’s glittering, sequined, wonderful closet in Sex and the City, you can paint a mental picture of the couture vintage boutique in this Aladdin’s cave.

From outlandish velvet hot-pants to bejeweled ballgowns, insane fur jackets to silk shirts, you can find an amazing array of wild and wonderful pieces. For those crazy fancy dress parties where you need to look fabulous and want to stand out or to those 21st Birthdays where you need a beautiful and utterly unique dress, this shop really is the place to go. Prices are typical of vintage stores in Leeds meaning that you can get some great items at real bargain prices. 

If you are creative and quirky this magnificently stocked vintage warehouse will tantalize your imagination and inspire you to dig up the perfect treasure for you. Check it out https://www.facebook.com/BirdsYardPage 

By Emma Russell

Opening hours

Monday – closed

Tuesday – 11am – 6pm

Wednesday – 11am – 6pm

Thursday – 11am – 6pm (late nights during December until 8pm)

Friday – 11am – 6pm

Saturday – 11am – 6pm

Sunday – closed

Serving Mexican dishes, delicious pizzas and a variety of pasta options, Dare Café is a perfect student restaurant. The prices are reasonable and a two for one deal on main courses is available during the early evening hours. If it’s a hangover cure that you need, their all-day fry ups for less than five pounds are perfect alongside a fantastic variety of coffee and teas. Dare advertises itself as a café, restaurant and bar making it the ideal place to hang out with friends at any time of the day. It is ideally situated in the centre of Headingley meaning that ‘busy’ students can stop by for a brief drink whilst going about their daily routine.

The café is run by a friendly group of staff who claim that all of their food is ‘prepared with love’! However if there is one thing that we would recommend at Dare; it is the pizzas. It is true that you can grab a supermarket pizza for about three pounds these days but trust us when we say Dare boasts the best pizza’s in Headingley! Arguably as good as Pizza Express down the road, Dare’s pizza menu includes interesting options such as the Seafood or the Mexican chicken pizza. Often the café is full so if you are keen to go in the evening, be sure to book ahead. However if you do end up waiting for a table check out the bar downstairs where you can grab a fresh fruit cocktail and enjoy the chilled out atmosphere.

 http://www.darecafe.co.uk/index.html

Alice Burns 

Come sunshine or snow, the Ilkley moors are the perfect place to escape Leeds for a day. On the top of a hill, with views of the beautiful Yorkshire countryside, sits the Cow and Calf, a cosy independent pub with roaring fires and warm cider. The Cow and the Calf provides the perfect break from the somewhat chaotic and undoubtedly crazy schedule of university life.

A brisk half an hour walk from the Ilkley train station to the peak of the moors provides a fantastic alternative to a repetitive (and lets be honest) incredibly dull few hours in the gym. Reaching the peak, you have the chance to take photographs and to sit and take in the fantastic view. On a sunny day, the grass at the peak is the perfect setting for a picnic, bring a bottle of wine, a flask of pimms or a pack of beers and have a good natter with some friends! Alternately, in February or possibly late March-April, do not be put off going to Ilkley if the weather is less than ideal, snow and ice only make the moors more captivating and English! There is nothing better after all, than sitting by the fire of a cosy pub, enjoying a hearty roast dinner, drinking a warm cider and looking out onto the icy hills of Yorkshire!

A perfect place to bring parents visiting, friends from home or a fantastic day trip with your mates, Ilkley is cheap and easy to get to (from Leeds city station take the train to Ilkley for £5 return). For an amazing, generous and delicious roast dinner, you will be set back about £9, however the portion sizes and wide array of side dishes make it the perfect size to share (and halve the price!) If you go online and sign up to the Cow and the Calf newsletter, you can receive discounts, (a free glass of wine was offered when we went!)

http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thecowandcalfilkley/ 

Emma Russell 

In true Leeds style, Mint café incorporates both vintage fashion and a cosy café which serves not only delicious coffee but also a tasty selection of Mediterranean and Lebanese food. Beneath the warm and enticing café there is a small shop selling vintage clothing, ornaments and furniture. However, the reason that we went back to this delightful café time and time again during our January exam period was that it was ultimately the most relaxing place to study in Headingley. The rooms are light and airy and are complete with comfortable chairs and tables perfect for spreading piles of books across. Don’t be put off though; this is not just a student hang out. At lunchtime young professionals pile in, keen to get their Lebanese wraps which start at the fantastic price of only three pounds. It also seems to be a favourite amongst friends who just want to sit and gossip for hours over coffee. It is a credit to the café’s friendly owners that people spend a long time enjoying the tranquil atmosphere of this place.

Mint also offers a chef’s special everyday which is a more substantial lunchtime option and for those of you with a sweet tooth the crepes and pastries make appealing deserts. Being tea lovers, we were impressed by the selection of tea, all served in traditional tea pots with strainers. Our favourite room which is just off the main coffee bar is decorated with an old record collection and cans of San Pellegrino sparkling juices (which are also sold in the café). One finds oneself becoming very tempted to purchase items such as a Polaroid camera that is displayed on the ‘for sale’ shelf. The café is unique not just because of its unusual menu but because it attracts any kind of customer whether you are after a vintage record or a Baba Ghanoush roasted aubergine dip!

 33 North Lane, Headingley, Leeds, LS6 3HW

Alice Burns

Nestled between vintage stores and tucked behind the city’s main shopping streets is Mrs Athas; a one-of-its-kind independent coffee shop in the heart of Leeds. Quirky, pretty and tranquil, Mrs Athas provides the perfect getaway from the busy and bustling Northern town, with its mouth-watering array of cakes, brownies and chocolates alongside rich roasted coffees and a wide-ranging selection of teas. Named after the creator’s grandmother and inspired by his brother’s love of coffee shops as a professional writer; the atmospheric café has a homey quality, creating a lovely, comfortable place to work, meet and eat.

Perfect for students wanting a change of environment and an alternative to Eddy B and Essentials, Mrs Athas has free wifi and laptop charging. Contrasting this envisaged student productivity, Mrs Athas also serves an all-day breakfast and advertises a ‘hangover cure’ coffee making it the perfect meeting point to discuss last night’s antics with friends. The reasonable prices are comparable to that of any of the big chains, Costa, Starbucks or Nero but the food, coffee and atmosphere are significantly more exiting.

The coffee shop’s character is established through an eclectic mix of 1960's Italian Castelli chairs, gold guilt wall art frames and classical chandeliers contrasting modern posters, shelves of books and industrial-looking coffee machines. The mix of artwork from the owners own home and car boot sale sourced furniture and crockery give the coffee shop a cool vintage kitsch, classically British vibe.

Don’t be put off by the café’s unexciting exterior. Once you step foot inside, the warm glow from the low hanging light bulbs and the exposed brick walls create an unperturbed, warm ambiance that attracts all kinds of customers from “old people to hipster kids” as the café’s creator quoted himself. Being passionate about his shop, he talked about not wanting to target a specific clientele or niche of people, but rather to establish his own brand for the enjoyment of everyone. The friendly staff and fabulous food is why we have returned as many times as we have and why we would recommend it to any student keen for a few hours away from the hustle and bustle of everyday university life.

18 Central Rd, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 6DE

By Emma Russell