Mrs Atha's Cafe | Foodie Review

In the backstreets of the high end shopping district of Leeds, close to the city market, lies a quaint, small coffee shop called Mrs Atha's. I had read a lot about this coffee shop before deciding to go along with my parents. Expecting to find a small, independent coffee shop that did some yummy homemade cakes was my expectation, but what I was greeted with was an amazing smell of fresh coffee and walnuts, with enough variety of cake to please every individual, including vegan and vegetarian options. 

image from leeds-list.com

My parents and I went in for breakfast on a Sunday morning, and were outside the cafe a little early, just before 10am. We wandered to the bus stops around the corner where my Dad wanted to photograph a large piece of graffiti before heading back, and were surprised to find that after just five minutes of us being there, by 10:04am, the place was full of people bustling around ordering coffee. Mrs Atha's has such a unique feel to it, with large hand written menu boards, plates full of amazing looking homemade cakes and walls covered in old photographs and art works, combined with the large, thick wooden tables and old-style chairs and benches, making it feel both cosy and vintage at the same time.

We started with a pot of tea, which I was pleasantly surprised to find was loose leaf tea, rather than tea bags, and came with a timer so we could time our tea perfectly - just one of the little touches that makes Mrs Atha's special and different. The tea was really tasty and delivered in such a beautiful fashion, complete with a miniature milk bottle and proper vintage cups and saucers. The mis-match nature of the cups and saucers, even down to the spoons, which were all crested, gave it a really special vibe, and made you feel like you were sitting in someone living room, having afternoon tea, giving it a really relaxed environment. 

image from www.tripadvisor.com

For breakfast, I had scrambled eggs on toast with bacon and black pudding, similar to my Dad, whilst my Mum tried the pancakes with summer berries. The first thing I noticed about my breakfast was the decadent plate that it was delivered on, different once agin from my parents, but all unique and intricate patterns. The food was incredible, and very reasonably priced, with each element being yummy in its own way. I'm not a massive fan of scrambled eggs, but I had heard good things, so dived in! The eggs were incredible - I'm not sure how they cooked them, but they weren't dry like I have experienced scrambled eggs to be in the past, but were fluffy and buttery - something I have never experienced before, but something I would definitely recommend to everyone to try! The bacon was organic, as was the black pudding, and you would taste the incredible freshness of all the food. The toast was also a highlight, buttery and crispy granary bread, with options for gluten free bread also!

I was slightly jealous of my Mum's pancakes, which were thick and fluffy and covered in delicious honey, summer fruits and sprinkles with icing sugar, giving them a vintage American feel, even better than the pancakes I experienced in a real New York Cafe! 

My Dad also tried some of the cake, sharing some of his coffee cake between the three of us. The cake was so delicious - impressive as I usually find cake quite dry and tend to avoid it - although the coffee taste in the cake was so yummy, not like other coffee cakes I have tried where all the flavour comes through the icing. The icing was thick and creamy and I'm definitely going back to try some more of their incredible looking cakes. I had my eye on the brownies which looked gooey and to die for!

The staff were also really lovely and attentive. They all seemed to be young, possibly students, but their personalities seemed to fit the unique vintage style of the cafe - if that makes sense. Initially when we walked in, we thought there were quite a lot of staff members for such a small place, although we soon realised that it was an incredibly well oiled machine, with each staff member in charge of a different station, making the service run very smoothly and efficiently, including one staff member showing people to their seats, something which is unusual for a cafe, but something that gave it an extra special feeling.

Mrs Atha's is an amazingly special place, with unique vintage crockery and even more unique cakes and coffees (including teas and coffees from around the world - thought I would strongly recommend Indian tea). If you are ever in Leeds, I would definitely not recommend missing out.