Oh me oh my. You know I do try. I really do. After two years of stuffing my face I finally took the…read moreplunge and joined Slimming World this February. 5 months and 2 and a half stone later I'm really starting to see the difference.....and then this conversation takes place: Man: I'm going to take you to Patisserie Viennoise in Otley. Moi: Sounds lovely. Pass the fat free chicken salad would you? Man: I used to work there, I made the chocolate boxes out of chocolate. Moi: Fantastico. Is that my Diet Coke? Man: They're boxes of chocolates, made from chocolate and filled with truffles. Moi: *CLANG* *CLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANG* Luckily for the boyfriend he survived being clubbed over the head repeatedly with a frying pan and off to Otley we went. And there I was introduced to Mr Bun the Baker, sorry, I mean Trevor of Patisserie Viennoise. Creator of MANY WONDERFUL GOOEY CHOCOLATEY CAKEY TYPE THINGS. Things SO gooey and chocolatey and beautiful that you can hardly bring yourself to smash them into your mouth. For about 4 picoseconds. I never thought it would be possible to drop £35 in a patisserie but what the hell do I know? All I can say (seriously because my mouth is still stuck together with cocoa and butterfat) is that when a man buys you £35 worth of cake, florentines and chocolate truffles in a chocolate box made from chocolate it's frankly rude to pass on even the merest molecule of it. Slimming World. I am so so so so sorry.

I can't believe Russell's is on here and no-ones written a review! This place is just around the…read morecorner from me, I love it! It's a combination of a proper greasy spoon/homely bakery/patisserie. Prettymuch everything sold is made on the premises, including all the bread and most importantly, the cakes! The selection is huge and they all taste almost as good as the ones your grandma used to bake. Their chocolate eclairs are three times the size of the gregg's equivalent, totally home made and everything is really reasonably priced. There's always a queue, and with good reason! Everyone should definitely check it out.

Just have to share this with everyone in Leeds of my experience with Russel's Patisserie. I don't…read moredaught that their cake baking and decorating is ok but, if you have an issue with your order the owner is not prepared to discuss this with you or even apologise for getting the order wrong. You are immediately made to feel guilty that it must be your fault. For this reason I will take my business elsewhere in the future.

Le Chalet is an oddity, but it has the potential to become a new favourite, provided they iron out…read morea few kinks. It's very new, and to some extent it ticks all my boxes - nice and light, fairly spacious, white / turquoise / silver decor, elegant but homely, loose leaf teas (including green tea with jasmine pearls, a favourite when out and about)... Oddly, given how new the place is, it feels somehow a bit tired. The beautiful, opulent crystal chandelier is dangling drunkenly askew, with its fitting on the ceiling not quite - well - fitting. The ceiling itself is a bit coarse, too, a bit of a plasterboard magnificence, and in general reflects a sense of just Not Quite Ready. In short, the detail didn't deliver on the promise of the general aesthetic. When visiting here with two old schoolfriends, we were but one of two tables downstairs that were not part of a large afternoon tea party - the place was not busy - but we seemed to be waiting an age for service, even just drinks. The reason, given swiftly on our arrival, was that there were no menus available. It seems odd to me that there should be so many empty seats and yet still insufficient menus to go around. And the menus, once they did arrive, were battered in slightly torn plastic folders. We had been there for nearly an hour by the time our food arrived. It was all very strange. Side note: they could also do with specifying that their pink lemonade is the Fentiman's Rose Lemonade that I do so dearly love (roses being my Thing etc etc) instead of just "pink lemonade", because what to me was a delightful surprise might be less so to the less florally inclined customer. HOWEVER... that's all of the criticism done with. The food - light bites, largely - was excellent. I had a quiche lorraine, expecting the usual slice of cold quiche, but what arrived was a beautiful, hot, delicate quiche for one, siting in perfect pastry, served atop a lovely fresh salad that itself wore a fine dressing. It made for a perfect light lunch and at less than £6 you could do far worse. A macaron for just 85p is definitely stealing the show as well. They had a range of flavours - strawberry, chocolate, lemon, pistachio - and initially the wrong flavour was brought to me - but they were very nice macarons and for that price you can't go wrong. It was £2.50 for a pot of tea, which is also pretty decent, especially given the sheer capacity of those beautiful glass pots. They appeared only half full but did a good three full cups, and the waitress arrived shortly after we'd finished to offer hot water refills. With some great-looking cakes on display and a nice two-slate-tier afternoon tea for £12.50, it'll definitely be worth another visit, and I'm sure they'll iron out their odd little kinks with a bit of time. I'm looking forward to another trip here at some point.

I can't believe that no one has left a review for Le Chalet!…read moreIt's a lovely French cafe/tea/bakery room with friendly and helpful staff. As well as the menu, there are gateaux, cakes, biscuits, light as air macaroons and all sorts of sweet delights to choose from. There are over a dozen types of tea, all served in beautiful glass pots. Prices are really good value; 85p for a macaroon, then between 12 and 2, a main course and a hot drink costs £5.50. The galette is fantastic and the omelette looks lovely. If you need a comparison think Valerie's but hand made rather than mass produced.

Call me strange or a little snobbish, but I don't understand why Druckers would put one of their…read morefew stores in the White Rose Centre, essentially I guess there's nothing hideously wrong with White Rose Centre, but it's so ruddy far out of the city centre, and it's a bit of a ballache to get to on public transport, and a Leeds city centre store would be so tempting on the lips and hips of all those people who are a sucker for sweet pastry. Anyway, what to expect from Druckers, well I guess it's Starbucks in reverse, unlike Starbucks where you go in for a coffee and pick up a slice of cake or a sandwich if you're in the mood, you go in to Druckers for cake/dessert/sweet things, and possibly pick up a coffee or tea as an afterthought. Down to the nitty gritty. The large celebration cakes - TO DIE FOR! They look and smell and taste like gorgeous pieces of heaven made from frosting and yanno other stuff that's in cake. If you've got a boy's birthday coming up then they do a totally blue one, as a fan of blue e-numbers I find this very exciting. There's more than blue cakes to choose from, be it framboise, to gateaux, wedding cakes, and a whole selection of cakes that look divine with unpronounceable names. A definite for special occasion cakes, and something to think about for an alternative coffee and cake experience.

A girl has to eat. It's been at least 33 minutes and 17 seconds so I'm thinking it must be time for…read morelunch. Well in the White Rose you have various places to hit but I'm thinking those famous words...a little bit of cake. And this is the place to do cake. Forget the savoury snacks. That's what I say and for now my word goes. Nothing wrong with said food but when you have such belting tarts, muffins and cakes on show it'd be rude not to. Give me a Danish Pastry and I want one now. If you're feeling really naughty you can even mix and match with some ice cream, cookies or various sweet delights. It's a sugar junkies dream. It's also a dieters nightmare. Everything in moderation, so one small teeny weenie nibble can't hurt can it? Yummy.

This place has my heart always, I always go here with my mum and nan or with my best friend for a…read moredrink and a cake, the food is lovely, the service is great and the environment is always clean and they have such pretty decorations. I can't fault it at all, you really get what you pay for

Cute place and very heavily staffed. You'll definitely get good service…read more The interior is a mix of a four-year-old's imagination, mixed with Alice in Wonderland and my grandma's home. It's a lot of fun! They have sweet and savory items, though as the shop name might indicate, they focus on sweets. It was suggested to me to get cake, which I did. Chocolate and banana. They had a red and blue cake (raspberry and blueberry), as well as a chocolate fruit and nut cake and a gluten free chocolate cake. These apparently change daily and on busy days, I'm told as often as four times per day. No promises the favor you wish will be available. As for the chocolate and banana cake, I was a little disappointed they use artificial banana. Fresh banana in cake makes it moister and has a natural banana flavor, which I'd have much preferred. The chocolate part of the cake was good and moist. The filtered coffee was good and strong. I think they had a multitude of other sweets near the register, too!

Good clean food, nicr variety and friendly service staff and they cater to even halal foods. Been…read moretwice and will return for sure.

Friendly service and regular offers such as free coffee with cakes or sandwiches. Well worth…read morechecking out.

This is as good as it get's for your local bakery and cafe in the UK. Friendly staff, lovely…read moreenvironment and the best cakes you will taste this side of the channel. When you enter, you'll probably struggle to find seating as this local Cafe has become the hang out place for Mum'n'Kids, Pensioners and the odd student who likes a good coffee. The cakes and sandwiches which are made fresh on site are to die for! A must for any cake lover!

I absolutely ADORE Mama Bears Cakes & Bakes!!! I live in the US, and my boyfriend lives in the UK,…read moreand I wanted to send him something super special for our anniversary. After searching endlessly and fruitlessly for weeks online for someone who could make exactly what I wanted, accept payment internationally, and deliver it to my BF, I messaged Mama Bear's, and the owner is an absolute ANGEL. She worked with me to decide on exactly what to create. Even though the things I asked for aren't typically items that she makes, she told me that she was a "romantic" and would be happy to make a special order for me. She even ended up adding decorations on her own because she wanted to make it extra special! Such a lovely person to work with!!! Her husband hand-delivered the cake & chocolate-covered strawberries to my boyfriend on our anniversary and even passed along a special message. My boyfriend was totally surprised and absolutely impressed with the presentation of the gift itself. He also said that the cake and strawberries were incredibly DELICIOUS!!! He really tried to ration them out to last longer, but they were so good he couldn't help eating them within about a week and a half haha. Mama Bear is the greatest, and if you live in the area, you should DEFINITELY choose her shop! I'd be there for coffee and baked goods daily if I didn't live across the pond! haha.

In Headingley, where lovely independent cafes and coffee shops are far from rare, Bare Coffee still…read moremanages to stand out as being somewhere special. The cafe is tiny. There are a few tables and chairs inside but I think the capacity for customers must be about 10. Outside at the front there are a couple more tables and there are a few more in the back garden. Fortunately we were able to find space at a table in the back. The atmosphere indoors is chaotic but fun, three members of staff shout orders and jokes to each other behind the tiny coffee bar, each of them laughing and jostling for space. You get the impression that your order won't be delivered very quickly but that it will be worth the wait, and the chaos is exciting rather than stressful, the laughter is infectious. This contrasts to the garden areas which are far more relaxed. Personally, given the right weather, I could happily spend all day here. It's perhaps more of a courtyard than a garden, but it's lined with plants, including strawberry plants. The strawberries were just starting to ripen during my visit and I couldn't help worndering if they use them in their recipes. I ordered the Spanish picadillo hash. It came with fried potatoes, cherry tomatoes, chorizo, black pudding and a fried egg. My sister's enormous veggie breakfast came with sourdough toast (all the bread comes from the Leeds Bread Co-op and loaves are available to buy from the cafe), mushrooms, eggs, cherry tomatoes and leak and cheese veggie sausages. We also both ordered delicious Soy lattes, the coffee is North Star. Everything was exactly as delicious as it sounds. If you're in the Headingley area and looking for brunch I really doubt you could find anything better.