Leeds Coffee Tour, Part One: La Bottega Milanese and Mrs Atha’s
The last time I visited Leeds was in 2010, a while before many of the city’s great independent coffee shops had opened their doors. In fact, if memory serves, my last visit to Leeds involved going into the Starbucks on Albion Street and ordering a venti three-shot skinny latte, thinking this was the height of sophistication. (Forgive me, I was young and naïve.)
In 2014, however, Leeds can boast of having one of the best coffee scenes in the UK. I found that, if you can look past the chains in their all-too prominent locations, you’re never more than a few minutes’ walk from a really excellent cup of coffee.
Without further ado, here is the first part of my Leeds Coffee Tour, in which I talk about my visits to La Bottega Milanese, on Bond Court, and Mrs Atha’s, on Central Road.
La Bottega Milanese
Depending on the direction you approach from, you may pass a branch of Costa on your way to La Bottega Milanese. I did, and described it to one of the very approachable baristas as bypassing the coffee equivalent of hell in order to reach something more closely resembling heaven. She laughed, and told me that they used to have something similar written on an A-board outside. Touché.
La Bottega Milanese was founded by Alessandro ‘Alex’ Galantino in 2009, making it the oldest of the establishments I visited this weekend. La Bottega Milanese now have two sites: a small espresso bar on The Headrow, and a larger space on Bond Court. The site I visited, on Bond Court, is a cavernous space with a continental atmosphere and ample communal seating. It made for a welcome retreat from the rain on Friday night.
My visit to La Bottega Milanese was, sadly, a short one, as I was rushing to meet a relative at the train station. I ordered a double espresso and was given a choice between the house bean and the guest – a single origin Ethiopian roasted by Grumpy Mule. I opted for the Ethiopian, and it was delicious: abundantly floral, with a pronounced citrus finish. The barista even came up and asked if I was enjoying it, which I assured him I was.
La Bottega Milanese
2 Bond Court
Wine Street
Leeds
LS1 2JZ
www.labottegamilanese.co.uk
Mrs Atha’s
Mrs Atha’s, on Central Road, is evidently very popular. When I arrived on Saturday afternoon, people were queuing out of the door. Mrs Atha’s has one of the plushest fit-outs I’ve seen since Workshop Coffee Co. on Clerkenwell Road – think high ceilings and low lighting. The effect is rather more speakeasy than speciality coffee shop, but it works. I sat for fifteen or twenty minutes and, in this time, the queue never really got any shorter.
While it is unclear whether their main focus is on coffee or tea (the latter of which is supplied by Postcard Teas), Mrs Atha’s certainly have some impressive coffee gear, including a Mahlkönig EK43 grinder and a custom Slayer espresso machine, handmade in Seattle.
I had a cup of the Rwandan filter coffee, which was bulk-brewed but still very pleasant. The baristas and floor staff are cordial and helpful, and there is also a carefully curated selection of craft beer and wine for sale.
Mrs Atha’s
Central Road
Leeds
LS1 6DE
www.mrsathaleeds.com
This piece was originally published on blackcoffeeandotherstories.wordpress.com in December 2014.