Harvey Nichols Espresso Bar

Well-​located and rapid service.

Tricky one. The Victorian Quarter is beautiful, and it’s a joy to sit ‘outside’ beneath the glass canopy warmed by the gas heaters and people watch. At the moment this area takes on an added attractiveness as it’s dressed for Christmas and the twinkling lights and mirror-​ball tree all add to the excellent atmosphere. So for location and ambiance it’s second to none.
But here comes the but… We were served by a frosty, unsmiling waitress, our coffees were lukewarm and seemed to take an age to arrive, and my hot chocolate fudge cake was cold but for a couple of mildly warm bits in the middle. On the plus side, the coffee and cake were both tasty and of decent proportions. And of course, with it being HarveyNix, the prices were just that bit higher than most other places.
So a bit of a mixed bag then. However the bottom line really is that regardless of the location, the basics should be correct, so therefore 2 stars only.

Harvey Nichols has such a grand label attached to it, it’s no wonder we ended up going to both the Fourth Floor and this espresso bar. The building is lovely and provided a good balance between being outside (which was horribly humid at the time) and inside (which would be sad to do when it was so warm) with its glass ceiling and the coming and going of shoppers. Our waitress was a touch fierce but I think it’s because we slipped in right at the end of service, so she probably wanted to go home. We ordered two teas and a brownie with cheescake topping, which was gorgeous, and it was great to try something a bit different. The brownie took a while to come and, although the server did explain to us and apologise for the delay, it’s always a bit of a dampener on your day when something is delayed.
Everything comes with a HN sized price tag, though you can get a good offer on cake and a tea/​coffee, which of course we did. A nice little place to relax when you want something on a plate rather than a wooden slab.
(Don’t get me wrong, I love a good wooden slab, but I do remember thinking to myself that I seemed to eat more from wood than I did from a plate during my visit to Leeds!)

The Victoria Quarter is a lovely setting for an Espresso Bar, with the waterfall, stained glass ceiling, plants and serene music floating around. Harvey Nichols lies right next the Victoria Quarter so you can enter it either from the front on Briggate or the side, near the Espresso Bar. If you have had a hard day shopping in Leeds and fancy something a little fancier than the boring old chain coffee shops then this is a nice place to relax. The coffee and is not that much more expensive than at Starbucks but the atmosphere is in a different league. Everything is fresh and of a high standard and won’t necessarily break the bank.

Situated under the inordinately beautiful stained glass roof of the Victoria Quarter, the Harvey Nichols Espresso Bar has the ideal location to create an impressive experience for its customers.
This little café is the usual destination for my Mam and I when she journeys to Leeds to go shopping, disguised with the vague notion of visiting me! I jest. Breakfasting here feels luxurious, as though we are on holiday — the Harvey Nichols brand rarely disappoints. As a coffee lover, my Mam partakes in a caffeine fix whilst I usually sample the refreshing benefits of some Darjeeling tea. A delicious choice of fresh croissants, pastries and English muffins is available, accompanied by scrumptious preserves.
Revitalised and with the cockles of our hearts thoroughly warmed, a morning pit stop at the Harvey Nichols Espresso Bar has often proved to be the catalyst to a successful and energised day’s shopping.