Notes

So, here’s the thing, I hate it here. And there are three reasons for this…
Firstly, when ordering today at 5pm or so, I asked my friend over the phone if they wanted me to get them anything, to which they said they’d sort themselves when they arrived… 3 minutes later when they had arrived the bar staff said they’d stop serving hot drinks. Which is a) mental, because what coffee shops stop serving hot drinks but go on serving cold drinks at 5pm, and b) annoying because the guy behind the counter heard my plan and could have said that they were stopping serving with the hot drinks imminently… So, really annoyed.
Secondly, my hot chocolate (I don’t drink coffee or tea) was really really average. Like worse than costa. Literally THAT average.
Thirdly, my burger was a) pretty much burned on these outside, b) pretty much uncooked on the he inside, and c) the accompanying fries were more salt than potato. If I have food poisoning tomorrow, I’ll know why.
So bad service, bad drink, and bad food!!!
All in all it was a very disappointing first trip to trinity kitchen, and honestly I don’t think I’ll ever be going back to Notes.

This is an odd venue to review as it’s clearly a coffee shop/​wine bar/​eatery and yet the general layout of Trinity Kitchen makes it hard for it to carve a niche in either area at the moment.
The coffee though is fantastic and I prefer the liveliness of the venue over other more ‘reverential’ coffee shops in Leeds that tend to be more crowded and Hipster-​ish than Notes. Notes are one of the few coffee shops in the country to own their own roastery. That’s how seriously they take their coffee!
The food here is fab (especially the cakes). I’m reliably informed that the wine is too. The staff are also über friendly and knowledgable. Many have been poached from other more established coffee shops in Leeds ;-)
All in all it’s a great oasis away from the general hubbub of Trinity Kitchen’s other venues.

It was my first trip to Notes yesterday, and my first visit to Trinity Kitchen, so this review is more of a first impression — it’ll certainly need an update! I’ve not tried any of the rather tempting brunch-​style menu, so you can be sure I’ll head back soon (as I’ve an eggs benedict obsession) to work my way through.
So, the biggest thing on a few folk’s minds is that it’s in a food court in a shopping centre. I love my cosy little cafés, but in this instance I didn’t have a problem with the shopping centre vibe — it’s the most interesting and colourful ‘food court’ I’ve ever been in. It definitely has more of an airport vibe with the layout of the space, than a shopping centre, but I quite like place. The fixed seating, with the iron seats, is quite cool but perhaps not for the fidgety.
I was disappointed that there wasn’t any (visible) power plugs for your laptop/​phone, and there isn’t any wifi available from seemingly any of the businesses, only the cloud. (Which is still some odd ethereal beast I’ve not yet mastered. Does that make me sound incompetent?! Feel free to offer me some tips!) Of course, the customer service lounge is less than a minute away, and you can charge up and surf the net there.
And now to the coffee! It was lovely. I paid £2.60 for a rather small flat white, but I’ve come to expect smaller portions. And forgive me for not recalling which particular coffee it was, but it may have been the same one Chris C mentions, as it was floral, strong and delicious. I too had it in a cardboard cup, despite drinking in, but I’m not sure if that’s standard or not.
I can see the draw will definitely be the decent coffee though, and hopefully some good grub. I’m not sure it’ll replace my more regular haunts, but this wasn’t my first and only time. Give ‘em a go!

I have mixed feelings about the opening of Notes in Leeds. On the one hand it adds to the number of spots which serves coffee which is generally of a good standard. On the other, this incarnation of Notes (the other branches are all in London) feels just as soulless as Starbucks, Costa and the rest. It certainly is not somewhere I have felt inclined to linger for a second cup.
The coffee, as noted above, is generally well made, although not as interesting or consistent as that made at Laynes or Mrs Atha’s. Weirdly, I also never seem to receive my drink in an appropriate cup. Twice, I have been given a takeaway beaker when drinking in, once a china cup when I was planning on taking the coffee away. Not a big thing but still frustrating!
I haven’t experienced the food menu in full. However, I am pleased to report that the cookies were lovely. Sadly, the pancakes were not — overly greasy and with only a small portion of berries served on the side. Hopefully the rest of the menu has more in common with the cookies!

Full review to come later but figured I’d tell people about it so they can come down for the opening today.
Try their Bokasso espresso. Very floral.