Before we moved to Adel, we lived down by the river on Dock Street in the city centre. There were plenty of positives about living so centrally, and one of those was living within a twenty second walk from a hidden gem of the Leeds café scene: Riveresque Café.

Riveresque Café is situated right on Leeds Bridge, with the seating areas on both floors offering fabulous views of the river. There is even an outdoor seating area for the rare sunny mornings Yorkshire has to offer us!

We used to head to Riveresque Café for one of two reasons. The first invariably involved being hungover. There is perhaps no better cure for a nasty hangover than a breakfast from Riveresque Café. We’re not talking about your greasy standard fry-ups; we’re talking about fresh ingredients, cooked well in an open kitchen, and served with a steaming hot cup of coffee.

The sausages come served halved, which somehow allows the flavour to sing a little louder, and the hash browns are a real winner. The bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and toast are just how you want them to be.

We used to find that the “small” breakfast was enough to cure a hangover, but they offer breakfasts of all sizes, as well as sublime breakfast rolls to eat in or take away.

The second reason can be summed up in two words: jacket potatoes. Since moving away from the city centre, we are yet to find a new establishment capable of satisfying those jacket potato cravings that seem to hit on a Sunday at around 11am.

The jacket potatoes at Riveresque Café are huge. We loved them served with chili, cheese (or coleslaw!), and jalapenos, with salad and chopped olives on top. The joy of taking home a lovely warm package and opening it sat on the sofa watching trashy TV before digging into the stringy cheese and steaming chili used to be enough to make our weekend.

Riveresque also do fantastic paninis, baguettes, hot dishes, and snacks.

Next time you’re in Leeds and are in dire need of a hangover cure or just a naughty lunch, pop down to Leeds Bridge to Riveresque Café. You’ll be guaranteed fresh, tasty food in a venue hidden away from the busy streets of the city.