Yesterday morning, we had some time to kill in Headingley before an optician appointment and we just fancied a light breakfast and a coffee to set us up for the day.

For some reason, Costa seemed to be the only breakfast option open before 9am in Headingley, which seems slightly stupid in my opinion. If independent café venues in Leeds want to compete with the big chains, they simply need to compete on early opening hours. We weren’t the only early birds hanging around Headingley at that time, so it just felt like missed opportunities from the more interesting eateries on offer in the town.

As we were about to give up hope by heading to Costa for an overpriced croissant, some fantastic aromas drifting down North Lane made us wander up for a quick look. We came across a hidden gem, the Artisan Bakery, somewhere we’d never really noticed before.

Check out that bread!

The amazing smell of freshly baked bread (is there a better smell?!) pulled us in and after a fair amount of deliberation we ordered a jam slice and a date scone.

We ate these wandering around Headingley (there’s no seating in the bakery as most of the space is taken up by the bread ovens, the huge racks of baked goodies, and tray after tray of rolls, sweet treats, and cake).

The jam slice was extremely satisfying. Crunchy, with a gorgeous layer of strawberry jam in the middle, it was a lovely, cheap breakfast. The date scone, meanwhile, was moist, filling, and fruity.

Jam slice

Date scone – fruity and delicious

We were sorely tempted by the sourdough loaf and the tiger rolls but were out for dinner in the evening so couldn’t indulge too much. That said, we will be back next time we fancy some fresh bread for lunch or a sweet indulgent treat for breakfast.

It’s also worth giving a shout out to the lovely lady who served us. We didn’t catch her name, but she was really friendly and patient while we took some time over our choices!