Armchair travel around the world!
Start your reading adventures with our FREE Reading Atlas.
- Around the World in 14 Books
- 7 Thrilling Book Series
- 6 Audiobooks That Are Like Theater For Your Ears
The Union Coffee House is tucked along a quiet side street in Leeds, and it’s worth the trip to this hidden gem to enjoy their excellent coffee, warm hospitality, zippy wi-fi, and surprisingly good selection of books.
The weathered wooden tabletops are decorated with endearing mismatched plates and cups, the shelves around the airy room display vintage knick-knacks, and everything is for sale, including the chair on which you rest your potentially weary bones.
Just inside the entrance is a bookshelf crammed with excellent compelling used paperbacks — a tempting combination of bestsellers, classics, sci-fi, memoirs, and unusual treasures — each of which can be yours for the irresistible price of 1 British pound apiece. This place is a combination café-vintage shop-bookstore, and it is lovely.
There’s even a friendly piano that guests are invited to play.
I visited the café two days in a row, and along with my coffee, I found two books I’d had on my mental to-read list. The first: classic gothic fiction to go along with a decaf, almond-milk latte…
… and second: the sweet and funny The History of Love.
The coffee is expertly brewed, and the menu offers fresh, homemade baked goods, sandwiches, salads, and soup. Each day, there are beautiful and delicious gluten-free options, too.
We tried the full English breakfast, a generous slab of luscious lemon cake, and a breakfast treat known as the bacon sarnie: thick-cut bacon on a ciabatta roll with butter and HP Sauce. It was a most satisfying start to the day.
For opening hours and menu, visit The Union Coffee House website.
Want to keep up with our book-related adventures? Sign up for our newsletter!
Can you help us? If you like this article, share it your friends!
Strong Sense of Place is a website and podcast dedicated to literary travel and books we love. Reading good books increases empathy. Empathy is good for all of us and the amazing world we inhabit.
Strong Sense of Place is a listener-supported podcast. If you like the work we do, you can help make it happen by joining our Patreon! That'll unlock bonus content for you, too — including Mel's secret book reviews and Dave's behind-the-scenes notes for the latest Two Truths and a Lie.
This is a weekly email. If you'd like a quick alert whenever we update our blog, subscribe here.
We'll share enough detail to help you decide if a book is for you, but we'll never ruin plot twists or give away the ending.
This 30-page Reading Atlas takes you around the world with dozens of excellent books and gorgeous travel photos. Get your free copy when you subscribe to our newsletter.
Content on this site is ©2024 by Smudge Publishing, unless otherwise noted. Peace be with you, person who reads the small type.