Danny Malin: Why I'm now a boy who brunches - and my favourite Yorkshire coffee shops
I never thought I’d be someone who went for so many coffees and brunches, but I’ve been loving catching up with friends and colleagues over brunch.
I’ve been reviewing a lot down south, so perhaps it’s the London effect on me or the fact that we have so many amazing independent cafes in Yorkshire.
One of my first reviews on my new Danny Vs Food channel was trying out ‘Leeds’ poshest breakfast’ at Laynes Cafe near Leeds train station. After tasting their incredible food and flat whites, I am tempted to pop in every time I hop off the train at Leeds. As much as I am a tight Yorkshireman, I’m happy to pay for good food and coffee using locally sourced produce.
Recently, I met up with a fellow content creator, The Yorkshire Indian, and we met for a coffee at Bluebird Bakery in Holmfirth. You can always trust a fellow foodie to choose a tasty meeting spot.
Depending on the area where I am meeting someone, if I’m going local, I often suggest Capri in Wakefield near Wrenthorpe for brunch. I met up with the rugby lads from Silverbacks charity there, because we love the brunch dishes.
I’ve gone from my takeaway days of only eating greasy fry-ups to now enjoying eggs Benedict and Shakshuka.
My wife loves Capri at Newmillerdam too, as she likes to have a walk and then brunch. All things I never thought I’d find myself doing until this new season in my life.
I also run a YouTube channel, Danny and Gary, where I review food with my pal Gary Eats, and when it came to treating him to brunch, it was a toss-up between Cannon Hall Farm in Barnsley and The Bothy at Wentworth Garden Centre near Rotherham. Both do a cracking full English breakfast using proper farmhouse ingredients.
I tend to stumble on these places as my wife loves exploring Yorkshire with our toddler.
Another place we tried was an Alice in Wonderland-style cafe near Barnsley called Audrey’s, which does proper homely grub all day long. It’s like stepping into someone’s amazing lounge.
While I love these big breakfasts and posh brunches, I am still a market boy at heart. I love nothing more than grabbing a cuppa from Yorkshire Rose coffee shop at Barnsley Market, as it’s nice chatting to all the locals where I grew up. It’s a real break from my normally hectic life, where I’m grabbing coffee on the road at the drive-thru.