Empire Cafe: ‘Our Good Food Guide listed Leeds cafe is still going strong 123 years after opening’
The current owners of the historic Good Food Guide listed Empire Cafe in Leeds were inspired by the children’s book The Tiger Who Came to Tea to make it an all-day cafe.
With the Empire Cafe being a part of Leeds for 123 years, the cafe was listed as one of the Best Local Restaurants in the UK by the Good Food Guide last year.
Current owners Sam Pullan, 43, and his partner Nicole Deighton, 34 - who took over the property in 2022 - were inspired by the children’s book The Tiger Who Came to Tea to turn it into an elevated all-day cafe.
“There’s a bit at the end where the tiger eats all the food in the fridge, then they have to go out to a cafe in the evening for a meal,” Mr Pullan said.
“There’s this lovely image where they are having sausage, mash and peas and the dad’s got a beer.
“Both of us wanted to create that all-day cafe where any time of the day you can pop in and have something. We have rotisserie chicken and everything is cooked over fire all day long.”
Ever since the cafe - which is located on Fish Street - reopened in 2023, the cafe has been popular and has gained international attention.
“We’ve got exponentially busier as more people found out about what we do, we got quite a lot of international attention as well,” Mr Pullan said.
“We’ve been on TV programmes, we’ve had national reviews in the press, we’re listed in the top 100 local restaurants in the Good Food Guide, so people do know about us now. It’s nice to use the space as it’s intended.
“We were on an American programme with Adam Rickman who did a programme for the Food Network based on places to eat in Britain.
“People know about it now, but back when we first opened there was a lot of stumbling across it.
“They’d use it as a bit of a cut-through to get quicker access to different shops, we always say if people are walking around with shopping bags we’re going to have a busy lunch because it’s that perfect place to stop off.
“It’s nice, especially on a Saturday when Briggate is heaving it can feel like a bit of a respite.”
During the renovations, Mr Pullan and Ms Deighton, who are both from Leeds, discovered its original sign under the rundown hoarding that dates back to around 1903.
“It feels like it’s been part of Leeds forever,” Mr Pullan said.
“We’ve changed it but we haven’t changed the vibe that exists as part of the fabric of Leeds because it’s always been there, serving customers all those years.
“The particular area was known as The Shambles before King Edward House was built and Fish Street was an unsanitary area where people would trade bits and pieces, goat heads and whatever they could sell.
“The building was once Temperance Hotel but was broken into units. It shared a yard with the Golden Cock Inn and it’s always been a cafe of some description.
“Essentially it was called ‘Empire Cafe’ because the Empire Theatre was adjacent.
“We haven’t found anything listed as Empire Cafe yet, which is strange, but the sign definitely existed as proof.”
It once existed as ‘Cafe Strega’ around 50 years ago, Mr Pullan said.
“An Italian intern took the building on after the war and his wife’s favourite liqueur was called Strega which you can still buy,” he said.
“We met his granddaughter, she came in and told us this story that it was called Strega and that’s how we know.
“It was a greasy spoon for years; you could get meals, sandwiches, bacon butties and they relied a lot on the market trade, which we still do.”
There are no rules at the cafe, Mr Pullan said.
“It’s there for everybody,” he said.
“In summer if someone wants to come and have a coffee and read a book, if an old lady wants to come up and have a cup of tea and a cigarette, that’s fine.
“But that will be next to four people sharing a three-course dinner with small plates and a bottle of Cava and desserts and spending a lot of money. We’ve still got that cafe culture.
“The heart of what we do is to remain local, we’ve got to be there to provide for anybody, any walk of life who comes into Leeds.
“We remain part of the fabric of Leeds and a lot of our suppliers are hyper local and that’s why the menu changes quite a bit.
“It has some Asian influences as well because we use the Asian supermarkets on our doorstep.
“You always come in and find something new but you’ll always come in and find something familiar at the same time.”