The Cut & Craft, Victoria Leeds: I tried a new dessert and champagne bar inside a historic shopping centre in Yorkshire
Shopping inside this Victorian arcade really does feel as if you’re tightening the buckle on your two inch black Louis heels, a popular style synonymous with the late 1800s, and stepping back in time.
Leeds’ Victoria Quarter was designed by architect Frank Matcham who transformed a narrow street of former slaughterhouses into shopping arcades, Cross and County Arcade to be exact, both dripping in theatrical opulence.
Nowadays there’s a pop-up cafe at the heart of Victoria Quarter, poised to serve shoppers.
We sent our reporter Sophie Mei Lan to try out the pop-up cafe with its new resident The Cut & Craft.
Whenever I pass through Victoria Quarter I feel as if I’m walking through the set of a British period drama.
The ironwork provides a dramatic welcome into these shopping arcades, with mosaic floors and its marble interior adding to the grandeur of the place.
The pop-up, named Café by C&C, serves a selection of sweet treats, tea and coffee, champagne and chocolate dripped strawberries.
The cafe is at the heart of the arcade across from Jo Malone and Moda In Pelle.
It reminds me of one of the champagne bars inside Selfridges & Co where I used to work.
The bar has counters filled with croissants including smoked salmon served with crème fraîche, watercress and black caviar, or hazelnut hummus with honey and mustard beetroot tartare and pickled veg.
There’s hot chocolate on tap which looks very similar to the thick chocolate used in a chocolate fountain. Whatever it is, it’s decadent and stunning and for such a large cup it’s value for money at £5.
The sweets are curated by head pastry chef Isabella Tokarski-Pudlo and handcrafted at their nearby restaurant The Cut & Craft, which is housed inside a 19th century cloister in the same complex.
The sweet treats resemble those displayed in the window of an upmarket Parisian cafe with giant raspberry macaroons, a gold chocolate bar (a spin on the viral Dubai chocolate bar, it is a milk chocolate creation with pistachio, crispy angel hair, vanilla ice cream and 24-karat gold leaf), tiramisu, chocolate Biscoff shells, brownies and cookies.
There’s also handcrafted chocolates to eat or buy as gifts, and snacks such as truffle crisps and pork scratching.
If I’m honest, I thought I’d feel out of place as I don’t tend to have time to eat pastries and sup champagne, I’m more of a coffee-to-go person.
The whole ambience of Victoria, however, suits this style of bar.
I still ordered my usual black Americano because I enjoy a good coffee and my daughter got a hot chocolate which I was quick to taste.
We tried the gold chocolate bar and the Lotus Biscoff shells.
They’re quite large sweets which you could easily share between two. The Biscoff shell was the size of a medium hollow Easter egg, it tasted creamy and vegan but pricey.
The chocolate bar was lighter than it looked and delicately handcrafted.
If you’ve a sweet tooth this is definitely a good place to stop.
For me it was a lovely pause in between shopping, and while we were in the main thoroughfare it still felt cosy as if we were in our own little bubble.
The cafe is open from 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday 10am-6pm and 11am to 4pm on Sundays until January 2025.