Like our campaign, The Empire Cafe is supported by payments and point-of- sale provider Square.
Tell us a little about your restaurant, what kind of place is it?
The Empire Cafe opened in 2022 at a very central location in the city. It was a former well-known greasy spoon that had been shut for years.
Our idea was to make it part of the community, usually we think about towns and villages when we think of community, but bigger cities can have their own sense of community and culture, especially when the lights go out. We wanted to bring a slice of this to Leeds. When started to strip the outside of the building, we found an old sign called Empire Cafe from 1903, so we wanted to bring that back to life.
Empire Cafe is a cross of an old-fashioned dining room experience where you can have breakfast, lunch and tea. We put a big focus on café culture, being able to sit outside with a beer and some plates, with our bones being that we cook on fire and with a German rotisserie chicken set up. We do a great steak and chips and Caesar salad that never changes but everything else changes every couple of weeks. We move with the seasons, often as local as going over to Leeds Kirkgate Market. We’ve become part of the fabric of the city.
How has being in The Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2024 impacted your restaurant?
The recognition really helped put us on the map as a destination spot, we’ve just gotten busier and busier since last year. It’s a combination of a lot of things, our own organic growth, plus the fact that we provide consistency and comfort is appealing to those who dine with us.
We don’t get much recognition from other guides so it's so nice to get it from The Good Food Guide. It's good for the team because they work so hard, the awards keep everyone going.
Have you got a favourite fishmonger, butcher or greengrocer in Leeds?
Kirkgate Market is our favourite for produce so we always try and support them when we can. A while back we had someone in the kitchen who ordered a sack of potatoes from a middle man supplier and I said to them, don’t do that, get 'em from the market because our man over there will bring them over on his shoulder whilst he has a break, and he relies on us for that £50 a week, we're a part of his routine. So it's about supporting the community around us and shopping local wherever we can.
Where's the best place for a celebratory meal?
I’ve got three kids and a dog so when they’re in nursery that’s when we can go out. I like getting things that are different. Dining at independent places is so important. We love Thai Aroy Dee, Hern, Bavette, The Swine That Dines, and we also eat in Bradford a lot, Tazza Kitchen is a favourite of ours.
What would you miss most if you moved away from Leeds?
I lived in London and worked in New York for a bit, I was a brand consultant, before retraining to be a chef. I was a suit and sat in board rooms and turned my back on it all to start a catering business. But I can’t see myself leaving Leeds now as I have family here. I’d like to go somewhere a bit warmer at some point but I like the north. I like the people, I like the beer. I’ve still got lots I want to do here, including opening our new pub, The Highland Laddie.
