Overview

The space that the café is in used to be a gallery space for Leeds Art Gallery and is in itself a work of art. As the name suggests, it is a large space that is tiled all over -- except for the floor, which is wood panelling. The hall connects the central library and the art gallery and if you want to go from the downstairs of the gallery to the upstairs via the lift, you will actually have to go through it. The café offers a selection of sandwiches, pastries and cakes, snacks, hot and cold drinks. The only plant milk available is oat milk and it does not cost extra. Hot food is on offer from 11am to 3pm. This would be toasties, paninis and a daily changing soup or stew. There are a couple of vegetarian and one vegan option.

Transport & Parking

The closest bus stop is Victoria Square on The Headrow (14, 15, 19, 19A, 42, 49. 50, 50A, 55, 55C, 65, 72, 75, 508, X6, X10, X11). It is a 7-minute/0.3 mile walk or wheel from Leeds train station. There is some on-street parking a block down on Oxford Street and paid multi-storey car parks at The Light and Albion Street.

Access

You can enter the café either via the library or the art gallery. If you cannot climb steps and inclines are an issue for you, I recommend entering via the library. The accessible entrance to Leeds Central Library is to the left of the entrance to Leeds Art Gallery, on the side of Victoria Square towards Calverley Street. There is a set of large blue double doors with a door opener and a sign above saying "Library Entrance". Going straight down the corridor there will take you to a lift on the right side. There is a short section of the corridor that slopes down and there are handholds on either side for that bit. Taking the lift up one floor will take you to a set of non-automatic doors on your left as you exit the lift that open towards you and lead into the café. The art gallery has a large staircase leading up to the entrance. It is made up of two sections of 8-9 steps and has handrails in the middle and on the left side. There is also a ramp to the right of the staircase, which is quite long and steep. To get to the café, you have to go through the foyer and the café will be on your left. From the art gallery, you enter through a large open archway. The double doors on the other end open outwards into the library stairwell and lift lobby. There is another set of double doors into the library in the middle next to the counter. The doors into the library are not automatic. There are plenty of tables with moveable chairs that have padded leather seats and backrests and no armrests. There is some bar-height seating in the same style as the regular chairs along the windows and a couple nooks with leather sofas and a low table. The café counter is quite high and there is no lower section. The self-serve counter for condiments, napkins etc. is at an okay height for wheelchair users. The bin is a foot pedal bin. There are many high chairs available to take to your table.

Toilets

The Tiled Hall Café itself has no bathrooms, but you can use the bathrooms in the library and the art gallery. The bathrooms in the library are down one floor on the lift, off the same corridor as the accessible entrance. When I was there, the door was propped open, but there was a sign suggesting that usually a RADAR key is necessary to access the toilets. There is a single toilet room and sinks in the corridor as well as an accessible toilet, which is locked for a RADAR key. I found the smell to be a bit unpleasant and there were quite a few flies, but it was not visibly dirty. The toilets in the art gallery are in the "Artspace", which is through the middle gallery on the ground floor and to the left. The accessible toilet is a bit hidden, around another corner on the right within the Artspace. It is locked for a RADAR key as well and all the transfer space is taken up with bins. There are more bathrooms (not wheelchair accessible) one floor up in the library in the art library section (above the Tiled Hall).

Staff

The staff were friendly and offered to bring my order to the table.

Photos