Muddy Boots Cafe Harewood: Inside the popular café in Leeds' most expensive neighbourhood to live

Eddy Lascelles, director of Harewood Food and Drink Project, took over Muddy Boots Cafe & Bistro in 2018. The Church Lane cafe underwent comprehensive refurbishment the next year as it pledged to only serve food and drinks from the best local suppliers.

It is now a top-rated cafe in the city, and well-loved by locals in Harewood, which was recently named the most expensive place to live in the city.

According to the latest Office for National Statistics data, median house price for the year ending in March 2023 in Collingham, Rigton and Harewood was £620,000 - the highest out of all neighbourhoods in Leeds.

It’s unsurprising to Eddy; there’s so much to like about Harewood - from Harewood House, a country house built between 1759 and 1771 that is bringing innovative and “forward-thinking” events and activities to the city, to smaller independent businesses making their mark on the local community.

The 41-year-old said: “The landscape is absolutely stunning. And Harewood House sits within the heart of that and, I guess, without the house, much of the other lovely stuff wouldn't be there. 

“A lot of the houses in the village were built as part of the working estate. The landscape was designed as part of Harewood House being built, so I guess that sets it apart.

“It's the fact that you’re technically part of a major city but you feel a really long way away. You are a 20-minute drive into the city centre but you feel like you're in the middle of rolling beautiful Yorkshire countryside. I think it kind of gives you the best of the best of both worlds in that respect.”

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Eddy also said the village is a “haven” for wildlife with a strong focus on sustainability and a desire to conserve the environment, making it not only an attractive spot for locals but the perfect place for Muddy Boots Cafe & Bistro to be.

“I think our food ethos sits really nicely [in Harewood]. It’s a lovely village to live and work in. We source our produce from the estate, wherever possible. That includes meat from our livestock. We've got a seven-acre garden in Harewood so we use fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices from there. 

“We do a lot of foraging on the estate, it's quite a big area to use for wild things and Muddy Boots is part of that. We try to use a steak produce there, wherever possible. But we also use it for fine dining pop-up events and weddings.

The cafe has made a name for itself, not only for it quality offering but for its role in the “vibrant community” of Harewood.

Eddy said: “On the face of it, Harewood is this rural, idyllic retreat, but actually it's a really vibrant community of good people doing interesting, creative things. And we're really proud to fit within that.

“We've worked really hard over the last few years to develop a really strong connection to the local community. And that is a really, really key part of sort of who we are and what we are. I always described us as a bit of a community hub and I'd like to think there's a lot of truth and integrity behind that.”

Over the years, Muddy Boots Cafe has run schemes to help its local community. During the first lockdown, the cafe was turned into a grocery shop to help the elderly people in the community access the essential items they needed. 

“I think that was a really nice way to connect to the local community and really kind of add value at a time when people needed it most. The fact that we're based in the Village Hall adds a real kind of natural connection to the local community. 

“It has to be a two-way thing; I think we enjoy incredibly good relations with the local community and there's lots of regulars based in the village. Lots of people that work from home will work remotely at the cafe.

“It's just this really vibrant community that we sit within that makes Harewood a unique place.”