Toast, Leeds City Centre: 'I finally found a Leeds bar that gets the balance between a quiet pint and a buzzing night just right'

There are some bars that seem to have found the sweet spot between being somewhere you can quietly settle in with a drink and somewhere that can suddenly become the busiest place in town. Toast feels like one of those places.

My first visit was during the working day, when I stopped in to get a little work done with a Guinness for company. It was relaxed enough to sit down, get some things finished and enjoy a pint, but it was my second visit that really showed me what Toast can become.

Returning at the end of a long week for a Friday-style post-work pint with a colleague, despite it only being a Thursday, the atmosphere was completely different. It felt like half of Leeds had made the same decision to finish the week with a drink.

The beer selection is a big part of the appeal, with plenty of choice alongside the more familiar favourites.

My Guinness was £6.90, so it certainly isn't the cheapest pint in Leeds, but it was a great quality pint and, given the atmosphere around us, it was a price I was more than happy to pay. On the second visit we went for another Guinness alongside a Modelo, with the round coming to £13.75.

Once again, both were served well and there were absolutely no complaints about the drinks.

What really struck me was just how busy the place was while still feeling like it was being run effortlessly. There was a real buzz throughout the bar, with groups catching up after work and plenty of people clearly settling in to watch the sport.

At points it reminded me of those packed bars during the World Cup, when every screen has something worth watching and everyone seems to be having a good time.

Seeing that kind of atmosphere on an ordinary Thursday night is a great sign, and it was genuinely nice to see a Leeds bar thriving like that.

The staff deserve plenty of credit too. Despite being incredibly busy, every customer seemed to receive a smile and a warm welcome, and there was a real impression that the team were enjoying themselves rather than simply surviving the rush.

It felt like a well-oiled machine, with the energy of the staff adding to the atmosphere rather than being lost in it.

There is plenty more to come back for too. I noticed a good calendar of entertainment and themed nights, alongside a well-priced food menu that gives Toast another string to its bow. It feels equally suited to a quiet daytime drink, an after-work catch up, a big night of sport or simply meeting friends when you want somewhere with a bit of life.