Some of our reviews !

    I was tipped off about this place by locals: it's a very well-kept secret!

The couple who run this tiny cafe in a wonderful building by Skeldergate Bridge met in La Place Verte in Antwerp , hence its name. Their menu includes a variety of superb Belgian-style waffles and pancakes, as well as many types of tea. These include some really unusual teabags which contain flowers which 'bloom' in your glass when hot water is added! They have a good variety of bottled beers too.

And as for the hot chocolate: you get the hot milk, and the chocolate drops or shavings, and the cream, and make up your own! Milk, plain or white: absolutely delicious! See the other photo.....

......and they sell speciality Belgian chocolates too!

Well worth seeking out, but make sure you don't tell everyone otherwise I will get into trouble!

Review from: www.virtualtourist.com

    La Place Verte is a coffee house with "Belgian Specialties" that is a little bit different from every other York café.
It's well worth a visit.

It's an ingeniously located cubby hole in one of the Skeldergate Bridge towers. On sunny days, take advantage of the riverside location and pick a seat outside. It's one of the nicest spots for watching the activity on the Ouse.

The coffees are excellent, and it's a perfectly nice place for just sipping away. However, to really get the most out of it, I recommend grabbing a bite. The "Belgian Specialties" include waffles and pancakes, both of which I sampled and both of which were delicious.

All food comes well presented and is served by very Belgian-sounding waiters, so it all feels rather authentic. It's table service; wait for them to come to you.

It's a tiny bit pricier than the usual bog-standard café, but I came away thinking it was exceptionally good value.

For breakfast, there's surely nowhere better in York .

Review from: www.cosycoffeeshops.co.uk

    YOU might be excused for not knowing about this café, especially at this time of year.
Come summer, there should be tables by the river at the base of the bridge pillar advertising its existence.

Historically, this building at road level was associated with breach tolls. Today, in the upper room supervised by Amy, Belgian chocolates and beer are on sale.

Descend the steep staircase and you meet Hans, who came to York via Wales and Leeds.

Researching the local café market (is he threatening my role?), he decided not to follow the pattern. Being a Belgian, he chose to provide food local to his origins. We were not disappointed.

The venue is small. In addition to entry from Skeldergate Bridge there is access from Tower Gardens up a flight of steps. If steps prove a difficulty, the outside tables should provide the opportunity to sample this café.

To soups were available at £2.80. But as neither onion nor garlic are favourites we passed on a starter.

Ann decided to forego a savoury pancake, but selected from a number of croques, one containing ham, pineapple and cheese. This arrived as two slices of toast with a filling, hot outside but cold on the inside.

However, any disappointment was soon dispelled by the delicate garnish; thin wedges of tomato, thin slices of cucumber and leaves sprinkled with corn and finely chopped red skinned onion. Would that other cafes emulated this style of garnish.

It took me some time to make a decision. Salads were priced £6. Maybe this is something to try when summer arrives.

Eventually, I settled for fried mushrooms on toast. They came finely sliced, beautifully cooked and with the same quality of garnish. Eating proved a little difficult as I was sitting against the wall with little room to manipulate my knife. No worries, my choice proved to be excellent.

Ann couldn't be persuaded to try a sweet Belgian pancake (£3 to £4.50), but agreed to share the Place Verte waffle I ordered. This was larger than any waffle I had eaten before and very light. It was decorated with a good selection of fresh fruit and a scoop of delicious ice cream.Whipped cream came in a separate bowl.

Generously, I was allowed the lions share of the waffle!

Review from: www.yorkpress.co.uk