If you're after a spot that does breakfast, brunch and cocktails all under one roof, Zest Brunch Bar is worth a look. It sits at 5 Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, right on the corner of one of York's most famous streets, and it's taken over the old Trio site. The real draw here is the rooftop bar, which gives you a proper view over the rooftops of the city, so it's as much about the setting as the menu.
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The place is run by general manager Matt Simsek, and his Turkish heritage comes through in the food: you'll find a traditional full English alongside Mediterranean-inspired dishes. It was built around the growing brunch trend, and the coffee is taken seriously, with baristas pulling freshly ground Italian beans into flat whites, cortados, espressos and cappuccinos. On the food front, the best sellers tell you where the kitchen leans: the Zest Breakfast Tower piles two Cumberland sausages, rashers of bacon, a poached egg, grilled tomato and chilli jam onto Haxby Bakehouse sourdough for £10.95, while the Smashed Avo & Poach with smoked salmon comes in at £12.95. For something more lunch-like, the open-faced steak sandwich with caramelised onion, sweet chilli BBQ and golden fries is £10.90.
It's the drinks, though, that keep people around. There are more than a dozen cocktails, and a 2-for-1 offer runs all day, every day on any two of the same drink, which is handy if you're sharing. The house signatures lean into the tropical side of things: the Whip-Ma Whop-Ma mixes Bacardi white rum, peach schnapps, fresh pineapple, lime juice, peach and angostura bitters; the Rum Swizzle adds Malibu coconut rum and raspberry syrup; and the Pineapple Tequila Sunrise brings in Jose Cuervo and Aperol. The classics sit around £12.95 to £13.95, and there's a happy hour every day from 3pm to 6pm, when cocktail jugs like the Long Island Iced Tea or Raspberry Collins come in at two for £35 to £40. Most of the cocktails, wines, beers and spirits are vegan and gluten-free, and house wine by the 75cl bottle is £18.
Opening hours are worth a quick check before you head in, as they shift across the week. The main bar and rooftop both run 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday, but the rooftop stays open until 11pm on Saturdays and closes at 4pm on Sundays, with the doors opening at 8.30am on the weekend. There's a 10% discount for students with a valid ID, Blue Light Card holders, NHS staff and Emperor's Gym members, and you eat free on your birthday. Saturdays are built around a rotating line-up: a quiz on the first, a mixologist demo on the second, a cocktail tasting on the third and live music on the fourth. There's no parking right outside, but you're in the city centre with several paid car parks nearby, and the menu carries a full allergy key from egg through to celery, with vegetarian and vegan options throughout. It's a 4.9-star spot on average, so it's hard to go wrong whether you're there for the coffee or the cocktails.
