Riverside Café-Bar

You'll find yourself in a proper neighbourhood spot when you duck into St Martins Courtyard off Coney Street—the kind of place where locals actually hang out rather than tourists ticking boxes. Riverside Café-Bar does the dual thing well: daytime coffee culture with the sort of casual vibe that makes you want to linger over a cappuccino, then shifts gears come evening when people pile in for proper drinks. It's got that relaxed, unpretentious energy York does best—no faffing about with craft cocktails or Instagram-baiting plating, just good company and decent refreshments in a space that feels genuinely lived-in.