It’s always good when you can find somewhere convenient to eat or drink near a station. It’s in a great place for one, so you don’t have to worry about trekking to or from your train. Here at Railsmartr, we’ve visited a variety of cafes and restaurants in the North of England to bring you our best eateries near stations.

What are the best eateries near stations?

Howst (Sheffield)

Kicking off our best eateries near stations list is HowSt in Sheffield. Located at the top of Howard Street, next to Sheffield Hallam University, it’s a short five minute walk or so up (or down!) the hill to/from the station.

They specialise in a selection of breakfast and brunch foods, as well as your standard hot drinks and even cocktails. You can find the menu here.

It’s quite popular too, and we were lucky to get a table when we visited around midday. It’s really cosy and welcoming though, and the staff give you some true friendly Sheffield hospitality.

For food, we picked the ‘Sroom’, which is poached eggs on toast with mushrooms and a Bloody Mary sauce. It came to £9.50:

We’d definitely recommend paying a visit. Just try to avoid the rush around 12 to 1pm, as it can get very busy! The food here is delicious and the service is brilliant.

Meat:Stack (Leeds)

Okay, so Meat:Stack don’t actually have their origins in Leeds. They’re a Geordie-born business, but their Leeds branch is just around the corner from the station. Just pop out of the main entrance, turn left, then take a sharp right back along Bishopsgate Street.

It’s a pretty basic fast food-esque restaurant, but you wouldn’t come here to kill a lot of time. It’s all about filling yourself up with delicious food!

Think Five Guys burgers, but with some friendly northern service and way more flavour and creativity. If you want to see what’s on offer, click here.

We went for the New Mexico burger and some loaded spicy fries. A meal deal for a burger, fries and a drink starts at around £14:

When you order, you’re given a little buzzer that’ll go off when your food is ready. However, the staff just brought ours straight away as it was fairly quiet.

If you really want a good burger, then Meat:Stack is one of the best eateries near stations that you’ll find.

Partisan (York)

This is the most walking you’ll need to do for one of our best eateries near stations. Partisan is around a 10-minute walk from York Station, located on Micklegate. If you’re after an ‘elevated’ brunch, we’d recommend paying a visit.

It’s really popular, and even when we visited at 2pm on a Wednesday, it was pretty full. Thankfully, there’s a heated and covered outdoor terrace, so we sat there.

You’ll find the menu here. We went for the chorizo on toast (front) and vegan breakfast (rear) which were £14.50 each:

It’s a little expensive for just one dish, but it’s filling and tasty food. The chorizo on toast is very generous with the amount of meat you get, and the caramelised onions are absolutely delicious.

Partisan is one of the best eateries near stations for brunch. If you’re visiting York too, we’d recommend making it part of your itinerary!

The Sitting Room (Saltburn)

The Sitting Room is definitely one of the best eateries near stations if you’re all about location. Simply step off your train and turn left. Take a few steps forward and it’s on your right.

We just popped in for a cup of tea, so don’t have any food pictures to share. But as you can see, it has a cosy little bar and plenty of places to sit and relax with a book or the paper:

They specialise in sandwiches, cakes and hot drinks for the most part. It’s classic café food with friendly service. Once it gets a little later though, you’ll find cocktails and beers to choose from as well.

It seems to have two different ‘vibes’, with it being a cosy little cafe during the day, but it has a more intimate restaurant feel in the evening. We loved it as a spot to come in and enjoy a hot drink, especially on a cold windy day.

Zapatista (Newcastle)

Zapatista is a Mexican taco and burrito restaurant, which started out on Newcastle’s Ridley Place. Nowadays, you’ll find a branch on Grainger Street (just two minutes from the station) as well as one in Durham.

Each restaurant is full of quirky decor and has loads of places to sit and relax. The one by the station isn’t too busy if you want to sit down either, as it’s more popular with delivery apps and takeaway orders.

The menu is available here. You’ll find tacos, burritos and fajitas as well as items like nachos and chilli. As it happens, we went for the chilli and rice, which cost £7.20:

It’s customisable (like most dishes on the menu) so you can put your own twist on it, and it was a really filling bowl of chilli as well. It’s a great lunch spot and one that we’ve visited for a number of years.

Feeling hungry yet? Don’t worry. You can book a trip to all of these eateries with Railsmartr. We don’t charge any fees, including if you change your mind. All of our tickets are either refundable or changeable with no extra charges.