A new café has opened in the centre of York.

Former Teeside University student Leon Tan opened Le Specialty café in Fossgate on Friday, June 28, at the former site of Cosy Time coffee shop.

Despite coming to the North East originally, the Malaysian coffee roaster thought York would be the perfect home for his dream business.

"I chose York because it's the best spot in the North to sell specialty coffee," he said.

"The people here love their coffee, and there's so many tourists visiting all the time."

Inside Le Specialty, Fossgate (Image: Harry Booth)

After almost six months of searching, Leon found the site in Fossgate.

He said: "To get a space in York isn't easy at all.

"It was really hard work setting everything up, but it was also so exciting."

The café underwent a full renovation from its previous life as Cosy Time, with it now showcasing a distinctive peach colour throughout.

Explaining the premise of Le Specialty, Leon said: "We only serve specialty coffee, I've been roasting coffee since 2012 and I was trained by the Specialty Coffee Association."

Leon added that specialty coffee has always been his passion.

However, Le Specialty offers more than just coffee, with Leon boasting a range of tea, scones and homemade cakes, as well as a considerable vegan offering.

Inside Le Specialty, Fossgate (Image: Harry Booth)

Alongside these are the unique selection of special drinks and "croffles". Which is a buttery-croissant flavoured waffle.

"More than half the drinks can only be found here," said Leon.

"We put some Asian fusion into our drinks and food, we also only want the best ingredients, our matcha is the best matcha you can get."

Leon also confirmed that Le Specialty is dog-friendly.

Currently, Le Specialty lists their opening times as 9am until 5pm, seven days a week. However, following their opening these may be subject to change.

Leon added: "I'm very excited for us to be open, I want us to just make the best coffee we can, and be a place people will enjoy visiting."