Tucked away in Bebington, on the Liverpool side of the Wirral, The Coffee Company is so new that even Google Local refuses to believe it exists. However, don’t let Google put you off, otherwise you’ll miss a real gem! The Coffee Company in Bebington sums up all that is good about the independent coffee scene in the UK. It’s an honest-to-goodness coffee shop, done with passion and care.
For me, a big test of a place is do I feel comfortable? Do I feel welcomed? In the case of The Coffee Company, it’s a big yes on both counts, right from the moment I walked in the door. It just felt a great place to sit and watch the world go by, to read the paper or natter with friends (all popular options while I was there). Or even to write a blog post…
The staff were lovely, very busy, but always friendly (you’d think this was a given, but all too often it’s not). Chuck in free wifi and the only thing that’s missing was somewhere to plug my laptop in. On the other hand, chuck in a few power sockets and you might never shift me!
December 2021: I’ve learnt that The Coffee Company has closed, although I don’t know when it finally shut its doors.
You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.
If you had told me before I started the Coffee Spot that I’d end up in Bebington, on The Wirral, I wouldn’t have believed you. And this despite (or perhaps because of) growing up on the other side of the River Dee… Such is the power of good coffee to broaden the horizons.
The Coffee Company in Bebington is a relatively recent addition to The Wirral coffee scene (question: did The Wirral have a coffee scene until recently? Discuss). It’s also a testament to the power of Twitter, without which I doubt I’d have found out about it (Google Local was no help!). I certainly wouldn’t have made the relatively short detour north up the M53 in order to seek it out while driving back from a visit to my parents in North Wales.
What you’ll find, if you do make the trip, is a friendly, modern, airy coffee shop with no pretensions, great coffee, a caramel shortbread slice to die for and a nice range of cakes, sandwiches, Panini and baked potatoes. There’s also free wifi and a little bit of everything seating-wise.
It’s hard not to like the place. There’s nothing flash about it, just an honest, straightforward coffee shop, doing honest, straightforward coffee shop things with a passion to do them well. It’s not huge, just a sofa and a couple of comfy chars by the window as you come in, a small bar opposite the cake counter and then a few tables down the side, with another little nook at the back with a sofa and a comfy chair. The temptation to pack too much in has been resisted, resulting in a very bright and airy space, which, judging by the number of people coming in and out during my Saturday morning visit, is very popular with the locals.
I think that the key for The Coffee Company is that it doesn’t try to do too much. Instead it concentrates on doing what it does very well indeed. Classic may in fact be a good description of The Coffee Company. For example, my espresso came in a classic, simple, white cup. If you’d asked me to describe what a coffee shop looks like, I could very well have come up with a description of The Coffee Company.
For me, though, the highlight was the caramel shortbread (aka millionaire’s shortbread, caramel slice, etc). I have a soft spot for caramel shortbread: I make them myself and eat them everywhere I go, so I’m a very harsh critic on the topic. For something so simple, it’s surprising how many people find ways to mess it up. Not The Coffee Company. Now, there’s a caramel shortbread to die for. I was going to be good and not have one, but they kept looking at me out of the corner of their eyes from the cake counter until I succumbed. Then, when mine came, I had to slow myself down to stop myself from eating in 10 seconds flat, it was that good. Even so, it went far too quickly.
I can tell you this: if I lived closer than 200 miles away, I’d be there all the time…
18A BROADWAY • BEBINGTON • WIRRAL • CH63 5NH | ||||
www.thecoffeeco-bebington.co.uk | +44 (0) 151 609 0970 | |||
Monday | 08:00 – 17:00 | Seating | Tables, Sofas, Bar | |
Tuesday | 08:00 – 17:00 | Food | Sandwiches, Cake | |
Wednesday | 08:00 – 17:00 | Service | Order at Counter | |
Thursday | 08:00 – 17:00 | Cards | Mastercard, Visa | |
Friday | 08:00 – 17:00 | Wifi | Free (with code) | |
Saturday | 09:00 – 16:00 | Power | No | |
Sunday | 10:00 – 14:00 | Mobile | 2G, Voice | |
Chain | No | Visits | 17th November 2012 | |
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