Lemana Coffee & Kitchen

The Lemana Coffee & Kitchen logo from the sign on the wall at the end of Madeira Mews in Lymington.Lemana Coffee & Kitchen is a lovely place, tucked off the High Street in Lymington, Hampshire, on the southern edge of the New Forest. I first visited, back when it was Lemana Café, in November 2013. Since then, I’ve been an infrequent but regular visitor, popping in during my annual trips to the area. It’s changed quite a bit over the years from when it started as a family-run café, first opening in 2010. In 2015 it rebranded to Lemana Coffee & Kitchen, switching over to serve Has Bean coffee while in May 2018, it changed ownership, moving to local roasters, Coffee Monger’s Roasting Company. Throughout it’s stayed close to its roots as a lovely, friendly, welcoming café with great food.

These days there is a breakfast/brunch menu until midday, followed by a lunch menu until 3:30, with cakes available throughout the day, all cooked fresh in the kitchen at the back. Turning to coffee, there’s a bespoke house-blend on espresso and, in a recent introduction, single-origin filter, with two options through the V60 or Aeropress. Lemana also has a range of teas, plus wine and beer. You’re welcome to sit inside or out and dogs are very welcome too.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

  • Just off Lymington High Street is Madeira Mews, home of Lemana Coffee & Kitchen.
  • An A-board on the pavement helps catch the eye. But what's this? Under new management!
  • At the end of the Mews, here's Lemana Coffee & Kitchen, looking much as it always did.
  • However, another A-board lets us know that things have changed: pour-over coffee!
  • The open courtyard in front of the cafe used to be filled with tables...
  • ... which now shelter (perhaps only for the winter) in this gazebo at the back.
  • The door is down the side, near the back...
  • ... with a menu announcing when brunch and lunch are served (which is handy to know).
  • Stepping inside, the seating stretches away to the left...
  • ... while the counter is off to the right of the door (which you can just see here).
  • A better view of the door, with the seating stretching along three walls...
  • ... starting with these tables along the front wall to the left of the door...
  • Next comes a bench and a row of tables along the left-hand wall...
  • ... before we move onto the tables along the back wall, starting with the fireplace...
  • ... and finishing with this bench and its tables along the rest of the wall...
  • ... which brings us around to the counter again.
  • The decor is simple, but includes this shelf and clock on the left-hand wall...
  • ... and this shelf on the back wall.
  • Talking of shelves, there are some retail shelves on the back wall by the counter.
  • Obligatory light-fitting shot.
  • This, by the way, is a bowl of blankets for those who want to sit outside, but find it chilly.
  • So, to business. The counter is at the right-hand end, in front of the kitchen.
  • It's a lovely, tiled affair, which is laden with cakes, all made in the aforementioned kitchen.
  • One of the many cakes on offer (next to a big glass jar of scones).
  • More cakes,  including a classic Victoria sponge.
  • There are also individual cakes if you prefer.
  • If you want something more substantial, grab a menu. This is the lunch menu...
  • ... with the brunch menu underneath.
  • The drinks, meanwhile, are on the massive menu board above/behind the counter.
  • This includes alcohol of various sorts, plus a description of the different coffee drinks...
  • ... which is also on the wall to the left of the counter.
  • The espresso machine, meanwhile, is off to the left...
  • ... although since Lemana now does pour-over, I decided to go for that.
  • My Rwanda Gihombo, prepared through the V60, served in a cafetiere inner...
  • ... with a glass on the side, seen here with some coffee in it.
  • I was also there for lunch, deciding on a goat’s cheese and chutney sandwich.
  • Things were rounded off with a mince pie (on the house).
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Lemana Coffee & Kitchen takes a little bit of finding, but is definitely worth it. Tucked away at the end of Madeira Mews near the eastern (river) end of Lymington’s long High Street, it occupies a long, thin single-storey building along the left-hand side of the Mews, with an equally long, thin courtyard in front, home to the outdoor seating. In years past, this has been full of tables and chairs, but on my most recent visit, these had been relegated to the shelter of a plastic gazebo-type structure at the back of the courtyard (probably just for the winter).

The interior layout is dictated by the building as much as anything else, and while the furniture’s changed, along with the décor, the basic layout hasn’t. Glass double doors open roughly in the centre of the long front wall, which faces onto the courtyard. To the right is the large counter, beyond which, through an open doorway, is the large kitchen. Meanwhile, to the left, the seating’s arranged around the remaining three walls.

Lemana used to have a rather eclectic collection of chairs and tables ranging from a pair of comfortable armchairs to some large six-person tables, but these days things are much more uniform, the tables laid out in neat rows, the décor more subdued. Dare I say it, it now has the look and feel of a speciality coffee shop.

Starting at the door, there’s a four-person immediately to your left, followed by a two-person table, both against the front wall which has three windows, one to the door’s right, two to the left. Next comes a four-person table, perpendicular to the wall, with a bench beyond this, running along the left-hand wall at the end. This has another two- and another four-person table, although in reality, all the four-person tables are really pairs of two-person tables pushed together.

The remaining seating is along the back wall, with a long bench running from the right, where it starts opposite the door, up to the rather lovely fireplace. The bench has a four-person table at either end, with a two-person table in the centre.  Finally, in front of the fireplace, is one last two-person table.

I was there for a late lunch, tucking into a rather excellent goat’s cheese and chutney sandwich, complete with salad and coleslaw. The salad, in particular, was impressive. Too often these are an afterthought, chucked in with the sandwich, but this was a decent salad in its own right.

Since my last visit, Lemana has switched to local roaster, Coffee Monger’s Roasting Company, introducing single-origin filter coffee in the last month or so. During my visit there was a choice of an El Salvador and a Rwanda through either V60 or Aeropress. Naturally I had to try the pour-over, selecting the Rwanda as a V60. This was expertly made by barista Jass, and served in a glass cafetiere inner, with a glass/saucer on the side. The coffee had a very clean, clear colour in the carafe and this came across as I drank it, with some lovely, subtle fruity flavours coming through.

I rounded things off with a freshly-baked and rather delicious mince pie, on the house. I must confess that I am not normal a fan of mince pies, but this was amazing.


January 2016: Lemana won the Coffee Spot Best Breakfast Award for 2015!

November 2018: this is an updated version of the original post which was published in February 2014. You can see what has changed in my Coffee Spot Update, with an earlier update from November 2015.

December 2018: Lemana Coffee & Kitchen won the 2018 Best Outdoor Seating Award!

24B HIGH STREET • LYMINGTON • SO41 9AD
www.lemana.co.uk +44 (0) 1590 675535
Monday CLOSED Roaster Coffee Monger’s (espresso + filter)
Tuesday 08:30 – 16:00 Seating Tables, Tables outside
Wednesday 08:30 – 16:00 Food Breakfast, Lunch, Cake
Thursday 08:30 – 16:00 Service Order at Counter
Friday 08:30 – 16:00 Cards Amex, Visa, Mastercard
Saturday 08:30 – 16:00 Wifi Free
Sunday 10:30 – 15:00 Power Limited
Chain No Visits Original: 21st November 2013
Updates: 19th November 201523rd November 2018

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7 thoughts on “Lemana Coffee & Kitchen

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