Monday’s Coffee Spot is Bloom Building and Coffee, a chance discovery made while researching my trip to The Wirral two weeks ago. On an industrial estate in Birkenhead, it’s an interesting place, combining café, bar and venue space with hosting the Open Door Charity, which supports the mental wellbeing of young people across Merseyside, funded, in part, by Bloom Building’s profits. It also offers hot desking space and meeting rooms.

Unsurprisingly, my focus is on Bloom Building and Coffee in its role as a café, where you have a choice of any of the building’s public spaces, including the terrace, main venue/bar and mezzanine, all housed in the brightly-coloured industrial unit that’s been Bloom Building’s home since it opened in 2019. The coffee is from local roasters, Adams + Russell, which has its roastery (and shop) a 20-minute walk away. You’ll find an Ethiopian Sidamo on espresso, along with a Costa Rica decaf, both served from a concise menu, along with tea, hot chocolate and a range of soft drinks. As befits a bar, there’s a wide selection of beer, cider, wine and spirits. If you’re hungry, you can choose from a small range of cakes, pastries and vegan sandwiches/wraps.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

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You’re unlikely to stumble upon Bloom Building and Coffee by accident, tucked away on the Birkenhead Industrial Park, just north of the Cammell Laird shipyard and around the corner from Birkenhead Priory (a 12^th century monastery, not a rehab clinic). The most common approach is along Abbey Street, which brings you to the back of Bloom Building and the entrance to Open Door. For the café/bar, head down the side of the building along Abbey Court, where an opening on the right takes you into the Bloom Courtyard.

There’s no car parking in the courtyard, although there is a bike rack at the back. The entrance to Bloom Building is on the right, where double doors lead into the Bloom Terrace, a lean-to type structure added to the front of the industrial unit, its black frame and roof in contrast to Bloom Building’s striking, multi-coloured décor.

There’s plenty of seating out here, arranged both to the left and right of the doors, while the entrance to the bar/venue is through another pair of glass double doors directly ahead of you. To the right, there’s a yellow, six-person communal table with benches at the front, while at the back is a four-person table with tall, backless chairs. Finally, a three-piece suite stands in the corner. Off to the left, there’s another the yellow table, this time at the back, with chairs and a corner sofa at the front. In the far corner at the back, there’s a coffee table and pair of chairs.

You’ll need to head into the main building to order. This is a simple, industrial unit, open to an A-frame roof, where four skylights add to the borrowed light that spills in from the terrace. There are offices at the back (not open to the public), above which is the mezzanine. The counter is on the right, while the rest of the space is occupied by more seating, starting with three trestle tables with benches ahead of you, two arranged left-to-right, while off the left, the third runs front-to-back.

Behind them, two tall, metal tables, each with four high, backless chairs, stand in front of the back wall, below the mezzanine. To left of door, along the front wall, a flight case has been turned into a makeshift table with a sofa, two armchairs and a bench, while more flight cases line the left-hand wall. These are topped with cushions to make a pair of benches, a coffee table in the middle. Finally, a wood-burning stove stands in corner.

The last of the seating is on the mezzanine, accessed via a staircase on the left-hand side. There’s a single, 12-person communal table up here, with a pair of armchairs in the corner at back on the left-hand side. If you need to plug your laptop or phone in to charge, there are plenty of outlets up here, while there are a few more in the terrace, but very few in the main building.

You order at the counter, then take a seat. I was keen to try the Ethiopian Sidamo from Adams + Russell, so ordered it as an espresso, which was pulled commendably short, resulting in an enjoyable and surprisingly strong espresso. I paired this with the Mooless Brisket, one of the vegan range of sandwiches, which was tasty, although the real star was the bread. Although if I’m being absolutely honest, it was the Bloom Building itself that stole the show!

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