Category Archives: Cafes

Coffee Spots which also offer food

Ginger & Co. Coffee

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A stylised outline of a cup in orange paint, with the words "est. 2015" underneath.Shrewsbury’s speciality coffee scene has come a long way since I visited in September 2013, when the delightful Shrewsbury Coffeehouse was the only game in town. Since then there have been several notable newcomers, particularly in 2015, when today’s Coffee Spot, Ginger & Co. Coffee, opened its doors on Princess Street. I am, by the way, indebted to the talented Cherie Jerrard (if you haven’t seen her coffee shop sketches, you should definitely check them out), both for the invitation to make a return visit Shrewsbury and for drawing my attention to Ginger & Co.

Ginger & Co. sits on the ground floor of a lovely old building, occupying an L-shaped space, with seating at the front and the counter along the top part of the L. Beyond this, up a couple of steps and through a narrow doorway, is the back room, a long, thin space, flooded with natural light from the transparent ceiling.

Ginger & Co. has a standard espresso-based menu, plus a single-origin on pour-over from Herefordshire’s Method Roastery. This is supplemented by loose-leaf tea from Brew Tea Co, along with an interesting selection of sandwiches and cakes, all prepared in the “espresso-sized” kitchen at the back.

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Spitfire Espresso

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The Spitfire Espresso logo, as painted on the wall of the shop in Candleriggs.Another of Glasgow’s growing band of coffee shops, Spitfire Espresso joined the fray in 2015. Unlike the subject of Monday’s Coffee Spot, Meadow Road Coffee, which is taking speciality coffee out west, Spitfire Espresso is right in the centre, on the corner of Candleriggs and Ingram Street, less than 10 minutes’ walk from both Glasgow’s Queen Street and Central Stations. It’s also close to the likes of Laboratorio Espresso and Riverhill Coffee Bar and, in the other direction, McCune Smith. Spitfire also uses a local, Glaswegian roaster, in this case Avenue Coffee, which provides Spitfire with a bespoke espresso blend.

Spitfire Espresso is a bright, spacious spot, with high ceilings and plenty of seating, including tables outside on both Candleriggs and Ingram Street. There are also generous windows on both sides, adding to the bright interior. There’s a strong World War II/swinging 50s theme, with a rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack. As well as the aforementioned espresso, there’s also an all-day eggs menu, plus sandwiches and cakes, with the egg dishes and sandwiches named after WWII aircraft (eg Hawker Hurricane, P51 Mustang and Lancaster Bomber, not to mentioned the eponymous Spitfire: scrambled, poached or fried eggs on toast).

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Meadow Road Coffee

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The words "Meadow Road" written as is on a street sign, in black on a white background, while perched on top is a black and white line drawing of a bird with a coffee bean in its beak.Glasgow used to trail its neighbour (and great rival) Edinburgh in the speciality coffee stakes. However, in the last couple of years, Glasgow has been catching up fast through a new breed of coffee shops such as Meadow Road Coffee. Traditionally, speciality coffee in Glasgow has clustered around either the West End or, more recently, the City Centre, but Meadow Road bucks that trend, situated at the far end of the Dumbarton Road, which runs due west from the West End’s southwest corner.

Before purists such as myself cry foul, Meadow Road Coffee is indeed on Meadow Road, on the corner where it meets Dumbarton Road, giving the coffee shop windows on both sides. Although north facing, it catches the morning sun and is generally filled with a pleasing, subdued light. A small rectangle, Meadow Road has a simple layout, counter at the back, seating along the windows. A good deal of the interior is given over to a small but impressive kitchen which turns out an equally impressive range of food, vying with the coffee in terms of quality. The latter comes from local roasters, Dear Green Coffee, on both espresso and filter, the latter supplemented by regularly-rotating guests.

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Silhouette

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A flat white, seen from above, with tulip pattern latte art in a white cup on a white saucer.Silhouette joined a growing number of speciality coffee shops and roasters in the Hackney area, opening in February last year. Located just off Mare Street (close to the now-closed and sadly missed Look Mum No Hands!) it’s close to the likes of Climpson and Sons and others at London Fields (with the roastery just around the corner) and Terrone at Netil Market.

Silhouette itself is a delightful little spot, south-facing and on a corner, so it catches the sun, both from the generous windows at the front, as well as from the equally-generous windows along the west-facing side. Inside, the focus is on the coffee, where Silhouette offers both espresso and pour-over (using the Kalita Wave), filling its hoppers with whatever takes the fancy of owners Lee and Syirin (Syirin had just returned from a trip to Berlin, so the shelves held a smattering of bags from the likes of Five Elephant and Concierge (a new one on me).

Silhouette also does loose leaf tea, hot chocolate, cold-pressed juices and smoothies. There’s a menu heavy on toast/bagels, things on toast/bagels and salads. With a nod to Syirin’s Malaysian heritage, Silhouette also runs monthly Malaysian Supper Clubs on a Saturday evening. Continue reading →

Slipstream

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The A-board outside Slipstream in Washington DC, which poses the question: "How do we take our Coffee?". The answer, of course: "seriously, very seriously".I went to Washington DC with no great coffee expectations, but then found the amazing Peregrine Espresso, a lovely little coffee shop that would grace any city. That, honestly, would have sent me home happy, but just six blocks further along 14th Street is the amazing Slipstream.

It’s not just that the coffee here, from Michigan’s Madcap, is excellent (which it is). Slipstream is also, by speciality coffee shop standards, huge. With a good range of loose-leaf tea. And with decent breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, all the food being prepared on-site in the kitchen behind the counter. And, as befits a place that’s open well into the night, there are cocktails from a fully-stocked bar.

However, I’d been drawn by the coffee, which Slipstream amusingly (and accurately) splits into “Quick Coffee” (espresso and bulk brew) and “Worth the Wait”, hand-filtered single-origins using the Modbar. There’s a choice of four of these, plus decaf, and they change on a weekly basis. They’re also all available as espresso, where they’re joined by the house-blend, Madcap’s Third Coast. If that wasn’t enough, there’s another blend, Six-One-Six, on bulk-brew filter, plus a rotating seasonal coffee.

And the service was exceptional: coffee-heaven in an amazing setting.

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The Pudding Pantry

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Detail from the sign hanging outside Nottingham's The Pudding PantryNottingham’s speciality coffee scene is taking off, with options ranging all the way from 200 Degrees Coffee Shop to Pelham Street’s Wired Café Bar. Slipping effortlessly into the gap between great coffee and comfort food, is The Pudding Pantry, which opened in April 2014 on Trinity Square.

Long and thin, The Pudding Pantry offers a full table service. You have the choice of sitting inside, where the dedicated seating area is separated from the counter by a small flight of stairs, or outside, in a large, fenced-off area on the pedestrianised street.

If I said that you don’t come to The Pudding Pantry for the coffee, that’s not knocking the coffee, which is from Kiwi imports, Ozone. Rather, it’s just that there’s so much else on offer that it would be silly just to come here for the coffee! As the name suggests, The Pudding Pantry is strong on sweet things, with a particularly good line of breakfasts and brunches, including one of my favourites, American-style pancakes. In that respect, it reminds me of the likes of The Bristolian and Glutton & Glee.

Currently, it’s espresso-only, but there’s a desire to add pour-over to the menu, so watch this space!

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Wired Café Bar

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The Wired Cafe Bar logo from the sign hanging outside on Pelham Street.In the two years since I last visited Nottingham, its coffee scene has exploded, with various spots opening up. Representing the hipster end of the market is Pelham Street’s Wired Café Bar, with its scaffolding-pole furniture, exposed air-conditioning ducts and quirky manner (its website, for example, proudly proclaims, “we’ve got a La Marzocco… and we’re not afraid to use it!”). There’s a basement too!

Oh, and it’s got some cracking coffee: Allpress’s Redchurch blend and decaf on espresso, two single-origins guests on Chemex. These rotate as-and-when, with Wired trying to have at least one from local start-up, Outpost Coffee Roasters. The likes of Allpress and Workshop also make regular appearances. Wired fulfils the “bar” side of the name with a small range of bottled beer and wine, although these are very much in the background, the focus firmly on the coffee.

Wired also has a good cake selection and an impressive food offering, particularly given that it’s all prepared in a tiny kitchen behind the counter. There’s typical British breakfast fare: eggs, sausage and bacon, all on a variety of toast and muffins, which can also be had separately, while lunch consists mostly of sandwiches, with one or two specials.

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Boston Tea Party, Ringwood

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The Boston Tea Party in Ringwood, Hampshire, housed in an old grain warehouse.It’s touch-and-go whether the Boston Tea Party at Ringwood is the closest to my home, or whether that honour goes to the Salisbury branch. In many ways it’s a typical Boston Tea Party, having taken another iconic building (in this case, an old granary from the 1800s) and turned it into a first class coffee shop, providing good quality food, including an outstanding all-day breakfast menu, and Extract Coffee to the small Hampshire market town of Ringwood. Better still, it is literally just off the A31, so it makes an excellent stop if you are travelling that way.

Like many a branch of the Boston Tea Party, Ringwood has plenty of outside seating. However, with the exception of the original on Park Street and the Honiton branch (both of which have secluded gardens at the back) this may have the best, with multiple tables neatly arranged outside in the pedestrianised Furlong Centre. Inside, the Tea Party spreads over three floors, with the top floor (which used to be the hayloft) having only been opened last year (Ringwood itself opened in 2012). There’s the usual range of Boston Tea Party seating, including comfortable chairs, long sofa benches and more traditional tables.

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Jika Jika, Euston Square

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A flat white in the sun, seen from directly above, at Jika Jika on Euston Square.Jika Jika started life in Bath about five years ago. It’s recently moved premises there, downsizing to a smaller outlet by the station. About a year ago it also opened a second branch. In London. As you do.

Close enough to Euston station to be worth visiting if you’re en route to catch a train, it’s just around the corner from the northern exit of Euston Square tube station (turn right, away from Euston itself, and ignore the branch of Costa). It’s somewhere I kept going past, thinking, “Is that the same Jika Jika as in Bath?” and “I must go in there one day”. So, eventually, I did. Twice.

There’s not a lot to Jika Jika, which occupies a corner of the Euston Square hotel (which, ironically, also houses the aforementioned Costa). However, it packs a lot in, including decent breakfast and lunch offerings. There’s a solid espresso menu, based around a bespoke espresso blend (plus decaf) from Cornwall’s Origin, using a two-group La Marzocco which dominates the counter at the back of the small space. If you have time to linger, the décor is interesting, including plenty of pictures and amusing coffee-related quotations.

January 2017: Jika Jika is now closed. As far as I know, the branch in Bath has also closed.

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Notes, Crossrail Place, Canary Wharf

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A lovely flat white in a classic white cup, complete with impressive latte-art at Notes at Crossrail Place.For the longest time, Canary Wharf, and the area around it, was a desert when it came to quality coffee. Then along came Taylor Street Baristas, with a second branch in nearby South Quay (both now gone). Also expanding east is Notes, the coffee-and-wine outfit which now roasts its own coffee and boasts five outlets, including King’s Cross, Moorgate and a branch in Canary Wharf tube station.

The latest Notes is also at Canary Wharf, this time in Crossrail Place, the new station for the Crossrail line. It doubles as a shopping centre, which opened in May 2015, despite Crossrail itself being several years from completion. Notes is on the ground floor and, in an area where businesses tend to keep to office hours and shut at the weekends, it refreshingly stays open late into the evening, as well as at weekends, serving Notes’ familiar mix of speciality coffee, wine, craft beer and small plates.

The newer Notes have outstanding designs and Crossrail Place is no exception. Even though it lacks the mezzanine level of King’s Cross, Crossrail Place might well be my favourite, squeezing itself into a weird space with some aplomb. Needless to say, the coffee is very good as well!

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