Category Archives: Cafes

Coffee Spots which also offer food

The Bristolian

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The Bristolian Cafe on Picton Street, offering a warm welcome on a rainy December afternoonIf you know Stokes Croft in Bristol, then you’ll know that The Bristolian was a legend, supplier of fine breakfasts in the best greasy spoon tradition. What you might not know is that, after a short break over the summer (which felt much longer), the Bristolian is back, under new ownership, and it’s better than ever.

The new owners, Anna, Oliver and James, have pulled off an impressive trick in keeping the best of the old Bristolian and building on it. Now, as well as the legendary breakfasts, the Bristolian offers top-notch coffee, lovely cakes, and tapas. No, I wouldn’t have thought of doing tapas either, but what do I know? They’ve also spruced up the interior, bringing out the best in what was already a lovely space, and hired some excellent staff , who make it feel as if the whole place is smiling at you.

The result is the return of an old favourite coupled with the arrival of a new one, all in the same place. As if I didn’t have enough to do, what with all the other great places that I have to visit in Stokes Croft. Sometimes I think they do it just to spite me…

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Boston Tea Party, Exeter

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The Boston Tea Party on Exeter's Queen StreetFrom the sublime to the ridiculous. One my recent South West tour, I went from the Exploding Bakery to the Exeter branch of the Boston Tea Party, just two minutes’ walk down Queens Street. From the outside, it’s not much to look at (although the building is stunning) and when you get in, it doesn’t improve much. The ground floor is cramped, narrow and crowded, especially when the lunchtime queue is almost out of the door. But walk upstairs and you’re into a whole new realm of space and light. In a matter of minutes, I’d gone from somewhere with five chairs and two tables to, well, I’d hate to have to count them, so let’s say somewhere that could seat 100 easily…

I was there to try out the new food menu, having been prompted (ordered?) by the Boston Tea Party’s head of food, Anita Popham, and I wasn’t disappointed. As for the Tea Party itself, it’s like all the branches I’ve been to; each is recognisably a Boston Tea Party, but each is its own unique place. It’ll never surpass Park Street in my affections, but if I lived in Exeter, I’d spend a lot of time there.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

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Bea’s of Bloomsbury St Paul’s

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Having been to Bea’s of Bloomsbury’s original location and spiritual home in Bloomsbury, it was inevitable that I would end up in Bea’s of Bloomsbury’s St Paul’s branch (hereafter referred to as “Bea’s of St Paul’s” to avoid confusion). And so it was that one misty, grey, autumn day, I found myself in the shadow of St Paul’s at One New Change, the home of Bea’s of St Paul’s. Well, it would have been rude not to go in…

If you haven’t already worked out from my previous post that Bea’s is all about the cake, you really haven’t been paying attention. The St Paul’s branch is no different in that respect. Atmosphere-wise, someone described Bea’s of St Paul’s as more posh, but for me, the feeling was more modern. Or perhaps contemporary would be a better word. Bea’s of Bloomsbury has a cosy, old-fashioned  tea-shop feel, where you sit cheek-by-jowl with the cakes, whereas at St Paul’s up on the mezzanine level, you are slightly more detached. The cake tastes just as good though!

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Glutton & Glee

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I must confess to being a bit slow off the mark with Glutton & Glee. It had been open for 18 months before I made my first visit, but I can guarantee it won’t be another 18 months before my next. Tucked away just off the High Street on Tunsgate, it’s somewhere I’ve always been aware of, but somehow I’ve never gotten around to visiting. Definitely my loss.

In many ways, Glutton & Glee is an old-fashioned British Tea Room with a modern coffee shop twist on the top. The bottom line is that it serves delicious cakes from the fantastic Butter & Cream Cakes (which you can find on Guildford’s North Street Market) as well as excellent coffee and (so I’m told by my tea-drinking friends) lovely tea. My approval in that direction stops at admiring the very fine teapots.

Glutton & Glee also does breakfast/brunch, lunch and sandwiches, but in my head it’s really an afternoon coffee and cake place of the sort that Guildford doesn’t really have enough of. Be warned though: it is small and it can be very busy, but at no point did I feel crowded out or cramped.

December 2015: Glutton & Glee changed hands earlier this year and has rebranded as Kalm Kitchen Cafe. You can see what I made of it when I visited in February 2016.
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Boston Tea Party, Stokes Croft

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A recent addition to the successful Boston Tea Party chain can be found in Stokes Croft in Bristol. As my friend who lives there (Stokes Croft, not, contrary to rumour, the Boston Tea Party itself), aptly put it: “just what Stokes Croft needs, another café”. When it opened, there were already three excellent places within a two minute walk (and now there’s a fourth across the road), so the Boston Tea Party needs to be pretty special if it’s going to make a mark.

Don’t worry, it is.

It’s got the usual Boston Tea Party coffee, the wide range of cakes and food, but what makes it stand out is the seating. Well, the seating and the atmosphere, which sort of goes with the seating. Well, the seating, atmosphere and friendly staff. You get the picture.

It’s a got a broad patio out front which provides some protection from the breeze and the noise of the busy Cheltenham Road (I stress some) and inside there is every sort of seat you could possible want. Beyond that, it’s just a great place to hang out on your own or with friends (or, in my case, with my laptop and camera).

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Oystercatchers Cafe

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I’m struggling to describe the Oystercatchers Café. It’s a charming, old-fashioned British café with lovely wooden floors, tables and chairs. Then again, it’s a modern coffee shop with sofas and free wifi. It serves an old-fashioned Full English Breakfast, but caters to modern tastes with Panini and lattes. Then again, it serves treacle-sponge pudding…

And so it goes. In other words, it’s a pretty mainstream British café, where the Panini and latte have become as quintessentially British as Chicken Korma.

The main thing about the Oystercatchers Café is that it’s been done with love, care and passion.  It’s pretty obvious from the greetings that people get as they walk in the door that, as well as attracting visitors who are just passing through, this place is popular with the locals. In fact, if there’s one thing that makes it instantly stick in my head, it’s that feeling of community. Of being in and contributing to the community, not something you get in places that cater exclusively to the tourist trade.

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Coffee Bean Central

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I must confess to not knowing Plymouth at all. I’ve only visited a handful of times, and only then for basketball games, with my knowledge of Plymouth stretching as far as the drive from the A38 to the Plymouth Pavilions. So it was with some trepidation that I sought out Coffee Bean Central and, as I walked through the town centre, past Starbucks and Café Nero, it wasn’t looking good.

But then, across the road from Nero, there was Coffee Bean Central. You know you are onto a good thing when you walk through the door and feel right at home. Plymouth, you have a gem here!  It’s only been open a few months, but it has the makings of a classic: bright, airy, spacious, and with a lovely upstairs area which puts the “lounge” into coffee lounge. As you can tell, I was sold!

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Bea’s of Bloomsbury

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Someone said of Bea’s of Bloomsbury: “as much cake as you can imagine”. Now, that sounds like a challenge to me, and I can imagine a lot of cake. For fans of Radio 4’s excellent Cabin Pressure, this is very reminiscent of the Ottery St Mary episode and the question: “how many otters can you imagine?”. So, suitably forearmed with an imagination full of cake, I arrived at Bea’s of Bloomsbury and I wasn’t disappointed.

Bea’s does cake. It seems a shame to gloss over the lunches, sandwiches, tea, coffee and afternoon tea, but seriously, Bea’s does cake. In a big way. The Bloomsbury branch (which is where it all started) is quite small, so as well as functioning as a cosy coffee spot, it also has a stream of takeaway customers who just come for the cake. But if you do take your cake away, you’ll miss out on the best part, that of sitting there and staring longingly at the other cakes. Or maybe that’s just me…

May 2019: Bea’s of Bloomsbury, which was acquired in 2018 by Department of Coffee & Social Affairs, has closed the original Bea’s on Theoblads Road.

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Champagne Central

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If you’re looking for somewhere to spend that odd hour while you’re waiting for your train at Glasgow Central station, then look no further than Champagne Central (although it now has competition from the likes of Riverhill Coffee Bar). Part of the recently-renovated Grand Central Hotel, Champagne Central offers you a chance to surround yourself in opulence while you wait for your train. The coffee’s okay, but frankly, who cares when you are in such wonderful surroundings and overlooking the station concourse so you can keep an eye on the departures board? Not me, at least.

Champagne Central is more than just a posh waiting room though. It serves food, afternoon tea and has a fully-stocked bar, so any time you are looking for a touch of elegance, give Champagne Central a try. And don’t worry, you don’t have to sit overlooking the station concourse if you don’t want to!

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Wild & Wood Coffee

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There are places where I prefer the coffee. There are certainly places with more comfortable seating for someone of my height (and with more seating in general). And there are a host of other things I could go on about, but the fact remains that of the handful of cafés in the vicinity of the British Museum that I regularly visit, I find myself drawn back to Wild & Wood far more frequently than one might imagine.

There is something about Wild & Wood that I find very attractive, but I’m not sure I can easily put my finger on what it is. Partly it is the attitude of the place, a no nonsense, uncompromising adherence to its principles. Partly it is the style, which has been well thought out; the use of wood throughout is very appealing, as well as being in keeping with the name.

In the end, more than most of my favourite places, it comes down to a matter of taste. Give Wild & Wood a go and see what you think.

October 2015: Wild & Wood closed at the start of July this year as the whole block that Wild & Wood was in is being redeveloped. The good news is that it re-opened at the end of August in a new location on London Wall! See what I found when I went to visit.

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