Category Archives: Coffee & Beer

Coffee Spots which have an emphasis on beer as well as coffee.

Artigiano Espresso, New Oxford Street

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Artigiano Espresso on New Oxford Street, LondonIronically I seem to be visiting the various Artigiano Espresso branches in reverse order of opening. First I went to the Exeter branch (opened just before Christmas). Then, three weeks later, I was in London’s New Oxford Street, where Artigiano opened about a month before it did in Exeter. All that’s left for me now is to visit the original branch at St Paul’s. Which has been open a year or more…

Regular readers will know that I really liked the Exeter branch and I have to say that I like the New Oxford Road branch even better! It’s very similar to Exeter, only more so, with the added bonus of a really lovely mezzanine level. Overall it’s about half the size, which, coupled with the layout, gives it a more intimate feel.

It has the same Artigiano offerings of food, cake, coffee (from Cornwall’s Origin), beer/wine/cocktails, friendly staff and late evening opening which make the chain as a whole such a winner. Add to that the wonderful surroundings and the only thing that puzzles me is why it’s not packed out every day. So, do yourself a favour and get down to New Oxford Street right now!

December 2014: Sadly, too few of us made it down to New Oxford Street (myself included) and Artigiano Espresso has now closed. However, there’s a new Artigiano in Reading if you’re interested.

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Artigiano Espresso, Exeter

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Artigiano Espresso & Wine BarIronically the first time I came across Artigiano was on twitter when it opened its first store in London near St Paul’s Cathedral. A second branch (now sadly closed) followed towards the end of 2013 on New Oxford Street, but I still didn’t get a chance to visit (since rectified). Then, when I was planning my trip to Exeter, up popped a tweet from Artigiano’s third branch. It was, I decided, fate.

In a further irony, despite setting up their first two cafes in London, Artigiano’s owners are actually from the Exeter area and, having established the concept, they opened their third branch closer to home just before Christmas.

The contrast between Artigiano and the first port of call on my Exeter trip, Devon Coffee, couldn’t be greater. While Devon Coffee is small and intimate, Artigiano is like a barn in comparison (albeit a very nice barn). A cathedral to coffee as customer put it (and I can see what he meant). You could easily fit most of Devon Coffee behind one of the two counters in Artigiano. The similarities don’t end there since both serve the same coffee from Cornwall roasters, Origin, although Artigiano has a much wider range of food, cake and alcohol.

August 2016: Artigiano has now added branches in Cardiff and Reading.

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Lemana Coffee & Kitchen

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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.

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Look Mum No Hands South Bank Pop-up

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An espresso in one of the lovely Look Mum No Hands mugs. Sadly if you want one of these for real, you'll need to go to the Old Street store, not the pop-up on the South Bank.In another new venture for the Saturday Supplement, I present the first ever Saturday Short. Saturday Shorts are Coffee Spots in their own right, but for which I can’t justify a full write-up.

This first Saturday Short comes courtesy of Look Mum No Hands!, something of a legend on the London coffee scene, if only for its interesting name (it’s up there with Bristol’s Didn’t You Do Well in those stakes). I’ve long wanted to try it out, but have never had the time/reason/excuse.

So, imagine my surprise and delight when, on a whim, I decided to walk across the Hungerford Bridge (which connects Waterloo and Charing Cross Stations) on the Parliament rather than the St Paul’s side.  Cutting across to the other side of the bridge I spotted an interesting-looking coffee stall nestling under the bridge itself… And the rest, as they say, is history…

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Brew Lab | Artisan Coffee Bar

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Detail from the menu board at Brew Lab in Edinburgh, showing one of two espresso choices, this one (a washed Guatemalan from Union) for use in drinks with milk.Brew Lab has been a fixture of Edinburgh’s speciality coffee scene on South College Street since the end of the summer in 2012, coincidentally opening roughly when the Coffee Spot started. I first visited in December 2012 and have been a semi-regular visitor ever since, watching as it’s undergone a series of slow evolutions, the biggest of which was last year’s change of ownership to Union Hand-roasted.

Throughout it all, Brew Lab has remained pretty constant, turning out excellent coffee in a fairly unique space, which manages to feel both cramped and spacious, with knocked-through walls and low ceilings. While the bare brick/concrete walls are slightly more decorated than they once were, it still feels unfinished.

Brew Lab was one of the pioneers of pour-over coffee. These days there are two options on espresso (one black, one for milk) and two on filter, one batch brew, one pour-over (Kalita Wave). One espresso and one filter are always from Union, while the others are supplied by guest roasters. There’s also decaf (from Union) on pour-over and a selection of four cold brew options (black, white, chocolate and nitro), plus a cold-brew cocktail. Finally, there are breakfast and lunches menus, plus cake all day.

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