Category Archives: Breakfast

Coffee Spots serving hot food for breakfast

Lowdown Coffee

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My pour-over of a Washed Kenyan from Morgon Coffee Roasters served at Lowdown Coffee in Edinburgh.With all the travelling I’ve been doing recently, it’s been increasingly hard for me to get around the UK like I once did. Even so, I was rather embarrassed to discover that it’s been three years since I last visited Edinburgh. Unsurprisingly, rather a lot has changed since my last visit, including plenty of new faces and a few changes at some well-known old faces.

Where to start? Well, let’s try Lowdown Coffee on George Street, right in the heart of Edinburgh, which opened in February 2016, just across the way from old favourite and Edinburgh stalwart, Wellington Coffee. Like Wellington, Lowdown Coffee follows the tried-and-tested Edinburgh tradition of locating your coffee shop in a basement, which gets a thumbs up from me.

However, that’s where the similarities end. Lowdown Coffee is on a mission to do things differently. For starters, there’s table service, a refreshing change from queuing at the counter. The coffee, which changes weekly, is drawn from some of the best roasters across Europe, with one option on espresso and two on pour-over through the Kalita Wave. How about the daily food menu? Or the water, with different formulations for different beans? And that’s just for starters…

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Scarlett Green

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Your Banana Needs You. One of the two deckchairs outside Scarlett Green in Soho.Regular readers will know that I’ve been following the rise of London-based/Aussie-inspired mini-chain Daisy Green ever since it opened a branch next to my office in Sheldon Square, Paddington. Since then, Daisy Green has grown rapid, first through its Beany Green coffee shops, and then through restaurants, such as Timmy Green in Victoria and Darcie & May Green, the narrow boats tied up outside Paddington Station.

Scarlett Green is the latest addition to the family, which now numbers nine coffee shops and restaurants. It follows in the footsteps of Timmy Green, offering full table service for food (breakfast, lunch and dinner), plus wine and cocktails, while still remaining true to its coffee roots, serving a house-blend from long-time partners, The Roasting Party.

Scarlett Green is the biggest yet, occupying the ground floor and basement of a tall, narrow building on Noel Street, in the heart of Soho. Open from 07:00 to midnight, it’s there for your morning coffee and a late-night cocktail, plus everything in between. The décor, as ever, is by the talented Shuby Art, another long-time partner and collaborator. As well as the usual bananas, you can also find a large, pink teddy bear enjoying Bondi Beach.

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The Scandinavian Coffee Pod

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My filter coffee in its carafe, a lovely ceramic bowl on the side, looking very arty under the light of a yellow table lamp at The Scandinavian Coffee Pod in Cheltenham.It’s been a very long time since I was in Cheltenham, with a visit well overdue, so when I got the chance to call in, I seized it with both hands. A lot has changed (and is still changing) in Cheltenham’s coffee scene, with today’s Coffee Spot, The Scandinavian Coffee Pod, leading the way. The Pod started life in September 2014, when it was, literally, just a cube, complete with espresso machine and roaster, around the corner from the current location.

The Scandinavian Coffee Pod moved into the Studios, a long, low single-storey building on Cheltenham’s Royal Well Place, 2½ years ago in 2016, the pod coming too. The original cube is now embedded into the front wall, which makes for an interesting architectural feature. Although bigger than it was, there’s still not that much space, the resulting coffee shop being best described as cosy, with a handful of tables and a pair of armchairs. That doesn’t stop The Scandinavian Coffee Pod from offering a house espresso from neighbours Studio Coffee Roasters, plus a choice of two pour-overs via the V60 (one from Studio, the other a guest). There are also small but tempting breakfast/lunch menus, plus plenty of cake.

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Bean & Wheat

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The front of Bean & Wheat, a Coffee & Beer Shop on Old Street, London.Bean & Wheat is one of several London-based ventures by chef/restaurateur Adam Handling, who made his name by trying to eliminate waste in his establishments. Bean & Wheat started life in 2017 in Spitalfields Market, when it was a coffee shop and delicatessen, but moved to its current location on Old Street (literally backing onto The Frog Hoxton, one of Adam Handling’s restaurants) earlier this year, at the end of July. Originally the concept was coffee (bean) and bread (wheat), but it’s recently expanded its offering to include craft beer (also wheat, sort of).

The intersection of speciality coffee and craft beer is slowly growing, but with the exception of Bristol’s Coffee + Beer, I can’t think of another speciality coffee shop doing what Bean & Wheat is doing. Plus Bean & Wheat has gone one better, allowing you to drink the aforementioned beer on-site (Coffee + Beer only has an off-licence).

As well as the coffee and alcohol, Bean & Wheat also sells bread, plus there are breakfast and lunch menus, plus a selection of cakes. The coffee, by the way, is from Union Hand-roasted, with the old favourite, Bobolink, plus a guest as well as decaf on espresso.

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Lemana Coffee & Kitchen Update

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The Lemana Coffee & Kitchen logo from the sign on the wall at the end of Madeira Mews in Lymington.I first visited Lemana Café in Lymington in November 2013. Since then, it’s been a semi-regular feature of my annual trips to the area and I’ve watched it grow with interest. There was a rebrand in 2015, when it became Lemana Coffee & Kitchen, switching over to serve Has Bean coffee, but still retaining its roots as a lovely, friendly, family-run café with great food. Over the years I’ve also kept touch with various family members on social media, so it was something of a surprise when, in May this year, I learnt that Lemana had changed hands.

The good news is that Lemana Coffee & Kitchen had been taken over as a going concern, but would the new owner, Cathryn, want to change things? It was therefore with some trepidation that, last Friday, I ventured over to Lymington on my annual visit to see what had become of Lemana…

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Siop Shop

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A lovely flat white in a simple, yellow mug at Siop Shop in Manchester.Tib Street, in Manchester’s Northern Quarter (itself replete with multiple speciality coffee shops) is a busy place. At one end, there’s the venerable North Tea Power, while if you progress northeast, you’ll soon reach newcomers, Just Between Friends Coffee, closely followed by the subject of today’s Coffee Spot, Siop Shop, across the road from the recently-closed Ezra To Go.

Siop Shop is a relative newcomer itself, having been open for precisely one week when I was last in Manchester (for the 2017 Manchester Coffee Festival). As a result, it didn’t quite make my radar, but on my return this year, it was high on my list. For those that don’t know, Siop (pronounced “shop”) is Welsh for shop. Iwan, who owns Siop Shop along with his partner, Lucy, is Welsh, Siop Shop providing a small slice of Wales in Manchester, complete with bilingual signs. You can even say hello and order in Welsh if you like!

Siop Shop made its name through its awesome doughnuts, but there’s also full breakfast and lunch menus, plus cake and sandwiches. Local roaster, Dark Woods, provides a bespoke house-blend (Coffi Coffee) on espresso, while there’s a daily guest on espresso and another on V60.

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Heart & Graft Coffee Shop

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Part of the upstairs seating at the Heart & Graft Coffee Shop in Salford.I’ve long been a fan of Heart & Graft, and its co-owner, James, having first met in 2013 at Coffee Fix in Gatley on the outskirts of Manchester. Back then James was running his first roastery, The Coffee Circle, while also working as a barista at Coffee Fix. However, by the time the first Manchester Coffee Festival (then known as Cup North) came around in 2014, James was installed in a new roastery in Artwork, the venue for the original Cup North. By then, the Coffee Circle had morphed into Heart & Graft and soon after, James teamed up with Sean, the two of them taking Heart & Graft from strength to strength.

Sadly I never managed to visit the original roastery, which closed down at the end of the summer, moving to a new space in Newton Heath. At the same time, Heart & Graft had the opportunity for a coffee shop under a railway arch in Salford, a few minutes’ walk from the original roastery, the shop opening in early October. Naturally, when I was back in Manchester at the start of the month for this year’s Manchester Coffee Festival, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to call in.

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Roscioli Caffè Pasticceria

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A single espresso in a classic cup at Roscioli Caffè Pasticceria in Rome.I’m pretty good at picking hotels that are close to excellent coffee. On my recent trip to Montréal, my hotel  was chosen for its proximity to Paquebot Mont-Royal, while my hotel in Tokyo was close to multiple great coffee shops, including Lattest and Stockholm Roast. However, when it came to Rome, the only criteria was how close it was the various historical sights. The fact that it was under 10 minutes from the best coffee in the city turned out to be entirely coincidental.

Roscioli Caffè Pasticceria is part of a small group which includes a restaurant/deli, bakery, and this, a coffee shop and patisserie, which also serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus wine and cocktails, in a small room at the back. I suspect that for most, the sumptuous cakes, pastries and tarts are the main draw, but it also happens that the coffee, from Laboratorio Di Torrefazione Giamaica Caffè in Verona, is the best I’ve had on this trip. There are two blends and a single-origin on espresso, plus multiple single-origins on pour-over.

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Faro, Luminari Del Caffè

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Detail of the wall art in the back room of Faro in Rome, showing part of coffee's journey from plant to cup. Here the coffee is being shipped from origin.I’ll be honest: I came to Rome largely for the architecture and history, not for the speciality coffee. That said, I did have a small list, top of which was one of two places that people consistently mentioned to me: Faro, which styles itself as Rome’s first speciality coffee shop. Located north of Rome’s Termini station, it’s a little off the beaten track (about a 30 minute walk east of the historic centre), but definitely worth the detour.

Faro lives up to the billing, with a staggering 16 choices of coffee during my visit, all single-origins, two of which were espresso only, with the remaining 14 (which included one decaf) available as espresso or filter through either V60 or Aeropress. The beans, which came from seven different roasters across Italy, Germany and Denmark, are also available to buy in retail bags. In true Italian style, you can drink your coffee standing up at the counter, or you can take a seat and your coffee will be brought to you.

If you’re hungry, Faro has a concise brunch menu which is served until 15:30 every day, backed up by some excellent pastries and cakes, prepared in a kitchen behind the counter.

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Size S Coffee + Bakery

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A lovely cappuccino with some long-lasting latte art at Size S Coffee + Bakery in Bangkok.I wasn’t in Bangkok for long at the end of April, plus I was limited by a bad back, all of which meant I didn’t get around as much as I’d have liked. However, I was very impressed with what little I did see of Bangkok’s diffuse and diverse speciality coffee scene, including Size S Coffee + Bakery, a chance discovery at the end of the same road as my hotel. Despite that, I needed a tip off from to Lan Din Coffee, having already walked past Size S without noticing it!

Size S Coffee + Bakery does what the name suggests, although it’s also a roastery as well as a coffee shop and bakery, all of which comes in an unfeasibly small package. That said, it acts like it’s a big coffee shop, with a blend and single-origin on espresso and up to five single-origin filters, all roasted at the back of the shop (which is also where all the cakes are baked). There’s also a small breakfast and lunch menu if you’re hungry.

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