Category Archives: Sandwiches

Coffee Spots serving sandwiches and similar options

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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Devon Coffee

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Devon Coffee on Exeter's Queen StreetOn Exeter’s Queen Street, next to Caffe Nero and just five doors down from the Boston Tea Party, you’ll find the delightful Devon Coffee. I’m not quite sure why I took so long to find it, other than the obvious excuse that it’s in Exeter and I live in Guildford. Even the Exeter excuse wears a bit thin when you consider that I’d previously made it as far as the Exploding Bakery (just up the street at Exeter Central Station) and the aforementioned Boston Tea Party. In my defence, when I was last in Exeter, Devon Coffee had only been open in its current guise for a month, but it’s not much of an excuse.

However, find it I did and it was the starting point of a day-long tour of some lovely coffee shops in Exeter which I’ll publish over the next few weeks. I have to say that I’d heard a lot about Devon Coffee and it more than lived up to expectations: it’s a lovely place and although it’s small, it doesn’t feel cramped. There’s excellent coffee and very fine pastries/cakes, all served by excellent staff. The only I things I didn’t sample were toasted sandwiches.

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Coffee Affair

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Making a V60 pour-over at Coffee Affair, Queenstown Road Station.Coffee Affair, in London’s Queenstown Road Station on the line into Waterloo, was a chance discovery. I’ve been through the station many, many times, but I’m not sure I’ve even stopped there before now. Then, when the shortlists for the Coffee Spot Awards 2013 came out, I got told off on Twitter for not including Coffee Affair in the Best Coffee Spot near a Railway Station category.

Intrigued, I made it a New Year’s resolution to investigate and, having done so, I have to say that the loss is all mine. Mags and Michael, the couple behind Coffee Affair, have been at Queenstown Road since 2006, first in a Piaggio Ape and now in their current location, the old ticket office. That’s seven years of coffee goodness I’ve missed out on!

If, like me, you’ve not been before, what you’re missing is a small, friendly coffee shop in a lovely space, with excellent coffee that’s as good as you’ll find anywhere. There’s the usual espresso-based range or you can have filter coffee. This is either freshly made on the bulk-brewer or, if you come after the morning rush, Mags or Michael will make a V60 pour-over just for you.

January 2015: For the foreseeable future, Coffee Affair will be open until four o’clock on Saturdays.

May 2018: It is with great sadness that I have to report that Coffee Affair has closed, Mags and Michael having decided that they need a sabatical. I wish them both well in whatever the future brings them.

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Fernandez & Wells, Exhibition Road

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The right-hand side of Fernandez & Wells on Exhibition Road, as seen from across the street.Fernandez & Wells is a small London-based chain with six (so far) locations, the original two in Soho, one in Somerset House, this one on South Kensington’s Exhibition Road and, since 2014, two more in London. A cross between wine-bar, deli and coffee shop, F&W offers a similar experience to Notes, albeit in (slightly) less grand surroundings.

The Exhibition Road branch opened in late 2012. On a pleasant, (almost) pedestrianised street, packed with cafes and restaurants, F&W fits right in, serving excellent coffee (roasted by Has Bean), an extensive wine list and an interesting array of dishes, with a strong focus on cured meats and cheeses, both of which you can buy to takeaway. The cakes are also pretty impressive and there was even a Slayer! (Although that’s now long gone.)

F&W has been on my radar for a while, although I’ve never actually managed to track one down until just before Christmas. However, with several hours to kill one Wednesday evening, the appeal of a coffee shop that does food and is open until 10 o’clock in the evening (shades of Notes again) was obvious. I was sufficiently impressed to come back again in the New Year for lunch…

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Boston Tea Party, Bath

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My first ever Boston Tea Party piccolo at the branch in BathQuite possibly the smallest Boston Tea Party and certainly the smallest I have visited, the Bath branch has a certain instant charm that I immediately fell in love with. I’ve written elsewhere about the Boston Tea Party chain and why I continue to seek out new branches. In that respect the Bath branch very much fits the mould. It is instantly a Boston Tea Party, but it’s also its own place, with a distinct character.

The Bath branch’s size is the main focus: whereas the majority of the other branches are in large buildings, often spread over two floors, the Bath branch is squeezed into what feels like two small shops with a connecting door. The counter and serving area are in one, while the main seating is in the other. If everyone squeezed in, you might get 30 people inside.

In fairness, you could probably get as many again in the nice-looking outdoor seating area. This is well-situated in a generous triangle of pavement on Kingsmead Square between Monmouth and Avon Streets. Unfortunately, while I was there, it was pouring with rain, so it was something of a non-starter, despite a generous awning.

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Joe’s Coffee

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My espresso, in its classic, white cup, surveys the interior of Joe's Coffee from its spot by the window.As if Bristol doesn’t have enough great cafés (note to self: is it actually possible to have too many great cafés? Probably not…), along comes another one! Joe’s Coffee opened its doors in the summer of 2013 on the busy Whiteladies Road, just a street or two down from Monday’s Coffee Spot, the Boston Tea Party.

Well, technically…

Although the address is 49a Whiteladies Road, Joe’s is actually on West Park, one of the side roads linking Whiteladies and Cotham Hill. It’s easy enough to miss if you’re not looking for it, which would be a shame. Run by the delightful Hanna and Ricki (neither of whom, the observant amongst you will notice, is called Joe), it’s a lovely little place, serving coffee from local roasters Extract, in a friendly environment.

In fact, given the size, it’s surprising how much is packed in. As well as the usual espresso-based range of drinks, there’s a guest espresso on a second grinder and a decaffeinated option too. For good measure, Joe’s also has a regularly-rotating filter option on pour-over or Aeropress (depending on the bean). Finally, there’s an interesting range of cakes and sandwiches.

December 2014: I have sadly just learnt that Joe’s Coffee has had to close for good. It will be missed.

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Boston Tea Party, Whiteladies Road

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The exterior of Boston Tea Party branch on Whiteladies Road in BristolOn the busy Whiteladies Road in Bristol, just a few doors along from where Joe’s Coffee used to be, stands another branch of the Boston Tea Party chain. I’m not quite sure why it’s taken me this long to find this particular Tea Party; the only excuse I can offer is that it’s not a part of Bristol I visit very often. The Whiteladies Road branch has the usual Boston Tea Party offerings: coffee that’s a cut above your average chain, a large and excellent food (and cake) menu, including breakfast served all day, and lovely surroundings to eat/drink in.

Like all the other branches of the Boston Tea Party that I’ve covered, this one feels like a Boston Tea Party while at the same time managing to be its own place. The trick that the Tea Party seems to have pulled off is to take iconic/unique/interesting buildings and turn them into fantastic spaces for cafés. In the case of Whiteladies Road, it’s on the site of an old record store. While I’ve been in plenty of Tea Parties that stretch over two floors (eg Exeter, Worcester), this is the first that stretches over three levels (unless you count the garden at the original Park Street), making it a particularly lovely setting.

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Brickwood Coffee and Bread

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The Brickwood Coffee & Bread sign from the front of the shop on Clapham CommonBrickwood Coffee and Bread is just a couple of doors along from Clapham Common stalwart, Black Lab. The new kid on the block arrived at the end of this summer with a burst of social media activity. Fortunately, the reality lived up to the virtual hype.

For starters, Brickwood is a lovely place. As one would expect from the name, the interior is all brick and wood: exposed brick walls, bare floorboards, a wooden counter and lots of wooden tables. The ceiling, although not brick or wood, is amazing, made up of a patchwork of old coffee sacks. If you don’t fancy sitting in the main area there’s a large, secluded garden and a basement, which has a very different character from upstairs.

Brickwood serves a fairly standard espresso-based menu using London-roaster Caravan’s Market Blend, a great all-round coffee. There’s a good range of sandwiches and an extensive brunch menu, as well as what looked to be an excellent range of cake. However, I was there for brunch and wasn’t able to sample any (although judging by the rate at which the cakes were going, that didn’t seem to be putting most people off!).

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Taylor Street Baristas, Mayfair

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Taylor Street Baristas in MayfairFor the past two years, Mayfair has been blessed with two very fine Coffee Spots: Everbean and this outpost of the Taylor Street Baristas chain (one of seven in London). Both are lovely, but in terms of coffee geekery, Taylor Street Baristas is the clear winner, with its house blend, guest espresso (both from Union Hand-roasted), guest filter (Climpson and Sons) and abundant tasting notes. There is also a small selection of food and a very appetising range of cake.

However, being good at (perhaps read “obsessive about”) coffee does not necessarily make a great Coffee Spot. Fortunately, Taylor Street Baristas has all the other attributes to be a success in abundance: good atmosphere, lovely surroundings and staff who are completely mad (in the nicest possible way)!

It could have been because it was the end of the day and the staff were cleaning up, but while I was there, the soundtrack was full of corny music, with the baristas singing along. It didn’t quite reach the heights of “Good Times” & “Don’t Bring Me Down” as sung by the baristas at Montréal’s Café Olimpico, but it was in the same league.

April 2016: Taylor Street has started roasting its own coffee, with the Mayfair branch taking it as the main espresso. While production ramps up, the other Taylor Street Baristas only have Taylor Street Roasted as guest espresso/filter, the exception being the Taylor Street Gallery, which has exclusively gone over to Taylor Street Roasted.

September 2019: as part of the sale of Taylor Street Barista’s coffee shops to the Black Sheep chain, the Mayfair coffee shop will close this week.

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Everbean

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Everbean written in a cursive script, blue on brown, with the outline of a bird on the aCompared to some parts of London, Mayfair is a bit bereft of decent coffee, but for the last couple of years, Everbean, along with fellow long(ish)-time resident, Taylor Street Baristas, has been filling the void, supplying the suits and shoppers of the area with fine coffee. I’d been aware of Everbean for a while, but never had the opportunity to visit. Ironic then that I was actually heading for Taylor Street Baristas on Brooks Mews when Everbean jumped out at me as I passed by.

Located in an interesting-shaped building (it used to be a hairdressers), tucked away on the pedestrianised Avery Row, Everbean is a lovely spot, although it took me a second visit before I really fell for the place. Serving no-nonsense Climpson and Sons coffee, along with a wide range of tea and a good selection of cake, sandwiches and other savouries, Everbean has a dedicated band of customers and on both my visits was consistently busy.

Seating is in a mezzanine level above the counter or downstairs on a large, round, communal table or a bar that runs along the inside of the bay window. There is also a table outside if the weather is nice.

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