Category Archives: Closed

Coffee Spots which have sadly closed since I visited them! Fortunately this is not a large list!

Quarter Horse Coffee, Oxford

Posted on by
11

The Quarter Horse Coffee Logo, a style white chess piece (a knight) against a black backgroundWhen visiting Oxford, don’t be seduced by the colleges’ gleaming spires in the centre. Oxford is a town that rewards exploring, particularly when it comes to coffee. Head east over the river and, after a short stroll, you’ll find yourself on the lively Cowley Road where there are two outstanding Coffee Spots, The Keen Bean Coffee Club and, just before it on the right, Quarter Horse Coffee.

Set up by co-owners, James and Nathan, Quarter Horse has been serving fine coffee to the Cowley Road for just over 18 months. Arriving at a time when Oxford was in danger of becoming a one-roaster town, Quarter Horse brought London’s Square Mile to Oxford (although it now roasts its own beans). Quarter Horse also started doing filter coffee (bulk brew, betraying Nathan’s American origins, and Aeropress) and continues its coffee education/evangelism with regular events such as monthly cupping classes.

In the same vein, Quarter Horse offers a Flight Test, a chance to taste the same bean as a straight espresso and in milk. I wish more places would offer this as an option since I often try an espresso and then wonder what it would taste like in milk (or vice-versa if I had it as a piccolo).

January 2017: With the move to Birmingham and to roasting its own coffee, the original Quarter House in Oxford has been taken over by Peloton Espresso. Expect an update as soon as I can get back to Oxford!

Continue reading →

Wild & Wood Coffee: Update

Posted on by
6

Wild & Wood: genius use of space and an lovely, all wooden interiorSadly, the weekend hasn’t started early: it’s just a Saturday Supplement on a Wednesday… By way of explanation, I have such a backlog of Saturday Spots, plus a few updates (like this one) and my reports from the London Coffee Festival, that I’m running short of Saturdays! So, for the next few weeks, Wednesday is the new Saturday as I attempt to catch up…

Wild & Wood Coffee is one of the first places I covered for the Coffee Spot, a favourite haunt of mine from my pre-Coffee Spot days. Back then, as a regular visitor to the British Museum, I would often break my day with a trip to Wild & Wood for afternoon coffee and cake.

These days, when I head up to London, I’m usually on the prowl for new Coffee Spots and I don’t get much time to visit the British Museum. Indeed, I don’t get a lot of time to check out my favourite Coffee Spots, old or new. So, when I visited the British Museum with a friend a couple of weeks ago and she suggested that we went somewhere nearby for lunch, I jumped at the chance to re-visit Wild & Wood.

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.

Continue reading →

Everyman Espresso, Soho

Posted on by
5

A gorgeous cortado in a glass, made with the Rustico blend from Counter Culture at Everyman Coffee in New York CityEveryman Espresso is a chain of precisely two (now three) coffee shops in New York City, the original in the East Village, this one on West Broadway in Soho and a third in Brooklyn. I visited the Soho branch largely because it was more convenient, given where I was staying, plus it was the one that several baristas in other coffee shops had recommended.

There’s no obvious menu in Everyman, something I first came across in La Colombe, a neat tactic which means you have to engage with the baristas. Unlike La Colombe, however, there is a printed menu; it’s just kept under the counter so you have to ask for it if you need it.

Everyman Espresso’s tag line is “damn fine coffee”, but it could, in the words of Amanda, my barista, be “damn fine everything”. Not only does Everyman have damn fine espresso, as one would expect, which comes from a very sexy La Marzocco La Strada, but there’s damn fine hand-poured and batch brew filter as well. According to Amanda, there’s damn fine tea (which I didn’t try), to go with damn fine staff and damn fine surroundings. And damn fine Wifi too…

It certainly lived up to its billing…

Continue reading →

Brewsmiths Coffee & Tea

Posted on by
9

An espresso in a glass, steaming in the sunlight streaming through Brewsmith's window.Tucked in under a railway arch right beneath Birmingham’s Snow Hill Station, the first word that springs to mind when stepping into Brewsmiths is “cosy”, followed by “friendly”. If I was allowed the luxury of three words for a wider description, I’d go for “upmarket greasy spoon”. Perhaps a half-way house between greasy spoon and coffee shop would be more accurate (eight words).

Whatever the description, Brewsmiths is a lovely place, a neighbourhood coffee shop under a railway station. In that respect it’s similar to Coffee Affair, although that’s where the similarity ends. Although there’s a comprehensive coffee menu with piccolos, flat whites and ristrettos rubbing shoulders with more traditional espressos, lattes, cappuccinos and mochas, Brewsmiths doesn’t aspire to Coffee Affair’s level of coffee geekery. The food is also more down-to-earth, although, in common with Coffee Affair, it’s all produced on the premises.

Brewsmiths has been a feature of the Birmingham coffee scene for a while, but since Christmas Eve it’s had a new owner, Andy. I never visited it back in the day (I got close though, arriving at ten past three last summer only to discover Brewsmiths closes at three) but Andy tells me he’s not changed much.

March 2016: It looks like Brewsmiths has had to close for good.

Continue reading →

Bluebird Coffee Shop

Posted on by
13

The Bluebird Coffee Shop logo as written in the window of the shop, bluebird in lower case blue, COFFEE SHOP in upper case white.Bluebird Coffee Shop is a tiny spot on East 1st Street, just by the junction of 1st Avenue and East Houston. Even though I was looking for it, I walked straight past it the first time, that’s how small it is. And, if I’m honest, I wasn’t paying attention. However, it is a lovely little place, well worth hunting down, in an area which already has several great choices.

Serving Counter Culture coffee either through the espresso machine or via the obligatory bulk-brew drip filter, Bluebird also manages to pack cake and a fairly decent breakfast/lunch menu (which it stops serving at three o’clock) into its small space. What’s even more impressive is that it’s all baked on the premises in the kitchen downstairs (with the exception of the croissants)!

The other outstanding thing about Bluebird was its friendliness. Other than I Am Coffee, which is so small you have to talk to everyone, Bluebird might be the friendliest coffee shop I’ve been to on my US travels. Starting with the Barista, Ben, and running through the customers, everyone seemed happy to chat, but not in a pushy way. It is pretty much the perfect coffee shop atmosphere.

Continue reading →

Artigiano Espresso, New Oxford Street

Posted on by
8

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.

Continue reading →

Darkhorse Espresso

Posted on by
9

The Darkhorse Espresso sign, white writing on a red oval.Darkhorse Espresso is the brainchild of husband and wife team Neil and Sarah. It opened in the summer of 2013 and is a little off the beaten track on Exeter’s Magdalen Road. I say “off the beaten track” but it’s all of a 20 minute stroll from the centre. However, Exeter is sufficiently small that it feels a completely different world from the first two stops on my Exeter coffee tour: Devon Coffee and Artigiano Espresso.

However, it’s definitely worth the walk. It’s also worth your perseverance as you go past the local shops and a few cafés before they peter out, leaving you to wonder if Darkhorse is down here after all. Then, just as you are questioning your faith in Googlemaps, there it is!

There are many excellent reasons for taking this stroll. For a start, Darkhorse gets its coffee from London’s Ozone, which makes a change from Origin, the roaster, which, with the odd exception, seems to dominate Exeter. There is also tea from Tea Nation and cakes from another of my Exeter favourites, The Exploding Bakery. Add to that a quirky interior and a wonderfully warm welcome from my host, Sarah, and you’re onto a winner.

June 2016: heard the sad news that Darkhorse Espresso has had to close.

Continue reading →

Mother’s Milk

Posted on by
8

Thumbnail - Mother's Milk (DSC_9567)The first thing you need to know about Mother’s Milk is that it’s called Rosalind’s Kitchen. No, not really, but that’s what’s on the window of the tiny store on Little Portland Street, which is how I managed to walk past it three times without noticing even though I was looking for it! In fairness, there’s usually a bench and A-board outside, but it was raining when I went by and they’d just been brought inside.

When you do track it down, you’ll find a delightful little coffee shop with just enough room for the counter, an espresso machine and a few stools. I got told off on twitter for suggesting that it might be crowded with two customers, but I was only exaggerating ever so slightly. Yes, it really is that small.

The brain-child of baristas Will and James, the focus is entirely on coffee: no cake, food, tea or hot chocolate, just coffee. Despite its size, Mother’s Milk still manages to offer the usual espresso-range and filter coffee made via the Aeropress. The other thing that makes it stand out is the coffee itself: Mother’s Milk is London’s only permanent outlet for JB Kaffee, a micro-roaster from Munich.

September 29, 2015: This was the last day for Mother’s Milk’s in its old location. It moved a massive 80m along the street to 22-23 Little Portland Street, where it re-opened on 19th October. You can see what I made of it when I visited at the end of December.

Continue reading →

Coffee Affair

Posted on by
13

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.

Continue reading →

Joe’s Coffee

Posted on by
4

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.

Continue reading →