Vagabond N7

The interior of Vagabond N7, looking from just inside the door to the counter.How did it take me this long to visit the delightful Vagabond N7? For those not in the know, Vagabond N7 is the bigger offshoot of Vagabond N4, sitting on the Holloway Road at the north end of Islington. One of the gems of the London coffee scene, that I even visited it at all is down to The Café Cat who invited me along to talk coffee, café culture and Wales. I can’t even claim ignorance since my fellow coffee-bloggers have been raving about it for a while now…

What I’ve been missing is a lovely place with that just-moved-in-and-haven’t-decorated-yet unfinished look that is all the rage in trendy coffee shops. It’s the sort of look that, if you get it wrong, you just look naff, a wannabe trend-setter who missed the boat. Of course, if you get it right, like Vagabond, it looks the most natural thing in the world.

It helps that the coffee, from Has Bean, is excellent and the barista, Gabriel, is knowledgeable, passionate and committed. Rather disturbingly, it was the third Has Bean I’d had in a week that I liked and the first that I’d positively raved about. I think I’ve gone mad…

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The Marwood

The Marwood, tucked away in an alley of Ship Street, BrightonRight in the heart of Brighton’s Lanes, tucked away in a corner next to Café Coho, is The Marwood. It is perhaps the most Brighton-like of all Brighton’s many and varied coffee shops. To call it quirky would be an understatement: The Marwood is quite possibly the most eclectic place I have visited since I started the Coffee Spot.

I first ran across it as a showcase for Google Maps new “walk-through” feature. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to go there! Of course, quirky can be a double-edged sword: if quirky is used as a gimmick, then it rapidly gets stale. Similarly, quirky without good coffee wouldn’t amount to much either.

Fortunately, The Marwood puts its money where its mouth is, with a classic espresso from Southampton roasters, Mozzo. There’s no third-wave experimentation here, no pour-overs or fancy preparation methods. In fact, the coffee is probably the most straightforward aspect of the whole place. Although it describes itself as a coffee house, The Marwood also does food and serves wine, spirits and bottled beer, as well as offering a variety of different spaces in which to hang out.

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Boston Tea Party, Park Street

A latte with a fern-leaf motif in the milkThe Boston Tea Party on Park Street, Bristol, is the original Boston Tea Party and, for me, the original coffee shop. I’m sitting on the second of the four terraces in the garden at the back of the café as I type, revelling in the late summer afternoon sun, but I’d be equally happy upstairs on a sofa or at one of the little tables. In my mind’s eye, I’m always here, writing a postcard on the terrace or chatting the afternoon away, putting the world to rights in the upstairs lounge.

There’s a background hum of chatter from the other tables and the gentle clink of cutlery. There’s a mother and daughter catching up over a pot of tea, schoolgirls giggling over a couple of smoothies, two teachers talking business over a latte, a father and his friend stopping by for coffee with baby in tow. And me, blogging over my coffee and cake…

I’ve always felt this special affinity for the Boston Tea Party, a feeling that’s not easy to put into words. However, read on and I will try…

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