Category Archives: United Kingdom

Coffee Spots in the United Kingdom

Arch Sixteen Café

Posted on by
1

The Arch Sixteen Logo in the window of Arch Sixteen Cafe: Fine Food & DrinkArch Sixteen Café is the latest addition to the Newcastle coffee scene. Okay, I’ll stop myself right there, because, of course, Arch Sixteen is in Gateshead, a few short steps away from the Gateshead end of the High Level Bridge across the Tyne. If there’s one thing that Tyneside has in abundance, it’s great bridges. If you’re visiting Newcastle you could do a lot worse than head across one of them and give Arch Sixteen (which is also within easy striking distance of the Tyne Bridge and, via a steep hill, the Swing Bridge) a try. Of course, if you live in Gateshead, the good news is that you don’t have to go all the way to Newcastle to get great coffee.

Opened in May 2013 by the lovely Pam, Arch Sixteen serves its own house blend roasted by local coffee legends, Pumphrey’s. There are also some excellent-looking cakes and a short but interesting-looking food menu. However, where Arch Sixteen really comes up trumps is in its lovely, spacious interior, which, coupled with Pam’s genuine, warm welcome, makes it a wonderful place either to pop in for a quick espresso or to stay for the whole day.

June 2016: Arch Sixteen now uses local roasters, Colour Coffee Company, the roasting off-shoot of Pink Lane Coffee.

Continue reading →

Quay Ingredient

Posted on by
2

Eggs Florentine and Toast at Quay IngredientTucked away under Newcastle‘s Tyne Bridge on a street that not even the local map seemed to think existed, Quay Ingredient took a little finding, but it was worth it (the trick is to walk until you are standing directly under the Tyne Bridge and, as if by magic, you’ll find yourself in front of Quay Ingredient).

The main draw for me is the range of excellent breakfasts: when I asked for recommendations, Quay Ingredient was top of everyone’s lists and it didn’t disappoint! Quay Ingredient’s not a huge place and you might have to wait for a table, such is its popularity. However, it’s definitely worth the wait with classics on the menu such as Eggs Florentine (my favourite), full English, grilled Caster kippers and cinnamon pancakes. Breakfast is served until 11.30 during the week and all day at weekends. If breakfast’s not your thing, there are sandwiches, salads and soup, plus cake, of course.

Quay Ingredient has a lovely, friendly atmosphere. You’re assured a warm welcome from Maggie, who works front of house, and her husband, Simon, who does all the cooking in the little kitchen at the back. Impressively, Maggie remembered me from my first visit six months before!

Continue reading →

The Settle Down Café

Posted on by
2

The Settle Down Cafe on Newcastle's Thornton Street. One of the nicest places to sit outside.The Settle Down Café, just on the western edge of Newcastle city centre and within easy striking distance of the station, is a friendly, laid-back, community café. You can tell a lot by the staff that a café employs and the folks in the Settle Down were lovely. Even though I’d turned up near closing time on a Saturday, nothing was too much trouble for them. Where other staff might be eager to usher you out, shut up shop and head home, at the Settle Down, they were happy to serve me, making me feel right at home.

What makes the Settle Down is the atmosphere. Multiple spaces, including a lovely outdoor seating area, means that there’s plenty of space, but each area has a fairly intimate feel to it. The coffee, from local roasters Ouseburn Coffee Co, is pretty good, while there’s a wide range of food and cake, all locally made, with a lot of it coming from the nearby Sugar Down bakery.

Continue reading →

White Mulberries

Posted on by
17

White Mulberries in St Katherine DockWhite Mulberries is one of those hidden gems of the London Coffee Scene that you really need to know about if you’re going to find it. Tucked away in the lovely St Katherine Docks, opposite the lock with the Thames, it’s not the sort of place you’d casually walk past. However, once you’ve found it, chances are you wouldn’t want to go anywhere else, even though the area is awash with cafes (I walked past five on my way to White Mulberries).

Run by husband and wife team Peyman and Rana, I was immediately struck by the friendly, welcoming atmosphere. It helps that the coffee, from London roasters, Allpress and Nude Espresso, is very good, while the cakes are excellent, but what makes White Mulberries stand out from the crowd is the warm welcome you get. It’s not a huge space and there’s not that much in the way of seating, but it’s the sort of place that makes you want to come back time after time.

April 2014: White Mulberries won “London’s Best Coffee Shop” in the inaugural London Coffee Stops Awards!

Continue reading →

Kaffeine

Posted on by
17

Kaffeine on Great Titchfield Street on a rainy October day.Kaffeine is a legend in the London Coffee scene, one of the original Australian/Kiwi-owned coffee shops that some credit with kicking off the London coffee revolution of the last few years. Just around the corner from BBC Broadcasting House on Great Titchfield Street, Kaffeine is very much known by its reputation as somewhere where you get great coffee.

That’s just as well since Kaffeine’s offering is limited by its size. There’s no Wifi or power for the laptop/internet junkies and seating is at a premium, so Kaffeine is somewhere you come for the coffee, from Square Mile, and the atmosphere created by the friendly and knowledgeable staff.

However, don’t expect fancy pour-over options or Aeropresses with a choice of multiple guest beans. While Kaffeine is definitely third wave in its outlook (no buckets of milk with a dash of coffee here), the menu is espresso-based only. When it opened four years ago, there wasn’t much competition, but now with excellent coffee shops opening left, right and centre, including Attendant a few doors up on Foley Street, Kaffeine needs to be on top of its game to stay at the forefront of the London coffee scene.

Continue reading →

Talkhouse Coffee

Posted on by
11

Talkhouse Coffee, as seen from the opposite side of Portobello RoadMy visit to Talkhouse Coffee has been a long time coming. I got nagged about it at the London Coffee Festival, but it still took me another six months to make it over to the top end of Portobello Road… (This, by the way, isn’t strictly true. The day I ended up at Bean About Town and The Fields Beneath in Kentish Town, I did actually go to Talkhouse first, but it was a Monday, so it was closed… Planning fail!).

However, it was worth the wait/aborted attempt. Talkhouse is a fantastic place, with multiple spaces, each with its own character. The staff are very welcoming and friendly, the coffee excellent and the cakes superb. The sandwich I had (red pepper and hummus on brown bread; very spicy) was pretty decent too! It’s also full of nice little touches, such as table service and a bottle of water turning up on your table without you having to ask.

The focus, however, is very much on the coffee, and what a choice there is! Four options on the Aeropress (two from Square Mile, two from Workshop), bulk filter and Workshop’s Cult of Dome on the espresso machine. You can’t go wrong.

July 2015: Sad news, but it looks like Talkhouse has had to close

Continue reading →

Vagabond N7

Posted on by
16

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…

Continue reading →

Brewsters N7

Posted on by
9

A fine piccolo with excellent latte art, made by head Barista, Sonny, at Brewsters N7.There’s not a great deal to Brewsters N7. It’s the sort of place you could accidentally walk past without noticing, save for the large, unsubtle A-board on the pavement outside, promising coffee. However, step inside and you will be richly rewarded by one of London’s newest coffee shops.

On the northern edge of Islington, halfway between Highbury & Islington and Holloway Road tube stations, Brewsters is one of the smaller Coffee Spots I’ve been too. Not quite as small New York’s I Am Coffee, it’s like a longer, thinner version of Manchester’s Caffeine & Co. Or, for another reference point, it’s about half the size of Bristol’s Small St Espresso.

It’s not so small that there’s nowhere to sit, but the lack of space creates an interesting dynamic since you really can’t avoid interacting with the barista. It’s just as well that Sonny, who was on duty while I was there, is a cheerful, engaging soul. For somewhere that’s so small, Brewsters packs a lot in, including a decent espresso menu, based around Allpress’ Redchurch blend. There’s also food, a decent selection of reading material and some interesting music.

Continue reading →

Rave Coffee Café

Posted on by
8

Rave Coffee, Speciality Coffee RoastersTucked away on an industrial estate south of Cirencester is Rave Coffee, arguably serving the best coffee in Cirencester, if not the Cotswolds (I say arguably; before the arrival of Cotswold Artisan Coffee, it was hands-down, no-questions-asked the best. Rave is best known as a roaster, but less well-known is its small café. This serves the denizens of the industrial estate, and anyone else who can find it, with excellent takeaway coffee, Teapigs tea, hot chocolate and a limited range of cake.

Don’t come here expecting the full café experience: Rave’s licence is strictly takeaway service only. However, if you’re passing by and want a decent alternative to the nearby services on the A417) or don’t have the time/inclination to head into Cirencester proper to catch Cotswold Artisan Coffee, then Rave makes an excellent stopping off point on any road trip!

Continue reading →

Cotswold Artisan Coffee

Posted on by
9

The exterior of Cotswold Artisan Coffee on Bishop's Walk in Cirencester.Cotswold Artisan Coffee in Cirencester hasn’t been around long, but it’s already created a bit of a stir. Not long after it opened at the end of August, the local paper ran a story reporting that the locals were up in arms about it.  “Not another new coffee shop!” they were reportedly heard to say (well, tweet).

People of Cirencester! What are you talking about? This is not just “another new coffee shop”. It’s not something that can be lumped together with another branch of the ubiquitous chains (and heaven knows I walked past enough of those on my (short) journey from the car park). In Cotswold Artisan Coffee you have somewhere that would grace any town in the land, serving some of the best coffee there is, along with fabulous home-made cakes, all served in lovely surroundings.

With regular coffee from local roasters, Rave Coffee, and guests from London’s Union Hand-roasted and Shropshire’s Has Bean, the focus is clearly on the coffee. There’s bulk filter for those in a hurry, plus Aeropress to compliment the standard espresso-based coffee menu. For non-coffee drinkers, there’s award-winning hot chocolate and tea. And cakes. And toast!

October 2018: Sadly, after five successful years, Barry and Mandy have decided to close Cotswold Artisan Coffee.

Continue reading →