Flour Bakery + Café, South End & Back Bay

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Brian Williams

Normally I write about a single place, but this post is about two branches of the Flour Bakery + Café chain. In all, Flour has four outlets, all in Boston and, on recommendation, I visited the Back Bay branch on Clarendon Street and the South End branch on Washington Street.

If ever there was a lesson that the physical space plays as big a role as any in whether I like a Coffee Spot, Flour is it. In terms of what’s on offer, both are very similar, the main difference being the space. There’s nothing wrong with the Back Bay branch: it just didn’t do it for me. On the other hand, the South End branch is exactly what I’m looking for in a café. It’s a smaller, more intimate space and, on the sunny day I was there, filled with warmth and light from the windows that go almost the whole way around the place.

What you’ll get from both branches is good coffee, breakfast, soup, made-to-order sandwiches and an outstanding selection of cakes. I only had time to try the coffee and cake, but if everything else is up to the same standard, then you’re in for a treat…

Continue reading →

Coffee Aroma

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Brian Williams

I have to say that as I walked through the centre of Lincoln, I was not that hopeful. I’d heard great things about Coffee Aroma, but as I looked about me it didn’t seem to be the sort of place where I was going to find top-notch coffee: I really should have had more faith. If anything, Coffee Aroma was undersold.

That said, Coffee Aroma takes no prisoners. It knows what it wants to do and it does it without compromise. In this respect, the attitude reminds me of London’s Street Coffee. For example, the espresso comes with a small bottle of sparkling water as default, all tastefully arranged on a bespoke wooden tray. This is nice, but some might baulk at the £3 price tag that this attracts. Similarly, you want decaf? Not in Coffee Aroma you don’t (the explanation given to me was that the staff can’t find a decaf bean they like).

If you can accept these restrictions, then you’ll find that Coffee Aroma serves some very good coffee in lovely surroundings, especially upstairs, which I loved. The staff were also very friendly and engaging, as well as being passionate about their coffee.

Continue reading →

Caffé Roma

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Brian Williams

Regular readers will know that I have a soft spot for old-fashioned Italian cafes and, in that respect, Caffé Roma fits the bill. It’s located firmly in the heart of New York’s Little Italy on the corner of Broome and Mulberry Streets. I started coming here a couple of years ago, drawn in by the offer of free wifi, but it soon became a favourite in its own right. The coffee is good, but the killer is the wonderful array of cakes.

Caffé Roma boasts the best cannoli in New York and the rest of the offerings are pretty good too. Everything is baked on the premises and if you can’t eat it all, you can take it away with you, courtesy of a massive takeaway counter…

Caffé Roma is a lovely place, established in 1891, with much of it looking as if it dates from that era, including the tiled floor. It’s the sort of place where I could happily sit for hours (helped by the long opening hours!). Little Italy has a bit of a reputation as a tourist trap, but Caffé Roma feels more genuine to me and seems very popular with both locals and tourists.

Continue reading →

Foxcroft & Ginger

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Brian Williams

What’s there not to like about Foxcroft & Ginger? I was introduced to it by a friend on Twitter and, although it took me a little while, it’s now become a firm favourite. The storefront, on Berwick Street in Soho, is, I confess, one I could easily walk past (and it’s not often that my café radar lets me down) and I find the upstairs a little chaotic. However, downstairs in the basement is the real deal.

Regular readers might not know about my fondness for basements, largely because there aren’t that many cafés with decent basements. It can best be described as “unfinished”, with bare walls and exposed power conduits and air conditioning ducts. It’s “L” shaped with a collection of oddly-shaped tables around the walls. In fact, nothing much matches in Foxcroft & Ginger, which is one of its many charms.

The coffee, as one might expect, is very good, with espresso-based drinks supplemented by V60, cafetiere and Aeropress options and with beans from Has Bean and Caravan. However, best of all are the cakes, and, specifically, the muffins, which might be the best in the whole wide world, all freshly baked on site.

September 2016: I’ve heard on the grapevine that Foxcroft & Ginger’s Soho branch has closed, although there’s no official word as to why… Very sad news.

Continue reading →

Guerra Coffee, Guildford

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Brian Williams

Guildford has a pop-up espresso bar! How exciting is that? For some reason, I associate pop-up espresso bars (or pop-up anything) with places such as London, Edinburgh or Bristol, not my home town of Guildford, so I, for one, was very excited.

Guerra Coffee has only been going for a few weeks, having sneakily waited until I was out of the country before opening. For those unfamiliar with the pop-up movement, the idea is to occupy unused space, often on a temporary basis. In that vein, Guerra Coffee shares space with the Limelight Portrait Studios on Friary Street, just off the bottom of Guildford’s High Street. However, I get the impression that Guerra would like to be more permanent than the typical pop-up.

Guerra’s focus is firmly on the coffee, with a mission to bring great coffee to a variety of locations (see the Guerra website for more details). It’s great to see Guerra opening up in Guildford, but whether Guildford is equally passionate about good coffee remains to be seen…

Continue reading →

Le Couteau – The Knife

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Brian Williams

You know somewhere is going to be good when everybody you meet tells you to go there. So it was with Le Couteau (The Knife), one of the new wave of coffee shops that have sprung up in Montréal in the last couple of years. In fact, as this post is published, Le Couteau is precisely one year and six days old…

Located just around the corner from the Mont-Royal metro station, Le Couteau is a wonderful place. It’s spacious, full of light and the coffee is superb. The cakes are pretty awesome too. Like many of the places I visited in Montréal, the focus is firmly on the coffee, with little else to distract you, although there is tea and hot chocolate for those of that persuasion.

At first glance, the wooden benches don’t look that inviting, but they are actually very comfortable, while the much sought-after window seats look ideal (I never got to try one since they were all taken). At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if I lived in Montréal, I’d be in here all the time (except I’d be in all other great places I visited as well; something of a dilemma!).

Continue reading →

Kahawa Cafe

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Brian Williams

Coventry is not the first place that springs to mind when you think of top-notch coffee. However, Kahawa Café is doing its best to change that perception. It had only been open for two months when I visited in February, but it already seems to have established itself and gathered a loyal following. As is often the way, I found out about it through twitter, where lots of good things were being said.

The great thing about Kahawa Café is that it’s a really relaxing place. It also helps that it serves excellent coffee! It’s the sort of place you could easily spend the afternoon and, I suspect, even when it’s busy, it wouldn’t feel crowded, such is its uncluttered nature. Free wi-fi, a few power sockets and a lovely big sofa at the back all add to the allure.

What’s really impressive is that Kahawa Café seems to have achieved its success largely through word-of-mouth (and twitter) which says to me that they’re getting things right. It’s another of those places which, if I lived in the area, I’d be in all the time!

Continue reading →

Pikolo Espresso Bar

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Brian Williams

The Pikolo Espresso Bar in downtown Montréal came highly recommended. No, really. Very highly recommended: I’d only been in Montréal a day and already lots of people had said that I should go there. Under such circumstances, there’s always the possibility for disappointment, so it was with some trepidation that I visited one sunny afternoon.

However, I was far from disappointed. In fact, I fell in love with the place the moment I stepped through the door. Very long and thin, and with wonderfully-high ceilings, there is something about Pikolo to which I was instantly attracted. Located in a beautiful, old building, I knew this was going to be a great place to drink coffee. It probably helps that the coffee is pretty good too.

Frankly, what’s there not to like about Pikolo? It’s small, but never felt crowded; popular, but never felt busy; the staff are great and passionate about the coffee; it’s full of light and I even liked the music! Pikolo has been open about 18 months and is one of the places at the forefront of a quiet coffee revolution taking place in Montréal. With places like Pikolo, the revolution is sure to be a success!

Continue reading →

Pushcart Coffee, East Broadway

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Brian Williams

Standing on the corner of Clinton Street and East Broadway, Pushcart Coffee is not, as the name might suggest, a coffee cart, but is, in fact, a lovely little coffee shop. Better still, it’s a couple of blocks from the Chinatown hotel I normally stay in when I’m in New York, which makes it a great first stop in the morning. In Pushcart’s defence, the three-wheeled cycle-powered cart which sits outside and gives the store its name, is in regular use, taking coffee to the people at events around New York.

Pushcart Coffee is rooted in its neighbourhood, using local produce where possible and baking much of it on the premises. It’s also in a lovely old building which used to be a butcher’s shop. It’s pretty small, but nonetheless manages a cosy, friendly atmosphere. However, the main focus is on the coffee and I have to say that I was impressed, particularly with Pushcart’s speciality, the cortado, which forms the perfect compliment for the Stumptown Coffee.

Continue reading →

State of the Nation(s)

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Brian Williams

Dear readers. I thought I had better explain myself, especially to those of you who are new to the Coffee Spot, but also to my regular readers who could be forgiven for thinking I’ve disappeared!

Normally I post twice a week, once on a Monday and once on a Thursday. However, for the last month, I have been a bit remiss in keeping up with my schedule, for which I can only apologise. The simple explanation is that I have been away on holiday (or perhaps, given where I went, vacation would be a better term…). I had high hopes of at least posting once a week while I was away, but that slowly went out of the window…

The good news is that while I was away, I did find the odd Coffee Spot worthy of a mention (21 in all, across three cities!). The other good news is that I am now back and, starting on Monday, will be back to posting twice a week.

Continue reading →

Brian's Coffee Spot

Devoted to Coffee

Flour Bakery + Café, South End & Back Bay

Coffee Aroma

Caffé Roma

Foxcroft & Ginger

Guerra Coffee, Guildford

Le Couteau – The Knife

Kahawa Cafe

Pikolo Espresso Bar

Pushcart Coffee, East Broadway

State of the Nation(s)