Category: coffee

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Coffee at the La Viola Cafe & Bistro

I was staying at the Moxy Edinburgh Fountainbridge and wanted a coffee. The room only had instant, and as I also felt like a walk, I decided to venture out into Edinburgh to see what was available (and what was open).

I found La Viola Cafe & Bistro and went in. Placed my order,  I had a flat white, I took a seat and my coffee was brought to my table. I like it when that happens.

 It wasn’t long before my coffee arrived, it was really nice.

Lovely place for a coffee and very different to the chains I usually find myself in.

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Nice coffee at Coffee #1

I went for a walk around Clevedon and decided to stop for coffee. I found a branch of Coffee #1 which was open, so popped in. The place was similar to other branches of Coffee #1 with lots of wooden furniture and Tintin artwork on the walls.

Wasn’t too busy and I ordered a skinny flat white. Once the drink was made I took a seat.

This was a delicious coffee, really nice flavour and well made.

I enjoyed sitting at my table looking out the window with the sun shining in.

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Better coffee

Drayton Court Hotel

I was back in London and staying at the Drayton Court Hotel in Ealing. I have been staying here for a fair few years now. It is significantly cheaper than central London, and with the Elizabeth Line, hitting central London is really fast. West Ealing Station is a few minutes walk from the hotel, from there you can catch a train to central London in less than twenty minutes. 

One of the things about the hotel is the excellent breakfast, but the coffee was always a little disappointing. Interestingly their sister hotel, the Fox and Goose on Hangar Lane did a similarly excellent breakfast, but also had a coffee machine, so I could get my morning espresso hit.

I was pleased to see on my most recent visit to the Drayton Court Hotel that they had installed a coffee machine. This meant I could have a double espresso with my breakfast.

Pleased with that.

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Nice coffee

cup of coffee

Popped to Caffe Nero on Farringdon Road for a coffee. I had a skinny flat white. It was well made (even if there was no coffee art). It was a bustling cafe, but didn’t feel busy. A place I may visit again.

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£1 Flat White

As my phone contract is with Three, they have an app, Three+, that provides rewards and money off. One of their weekly offers is get a drink from Caffè Nero for £1.

I try and use it most weeks, but sometimes either I am not in the mood for a coffee, sometimes I am nowhere near a Caffè Nero (like when I am at the motorway services) or as happened recently at Paddington, there was a really long queue and I don’t want to miss my train.

I have visited the Caffè Nero on Corn Street in Bristol a fair few times and have had some great coffee.

This was the flat white I got on my most recent visit there.

This wasn’t the best looking flat white I’ve had from Caffè Nero. However it was a really nice coffee.

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Coffee @Worle

No this is not a play on using the @ symbol, one of the local gyms in Weston is called @Worle. I took one of my children there for a gym induction and had some time to kill, so decided to have a coffee in their cafe.

Sometimes in leisure centres and gyms, the coffee can be, well let’s say just depressing.

I did not have high expectations. However what I got I liked. It looked great. It also tasted great, it was a really good flat white.

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Not quite a flat white

two wooden boats in the mud

According to Wikipedia this is what is the accepted definition of a flat white coffee.

According to a survey of industry commentators, a flat white has a thin layer of microfoam (hence the ‘flat’ in flat white), as opposed to the significantly thicker layer of foam in a traditional cappuccino.

There is some dispute about the origin or creator of the flat white.  However there is also a lot of dispute across the various places I visit about the best way to make a flat white.

I was over in Woodbridge in East Anglia, looking for a place for a coffee, and to crack on with some work. I went to Coffeelink in the new(ish) redevelopment on the riverside. It was a typical modern coffee place, similar to places I have been to in Portishead and Whapping Wharf in Bristol.

I ordered my coffee and took a seat. A little later my coffee arrived.

coffee on a table

It was an interesting looking flat white, I felt it had a little too much foam. Despite that it was a nice coffee, which I enjoyed.

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Crosstown Coffee

flat white coffee

Back in April I was in Oxford and following a meeting I decided to get some coffee before heading home.

Oxford is awash with places to drink coffee, and sometimes too much choice is a bad thing. When I worked in Oxford ten years ago now, there were places I liked, some are still there, some have closed down.

I was passing the Oxford branch of Crosstown and it looked nice. I headed in and ordered a coffee.

It was a warm welcoming place, somewhat smart in decor and furniture, not formal, but not informal either. There was a wide range of doughnuts and other pastries, but I wasn’t hungry, having just had lunch, so I went with a coffee, a cortado.

It was quite nice, I wasn’t that fond of the flavour, but it was well made.

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Coffee at the Station

railway station

I think I may have mentioned more than once that I am not a fan of Starbucks coffee. Not totally enamoured with the flavour of the coffee. However I get that other people like it, and they are a quite successful company as well.

Sometimes I have no choice, as was the case when I was waiting for a train at Taunton station. They only have a Starbucks and I had a bit of a wait until my train, so I ordered a flat white. It was four pounds!

You could not fault the service though, the two staff behind the counter were friendly, welcoming, and full of energy.

The coffee was a typical Starbucks flat white, what I expected and it was just okay. It was served in a takeaway cup, for which they charged me 5p extra. I didn’t have a choice, as they had no china cups. I think I must remember to take my reusable cup with me next time I travel.

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Flat White at the Kitchen at Thorpeness

Travelling in Suffolk I stopped at Thorpeness on the Suffolk coast just up the way from Aldeburgh. Thorpeness was a small fishing hamlet which was developed in the early 20th century into an exclusive holiday village.  The village is full of characterful houses, including the unique house in the clouds.

At the heart of the village is an artificial boating lake known as the Meare. I remember boating here in the 1970s. This was January though and it was closed.

What was open was the Kitchen at Thorpeness.

This was a modern building serving a range of drinks and food, as well as having a nostalgic emporium in the back. When I went in, it was really busy, the village was very quiet, but the cafe was packed. I was given a warm welcome and asked what I wanted. I placed my order at the counter and took a seat at the table. I had been tempted by the cakes and scones, but I had had a big breakfast. It wasn’t long before my coffee arrived.

They serve Illy coffee, and this was an excellent flat white. I spent a pleasant time in the Kitchen, drinking my coffee and getting some work done.

Really enjoyed my coffee, and I as on my way out tempted to stay for a scone, but didn’t have the time. If I find myself in the area again, I will certainly visit, and maybe have a scone this time.