Coffee houses

[vinteuil]

No. Any suggestions?

... o, just go in and savour the aroma - admire the range of coffee paraphernalia on sale - and the extraordinary range of coffees - and seek advice of the friendly and helpful staff!

https://www.algcoffee.co.uk

[Nick Armstrong]

... o, just go in and savour the aroma - admire the range of coffee paraphernalia on sale - and the extraordinary range of coffees - and seek advice of the friendly and helpful staff!

www.algcoffee.co.uk

Can one taste before one buys?

[Anna]

Can't disagree with you there. Of course, what you pay for when you visit one of the chains mentioned above is a 'coffee experience' of which the drink itself forms but a small part - you're paying for the enviornment, the freebie newspapers, the piped music (is it to your taste or not?) and the service.

Ha! Exactly! You are not paying for the coffee but you are paying for the Dream! By patronising this coffee shop you are proving yourself worthy, of it's patronage of you. and therefore you think, you are cool and I will pay these inflated prices.

[amateur51]

The branch of Caffe Nero in Kilburn is a proper café in that a wide range of people from all over, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritreia use it as a meeting and chatting place. Rather too many push chairs for my liking but the coffee is good and the loyalty card helps with the prices.

One 'worth a detour' is De Grays Tea Rooms in Ludlow where they'll do you a hand-tooled toasted tomato, cheese and ham sandwich with a side-salad and a pot of tea or coffee for realistic money.

The waitrines have black frocks and white pinnies with a white cap and are adept at getting the tea/coffee pot on the table without your noticing that the pots are made of metal, and the handles are perforated to let just the right amount of steam out to scald your hand before you can let go

The look of delight & the conspiratorial shrug of the shoulders as the waiting staff hear the screams of discomfort from a customer new to the café and its little ways are legendary and, after the first time, one is inclined to join in

[Segilla]

Recession; what recession?
If you can afford to buy Costa Coffee etc it's evident there is no recession in your wallet.

[Lateralthinking1]

My last cup of coffee outside was in a Wimpy at breakfast time before the crowds arrived. It was as good as anything in the other places, cheapish, and served cheerfully. Somehow, the coffee house movement here doesn't quite work for me. While I can fantasize that Starbucks represents an extension of moral chartism, the capitalist thing gets in the way.

And it isn't the same as getting onto the Continent, shuffling in with a rucksack at 7am, one or two dubious characters drinking pastis at the bar, and the rabbit of French radio quietly on in the background. That has a proper vibe for me. I am going back some years. Nearly always it is at home for me now. And from the outside, Nero always looks very closed in.

[PatrickOD]

Oh, the sophistication of all you London types! Coffee shops, indeed! I suppose the ghosts of Lamb, or Addison linger around the places you visit.

I'm an instant man myself which I have at home whenever I feel like it.The last time I frequented a caff (sic) I had a row with the cashier. I had coffee and a large slice of a delicious looking chocolate cake. She rang up £1 - a pound! '

What!' I exclaimed. 'A pound for a cup of coffee and a piece of cake! You CANNOT be SERIOUS!'
'It's gateau', she countered triumphantly.

That was some time ago. I hear that there are several fashionable places to go nowadays with French names and such.

[Alison]

PaT ,

I don't think you'd be too impressed with the prices now widely charged in the newer establishments.

[Alison]

A very good point about those Starbucks mugs, they are indeed horrible !

[teamsaint]

I would question the sanity of anybody prepared to spend £3 on a cup of coffee.*

Although people might question the sanity of those prepared to pay ticket prices at the football matches i go to !!

I recently stopped at a sevice station on the M42 at 8 in the morning, and spotted builders all buying this stuff.

If my builders could afford £3 coffees at 8 Am I would KNOW i was being overcharged !!!

*although, as it goes, in central london , if you throw in a comfy chair and clean toilets on a cold day it looks more like value !

[scottycelt]

Oh, the sophistication of all you London types! Coffee shops, indeed! I suppose the ghosts of Lamb, or Addison linger around the places you visit. .

Not just snobby Old London, Patrick ...

There used to be (maybe still is) a coffee-shop in Renfield Street, Glasgow, which had a proud plaque outside indicating that the great Thomas Penson De Quincey had once deemed to frequent the superior establishment.

Nowadays in the city, you're likely to get a much better 'buzz', superior or otherwise, in one of the surrounding bars, though most unlikely by way of the coffee machine ..

[Angle]

No-one's mentioned the long and late-lamented Kardomah which, so many years ago, was the best of British Coffee places, never surpassed. Nor has anyone been critical of those silly saucers used by Costa.

For good coffee, excellent and home-made flap-jacks, peace, quiet and space to spread The Times out on a table, I recommend the brand new Otterspool cafe in the park on the north bank of the Mersey with a clear view across to the mountains of North Wales (on a very fine day).

What's more, ordering doesn't require me to adopt any American/Italian terms.

I have been wondering for years how a coffee can be tall or why anyone would ask for a "lahte".

By the way, Mandryka: which High Street? Sounds well worth a visit, wherever it is. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

For the best coffee, I'd call in at Caffè Nero. Coffee in M&S is also pretty good - their Honey & Cinnamon Latte is a tasty seasonal special, just launched. In London I'd also put in a very good word for Notes in St Martin's Lane and, recently opened in Covent Garden.

[teamsaint]

used to be a good little corner cafe in Wells. you got a muffin free with a coffee, which was about £1.50 I think.

closed about a year ago.

[MrGongGong]

Monmouth in Borough Market (apart from the whole Radio 4 food programme folk who seem to base every programme there !)
Books and Beans in Aberdeen is very good
as is
Carluccios all over the place and not more expensive than the rest of the Costa,Nero lot AND they bring you a glass of water with your espresso
if you do need to travel from Kings Cross towards civilisation then the branch upstairs at StPancreas is perfect and you can watch the trains from Paris and Brussels arrive in peace while you wait !