Britain's top quirky cafés
We take a look at some of the more `interesting' cafés to visit..
Whether your predilection is for a pint of builder’s tea or a bespoke Indian blend served in a vintage china teacup, the quirky café is in the ascendant.
Perhaps the extraordinary re-emergence of the cupcake has had an impact on the proliferation of old-fashioned tea shops and cafés; whatever, I for one am very glad they have. Nothing I like better than to while away some hours with a cuppa, slice of cake, a slim volume of Proust and my people-watching head on.
Here are my favourite mad cafés, in no particular order…
1. The Sunshine Bakery, Leeds
If you want to dive into a divine cupcake, make for this gloriously kitsch caff in a leafy Leeds suburb. Baker and former Marco Pierre White acolyte, David Bennett, is Cupcake Champion of Britain, and it’s true, the banana and mango with toasted almonds and mascarpone is a thing of great beauty.
Sunshine’s not just about cake though; there’s bread to take home and hearty soups and panninis to eat in; there’s also a very good lamb kofka burger which arrives in a tomato and olive bun with rocket salad.
Top of the chart though is the sublime pork and apple sausage roll; the fat daddy of all rolls, succulent, properly seasoned and served with home made piccalilli and a snappy little salad, a give-away at £4.
All this and good coffee and tea served in cute mismatching china – the vibe here is vintage, with mock flock wallpaper, frilly lampshades like your aunty Rita’s and roses on the net tablecloths. It’s a tiny, joyous little spot serving great food full of love.
2. Windy Corner Stores & Café, Whitstable, Kent
Chuck a brick in the middle of Whitstable and you’ll hit a café. But wander along Island Wall – the walk is worth it, the houses are stunning along here, and it costs nothing to pretend – and you’ll come across Windy Corner on, well, a windy corner.
Inside, it’s all scrubbed oak floors, comfortably battered old furniture, good local art, jars of flowers and shelves groaning with gourmet groceries; it feels very much like an old-skool general store.
Artisan bread is made daily on the premises, and pies and savouries are winners, or for the sweet tooth among you, cakes and ice cream.
Come for Sunday brunch; the coffee’s good and the vibe is sat back in a boho sort of way, (just the right side of hippy).
You can sit for hours in here, read all the papers, they’re not about to move you on. You’re a stone’s throw from the beach here too, and they’ll supply you with a barbecue pack full of organic goodies to nosh as the sun goes down.
3. Tea Hee Espresso Bar & Cheesemonger, Easingwold, North Yorkshire
Tucked away in a cobbled corner of the ancient cobbled market square, this ace little place goes from strength to strength. Summer and winter, it’s packed, always with a queue.
Either the good people of Easingwold are recession-proof, or the delights of Tea Hee are such that for a while you forget your woes. I suspect the latter. And what delights! Great coffee, home made cakes (Sophie’s cinnamon bun is the best – yes, the best you’ve ever had.)
There are savouries too, of course; home made soups are wholesome, flans and cheese pies are served with leaves from the stunning Mount St John garden close by. Sophie’s dad’s jam and chutney is for sale, along with any number of attractively packaged store cupboard staples.
There’s a great vibe here; chatty, buzzy, friendly – mainly due to the great local girls who look after you very well. In summer, sit out in the cute little yard at the back with its vintage bits and pieces.
4. Grindleford Station Café, Grindleford, Derbyshire
A fantastically eccentric caff in the heart of the Peak District, this former station building is a haven for bikers and walkers, the twin props of the Derbyshire economy.
It’s not a place for the faint hearted; everywhere are hand written notices, dealing with some issue or another; kids, dogs, toilets, coach parties, where to take your pots when you’ve finished eating …
Greeting you on the door is ‘Don’t even think about asking for mushrooms’ and ‘We can only please one person per day. Today is not your day’; the kind of non-friendly friendliness that depends entirely on a clear understanding of the rules.
Fading fifties colour posters of the Himalayas hang wonkily on institution cream walls, the ceilings have polystyrene tiles and fluorescent strip lights and the utilitarian tables are communal.
But there’s an open fire, walking books, maps, guides and newspapers, and darkly robust tea sold by the pint. The artery clogging full English breakfast (with chips) is one of the reasons people blaze a trail here at the weekend, and by noon, the order number is up to ninety (’Number 82, stop dithering, yours is going cold!’ blurts the tannoy, shattering your Sunday idyll).
So, why come here? Because the food is good value and no nonsense. Because the location is stunning and the walks from the door are magnificent. But mainly because it’s about as far from the ubiquitous McStarbucks breakfast experience as it’s possible to get.
5. Gillams, Ulverston, Cumbria
The Gillam family has been trading tea and coffee in Ulverston since 1892, as the original sepia photographs on the walls of this friendly tea room testify. At the bottom of the quaintly cobbled Market Street, their current home is an architecturally interesting 18th century building which simply draws you in.
Flagged floors, a big black range belting out heat on chilly Lakeland days, nicely scrubbed, mismatched furniture and stairs leading to a beautiful, high-ceilinged dining room with marvellous windows.
Squeeze through a narrow corridor and out back is a stunning terraced garden dripping with colour, and a real sun trap – the perfect spot to sip your chilled elderflower presse.
The food is vegetarian, organic, locally sourced, simply cooked and presented; breakfast is served all day, and free range eggs on toast will set you back £2.95. Sandwiches include Sizergh Kendal creamy cheese with Middlewood plum chutney for £4.10, and resist if you can the gloriously chunky home made cakes.
A novel touch is the erstwhile It Girl and local philanthropist Lady Fell’s Afternoon Tea – finger sandwiches, scones and cream and dainty cakes, served with tea, coffee and a bottle of wine – £24 for two. What are you waiting for, ladies?
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