Mediterraneo Delicatesson: 2a Clyde Road, Brighton, BN1 4NP

I am making a return to this blog after a bit of an absence; life has a habit of creating distractions welcome and otherwise but with such distractions put to rest, at least temporarily, the coffee blog is back.

As usual it's three things I'm looking at; The coffee, the venue and the service. Everything is scored out of five with an overall score out of fifteen up for grabs.

The Venue: 4/5

This place is not an obvious choice, being tucked away at the wrong end of town but then this blog is not about the obvious choices. Next door to the Duke of York Cinema near Preston Park, on a quiet street looking out towards a busy road, the location leaves something to be desired. But for all of that the place has bags of charm. By day they operate as a small deli/ coffee shop and resturant by night, small and family run the place has an authentic Sicilian feel to it. It's tiny, with room for nine people inside and about ten outside but once you step inside its hard to imagine that you're in Brighton still as the Mediterranean feel envelops you like a warm hug from an old friend. If you've been at the cinema or to the park and fancy a coffee or a bite of lunch before heading home then this place is well worth a look. I dare you not to like it, for me I might just be falling in love with it.

The Service: 5/5
Perfect, unhurried, friendly and attentive but never intrusive there is not much more to be said. The fact that its family run I think gives the service an intimate feel, they managed to make me feel welcome without being clammy or over-friendly. Chilled softly playing Italian mood music added to the taverna feel of the place and I felt like they were happy to see me. I'd recommend it for the service alone.

The Coffee: 3/5

The coffee is really what it's all about, a decent coffee with nice rounded flavour served in a quaint

old-fashioned coffee cup. The froth was a bit dry but I loved the smiley face which seemed to fit the character of the place to a tee. There was a slight hint of oily aftertaste that stopped it from being a damn good coffee. It was smooth and velvety with mid notes of citrus and altogether very pleasant.

This place is just lovely, it's full of character and charm and well worth a visit. One note of caution; Mediterranean style they close up at three in the afternoon to get ready to open again in the evening.

Overall that's 12 out of 15.