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.

taylor st. baristas, 28 Queens Road Brighton

Newly opened having previously occupied a corner of Travlebag just down the street. I was a fan then and thought I'd give them a look.

As always I'm here checking out the coffee, service and venue so you don't have to.








The venue: 4

This place is very much like a lot of other small independent coffee houses.  If you know your coffee bars you can see that it has been modelled on the Richardson & Gilmartin coffee bar business model. Still, they have made it feel quirky and unique and very Brighton. Good use of the limited space is made by placing the solid chunky furniture around the edges with long benches along the walls. There is a beautiful wooden floor which is contrasted with the grey walls and red chairs. Cool art, plants and nick-nacks finish the look. There is a small but delightful garden/yard to the rear. It's situated on a very busy road close to the train station so the clientèle are mostly office workers and commuters. 

The service 3: 

The staff are friendly and welcoming in a very relaxed manner that will immediately put you at ease. They know their coffee and how to make it and also offer a decent range of nibbles, soups and salads. I'd heartily recommend having the banana bread which was delicious. There is a small range of very good teas available too. They are let down a little by having a bit of a laissez-faire attitude; enjoying a good chat is well and good but seriously where's my coffee!! In anyone's book seven minutes from ordering to having a coffee in front of you is too long.


The coffee: 5 

  Served up in a dramatic black coffee bowl, chocolate was, perfectly for me, neither requested or given and with their customary artistic swirl on top this was a perfect cup of coffee. Single source and directly traded arabica beans ensured that there was mountains of flavour in this cup. Currently they are serving up a Guatemalan bean that is taste bud-tastic. I know of no other coffee house in this city that is serving single source as the house coffee and at £2.30 this was excellent value to boot. The coffee had a velvety chocolate taste with hints of orange oil, butteryness and roasted walnuts. In short fantastic.


Overall this is a decent wee coffee house serving up fantastic coffee. With the location however it's always going to be a place for the nearby office workers or people on their way to and from the station.

Overall score: 12 out of 15

The Courtyard Coffee Bar and Restaurant, 20 New Road Brighton

This place has been around for a while, coffee house by day and more of a restaurant by evening.

As always its the venue, service and coffee that I'm looking at.









The venue:  4

This place is in a great location, sitting as it does on one of my favourite streets in the city. Looking out onto the Dome and the Pavilion Gardens, its in a great spot for leisurely sipping your coffee while people watching. During the daytime this place is quiet, I was their only customer during my visit. Its modern and very clean, with very solid comfortable furniture. From the outside it looks small but there is a cavernous space to the rear including the courtyard that gives the place its name.




The coffee: 2

Served in a quality white coffee bowl, the cup was definitely the highlight of the "coffee" experience. As you can see there was an abundance of chocolate added, without being requested. One of my coffee pet hates is having chocolate dusted over everything, saucer, cup handle etc. I was cleaning it off my hands for ages. Anyhow the tepid coffee was basically not much more flavoursome than hot milk, without the heat. The barista wasn't able to tell me what type of coffee they were serving as she "only makes the coffee" in any case it was bland, lacking in flavour and with little of a caffeine kick. On the plus side the froth was still hanging in there to the very end.

The Service: 0 

   Considering I was the only customer I was truly appalled by the customer services in this place. The barista was so busy talking to her friend that I had to interrupt her to order the coffee. She took the order without looking at me once and never stopped talking to her rather embarrassed friend. The coffee did arrive promptly in fairness although I put this down to the lack of customers and the baristas desire to got back to talking to her friend. When I went to pay, she was on her mobile phone talking to what was clearly her boyfriend, who she was clearly not getting on well with and took no notice of me. I left the money, minus tip, on the counter and left.

I would give this place a miss, which is a real shame as it's in such a lovely place and could be great.

Overall Score: 6 out of 15

Pavilion Gardens Cafe

On this blog I'm often looking at the new kids on the block, today is a bit of a change as this place has been going for 70 years. With those 70 years behind them they hardly need an endorsement from me but for what it's worth here's my humble opinion on the venue, coffee and service.






The venue 5:

It's all about location, location, location and this place takes some beating. Set in the gardens of Brighton's Royal Pavilion, the clue's in the name, and looking out across manicured greenery towards the pavilion itself it has one of the most pleasant views in the city. It's an open air venue and nestles at the back of the gardens under the shade of some large oak and beach trees, the dappled sunshine this afternoon made the whole place look as if it were bathed in gold. The tables are all rusty legged and wobbly and the chairs are plastic and of the type most commonly to be found on you've been framed. There are pigeons and squirrels galore scampering around the tables looking for crumbs, of which there are plenty. The clientele are generally of the older kind with a significant scattering of tourists, students and office types, the gardens just in front of the cafe are a hit with Brighton's bright young things.

The coffee: 3

Pleasantly surprised, my coffee being made by a young lady who I'm sure was not old enough to have ever tasted coffee. It was nevertheless nicely put together in a white coffee bowl, chocolate was added without being requested and white granulated sugar was available in sachets upon request. The bean was fairly nondescript, I was told that they buy whatever is available, and it shows. There was a strong caffeine hit and a slightly over roasted and somewhat bitter taste which I attribute to the inexperience of the barista. Having said that, there was a mild smokey aftertaste lurking in there that made me smile.

The service: 2

This place is a cafe, it's busy and it's staffed mostly by teenagers on school holidays and this shapes the service. There's a counter service that's efficient and to be fair sufficient. But the staff are mostly too busy and too young to be able to offer anything more. For a venue that's not much more than a kiosk they somehow manage to produce a decent range of nibbles, tray bakes and salads all of which are every bit as twee as they sound.

I enjoyed this place and left feeling more relaxed than when I arrived, it's not perfect, the coffee is just ok and the service is not great but it is in a great place and has charm and tweeness in abundance and is well worth a look.

Overall score: 10 out of 15

Metrodeco, 38 Upper St. James's Street, Brighton

My first visit to this place but as ever it's the coffee, the service and the venue that I look at. You know the drill by now; each is scored out of 5 (see the first post for what the scores mean) and there is an overall score out of 15.





The venue: 4

This is a quirky place, being a coffee shop set in an antique shop, though it feels like its the other way around. There are others like it, especially in Kemp Town, but I'd say this is the best of them. At least one of the sets of tables and chairs were for sale along with all of the light fittings and the whole place had an eclectic bohemian feel to it. It's a well thought out space making good use of the 20 covers inside and 8 outside. Large floor to ceiling windows on two sides gives this small space a light and airy feel and the illusion of space. The background music was very much in the background and suitably chilled. The clientele are all regulars and the staff know them by name and I think that says quite a lot about this place. There's a furniture showroom in the basement so you can have a poke about when you've had enough coffee. An unswept floor and grubby napkins wedged under my once wobbly table stopped this place from scoring top marks.

The coffee: 4

Nicely presented in a patterned habitat bowl, chocolate was lightly dusted without being requested. The antique silver plated teaspoon was a lovely touch. Rock sugar available on the table in desert glasses. There was a rich roast flavour to the coffee and the cappuccino was expertly put together with exactly the right combination of bean, milk and froth; best I've had in town. They use beans from the Small Batch Coffee Company in Hove, which I've reviewed recently. The quality is excellent, but its been a good year. The froth didn't quite make it to the half way mark and with only one size available, which is priced towards the top of the speciality coffee bracket it misses the top score; just.

The service: 5

Relaxed and very friendly is the main selling point of this place. Lovely attention to detail and a genuine welcoming atmosphere make this place a wee bit special. There is a good selection of albeit expensive cakes available and the menu is full of homely, rustic fare. I had a sandwich that was fresh and delicious and so much of it that I had to have a doggy bag. The staff know their customers and go out of their way to ensure that the service is personal. This is somewhere that you'll come back to again and again.

Overall 13 out of 15

Small Batch Coffee Company, Wilbury Road, Hove

I've known about this place for a long time and had been meaning to pop along and check them out, with a great web presence and an ethical product I was really looking forward to this one.  As ever its the Venue, Service and Coffee that I'm reviewing.




The venue: 3

I wanted so badly to like this place more, it was modern and funky but with an eye on style. With a good mahogany wooden floor and dark slate grey walls with touches of gold here and there, stylistically it was working but the floor was dirty and the whole place needed a good dusting. Not that this was putting any of the other customers off; the place seems to be doing a roaring trade. The clientèle are an even mix of office types having a break, thirty-something mums and ladies who lunch with a smattering of well to do gay guys. It is situated a mere step from busy Church Road but in a quiet oasis of peace and calm and with quality outdoor seating on a raised veranda is an idea place to soak up the sunshine and watch the world go by. The large windows however mean that the interior gets a little warm and there is no aircon. I was there at 4pm on a day when the top temperature was 18 degrees and it felt more like 25 inside. The place is roomy with about 25 covers inside and the same outside, it would be an ideal place to come for a coffee and a long chat, outside, while you bask in afternoon sunlight.

The Service: 3

Good solid service but nothing much of note. The guys behind the counter in tee shirts and jeans had a relaxed air, they were polite but the service didn't amount to much more than "what can I get ya?" and "where are ya sittin I'll bring this right over". No small chat and not much in the way of eye contact either, though the place was busy and they were working hard to keep up with the orders. Things slowed quite a bit during my stay but I didn't note any change in the service. Some very nice sweet treats on the menu and a small selcetion of lunchtime savories that were unfortunately long gone by the time I arrived.

The Coffee: 3

I was majorly disappointed with the coffee in this place as I had been expecting it to be the best in town by a country mile, however in terms of presentation and taste it really failed to deliver. This was entirely down to the barista who I doubt has ever tasted cappuccino, the froth was wafer thin and was gone by my third sip and the coffee was lost in a veritable ocean of milk, what I ended up with was a cross between a latte and a flat white. Fine if I'd ordered either but a poor show as a cappuccino. Chocolate was neither offered nor available. That said the coffee itself is a nicely put together light house blend, smooth and choclatey and there was flavour in there amongst the milk. On the plus side this place is serious about speciality coffee and about producing it in an ethical manner.  Working with a specialist importer to buy direct from the grower they ensure that more of the profits go to the communities producing the coffee and they carry a good, ever changing, range of single source beans. You're guaranteed freshness as they roast their own beans in a speciality roastery just up the road and are involved in the drop4drop scheme that provides clean water to communities in the developing world, this is coffee with a conscience. All in all it's is a great place to come and buy an excellent quality coffee, unless it's the chat you're after I'd just take the beans away and make the coffee at home.

Overall score: 9 out of 15

La Fourchette, 42 Church Road, Hove

Just to reassure myself that there is life outside of kemp town I've ventured into deepest Hove to check out this delightful patisserie.

Coffee, venue and service are scrutinised for your pleasure.








The coffee: 4

A very nicely presented cappuccino in a thick white porcelain bowl with a hefty teaspoon that screamed quality and attention to detail. The rock sugar available on the table in sealable jars was a nice touch. Unless my taste buds deceive me this place is serving red roaster's house blend coffee. Flavoursome with nicely balanced acidic top notes it's a winner. On the down side the coffee comes in one size only though equal to a double shot at £2.10 is good value. Chocolate was sparingly sprinkled without being requested.

The venue: 4

This is a quality venue with about 35 covers on the ground floor, more seating is available upstairs. Comfortable leatherette captains chairs at the windows front and back with solid wooden tables and chairs in-between. Wooden floors, brown, cream and white decor give the place a classy French coffee house feel. The music was perfectly pitched as a mood setter without interfering with conversation. Popular with ladies who lunch the clientele are a reserved and sophisticated bunch. The place understands it's customer base and the menu is well pitched at the breakfast and lunchtime market, with a few afternoon teatime treats thrown in for good measure. The pricing represents good value for money and the food I had was delicious, fresh and nicely presented. As a patisserie you will not be surprised to learn that the tarts cakes and buns available will have you salivating and thinking forlornly about your waistline. Head to the seats at the back for secluded intimacy otherwise you'll be hobnobbing it with Hove's finest at the front. I would have given the venue a higher score but the place is a tiny bit tired looking around the edges with the floor, white wooden chairs and walls in need of some TLC.

The service : 5

More restaurant than coffee house in terms of service the staff are uniformed in classic black shirts and trousers with coffee baristas aprons worn long in the French style. The service here is aimed at making you feel special and valued and it was working for me. Unhurried personal attention comes with endless courtesy and charm without ever being in your face this is the perfect place to come with your best pals for a bit of self indulgence.

Overall score 13 out of 15