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Cafe and coffee lounge. Great coffee, wonderful cakes and a very inventive and stylish meal menu.
12-14 Rochdale Road, Royton, Oldham, England
+44(0)1616335818
Google map: bit.ly/10iTHZI
The 'perfect' European cafe - I haven't found better. Beautiful garden, great food, the kind of service you always hope for, reasonably priced
The one place I always head for.
www.cafeeinstein.com/
Kurfürstenstraße 58 10785 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 263919
Google map: bit.ly/1492tJi
A neat place overlooking the lake. By night it's a cool place to sit and watch the mayhem below. Fantastic fruit juices!
73 Cầu Gỗ, Hoan Kiem District Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 3926 0801
Google map: bit.ly/10ucjBd
In Castle Hedingham, Essex not only can you explore this magnificent Castle, you can walk around the beautiful grounds filled with daffodils and bluebells in spring time. There are lots of events that take place here, from jousting tournaments to wedding fairs. A short walk away brings you to the village pub 'The Bell.' This family pub serves hearty, excellent value meals and stocks local ale and ciders. If the pub isn't your thing there is a lovely tea rooms opposite serving up light lunches and home-made cakes.
www.hedinghamcastle.co.uk/
Bayley Street, Castle Hedingham,
Essex, CO9 3DJ
+44(0)1787 460261
Google map: bit.ly/16PwEVw
www.hedinghambell.co.uk/
www.buckleysofcastlehedingham.co.uk/tearooms.htm
We love visiting Low Sizergh Barn a dairy farm just south of Kendal in the rolling hills of South Lakeland. Time it right and you can watch the cows being milked while you sip leaf tea at your table - there’s a glass panel in the tea shop and it overlooks the milking parlour. The food they serve is straightforward but delicious, with an emphasis on quality – the scones are fresh, the butter is good and there’s no spray cream here! The cakes and scones are made on the premises and you can buy more to take away from the shop downstairs. The ethical ethos permeates the whole visit - there is a social enterprise nearby called Growing Well (www.growingwell.co.uk/), where volunteers grow vegetables and support is offered to help them return to employment. You can buy their veg in the farm shop, which sells a wide range of other yummy local food, including cheese made from the farm’s dairy herd. Foodie heaven. You can also buy crafts and some lovely quirky gifts from the shop. Or there’s a two mile farm trail to work up an appetite and admire the free range hens whose eggs you have just bought. A lovely afternoon, or morning. And for southerners visiting the Lake District, it’s perfectly situated on the A591 between Kendal and the M6 for a stop off to stock up on Cumbrian delicacies for your way home.
www. lowsizerghbarn.co.uk
Low Sizergh Farm, Sizergh, Kendal LA8 8AE
+44(0)1539 560426
Google map: bit.ly/XEuh8t
This is the take-away arm of one of my favourite places, Cafe Retro. Serves food and drink in compostable packaging! I also bought reusable sandwich wraps which are brilliant for the kids' packed lunches. Full marks for sustainability (and their stuff tastes good too!)
www.caferetro.co.uk
18 York Street, Bath, BA1 1NG
+44(0)1225339347
Google map: bit.ly/XcSrW9
Low Sizergh Barn tea room not only serves really great food, much of it from the farm or local area, but it comes with a great view.
Every afternoon around 3.30pm you can head for the tables by the windows overlooking the farm's parlour for a bird's eye view of milking time, or you can watch the action relayed live on large screens.
Should you miss milking time, you can enjoy Cow Cam throughout the day. It provides entertaining viewing of the herd's ladies indulging in a satisfying scratch on the oversized brush suspended from the cowshed rafters.
And it's just a small part of what's on offer just off the A591 near Kendal, there's also a well stocked farm shop, working farm, farm nature trail, and craft, clothing and gift galleries.
www. lowsizerghbarn.co.uk
Low Sizergh Farm, Sizergh, Kendal LA8 8AE
+44(0)1539 560426
Google map: bit.ly/XEuh8t
A tea garden in remote Rosedale, North of Pickering.
I recommend it because it is such an unexpected find at the head of this gorgeous valley. Also, because the food is such high quality and all homemade including Yorkshire tea-bread and elderflower cordial. It's all served in a sun-trap garden with fabulous views down the valley and up to the moors.
www.teagardenrosedalenyorksmoors.co.uk
Dale Head Farm, Rosedale East, Pickering, North Yorkshire, YO18 8RL
+44(0)1751417353
Google map: bit.ly/Z5o1Sd
Tower Records in Shibuya gleams like a beacon, calling out to music and book lovers across the city and its inhabitant nationalities. It has recently gone under construction, so that what was once a peaceful book haven on the seventh floor has become a cool, sophisticated book/coffee shop on the 2nd. There are spaces for you to sit and read, with chargers for your laptop or phone, wooden floors, the best foreign book selection I’ve yet to see, and music which makes you stop and say “I LOVE that track!” The coffee shop serves taco rice, cakes, make-your-own hamburger sets and is decked out in a comfy, earthy style.
www.tower.jp
apan, Tokyo, Shibuya, Jinnan, １−２２−１４
+81 3 3496 3661
Google map: bit.ly/11odpBl
* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle
Tower Records in Shibuya gleams like a beacon, calling out to music and book lovers across the city and its inhabitant nationalities. It has recently gone under construction, so that what was once a peaceful book haven on the seventh floor has become a cool, sophisticated book/coffee shop on the 2nd. There are spaces for you to sit and read, with chargers for your laptop or phone, wooden floors, the best foreign book selection I’ve yet to see, and music which makes you stop and say “I LOVE that track!” The coffee shop serves taco rice, cakes, make-your-own hamburger sets and is decked out in a comfy, earthy style.
www.tower.jp
2F, 1-22-14, Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0041
+81 3-3496-3661
Google map: bit.ly/164yvHC
* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here:
www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle
Pack your picnic basket with a baguette, Camembert, a Normandy cider and a tarte au pommes, and head for the old town of Rouen. Relax on the bench at the foot of Rouen’s Notre Dame Cathedral where Monet stood with his easel and brushed his series of Cathedral images and bon appétit! If you are brave and maybe talented too take your charcoals with you and try your hand. If not take coffee on the pavement outside one of several little cafes, like Brasserie Paul, nearby to the sounds of the accordion. Inspiring.
www.brasserie-paul.com
1 Place de la Cathédrale, 76000 Rouen, France
+33 2 35 71 86 07
Google map: bit.ly/YalFRC
Set just behind the main shopping high street of Briggate on Central Road is another edition to the thriving independent coffee scene of Leeds.
Walking into Mrs Atha's feels like you have just entered a downtown New York coffee house. Exposed brickwork, high ceilings, and mood lighting add to the feel. The guys who work behind the counter are all really well informed about the coffee served. Along with the regular house blend each week they have a guest coffee. The all day breakfast menu has mostly sandwich fare along with pancakes. Pastries and cakes are also available from the counter. Nearly everything on the menu comes in around the £3 50p mark.
The atmosphere is friendly with sofas and communal tables giving an informal air to the place.
18 Central Rd, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 6DE
Google map: bit.ly/ZVFGOt
In one of the early scenes in the film 'Once', Glen and Marketa are seen chatting over a cup of tea in the window of Simon's Place Coffee Shop on George's Street. Later they cross the street to Waltons music shop. The café is located within George's Street Arcade, one of Dublin's oldest indoor markets, dating back to 1894. Simon's Place attracts a bohemian mix of artists, students and musicians and is always at its busiest during lunchtime hours - it's not unusual for queues to spill out the door. The café prides itself on its freshly made soups and thickly cut ‘doorstep’ salad sandwiches - get here early if you plan to dine-in for a bite.
22, South Great George's Street, Dublin 2
+353 1 679 7821
Google map: bit.ly/XqR1Eb
* Fiona is our Been there local for Dublin. You can follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/FionaHilliard and read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/trails/been-there-locals.jsp. She also has her own blog: www.traveledits.com
A hidden gem where you can lose a couple of hours exploring rooms crammed full of art nouveau treasures, followed by the chance to enjoy the finest Hungarian coffee and cake among the collection. You can even buy the displays, if you can fit them in your suitcase!
www.magyarszecessziohaza.hu/mainen.php
1054.Budapest, Honvéd u.3
+36 1 269 4622
Google map: bit.ly/X2jArn
I love the faded splendour of the Central Cafe in Budapest. Sat on worn red leather seats in the wood-panelled interior it is easy to imagine eavesdropping on the earnest conversations of bearded revolutionaries, artists, poets and lovers.
Art deco lights hang from from starburst ceiling roses, and the doors open up onto the street to entice passers-by into the cool, high-ceilinged rooms with their beautiful painted mouldings and dark wood floors.
The waiters act slightly aloof, as though they carry the weight of history around with their trays of magnificent cakes and hearty Hungarian breakfasts. We feasted on scrambled eggs, Mangalica sausage, soft cheese on brown seeded bread and freshly squeezed orange juice.
www.centralkavehaz.hu
1053 Budapest, Károlyi Mihály u. 9, Hungary
+36 1 266 2110
Google map: bit.ly/Y667A0
Arriving two hours late on the overnight sleeper from Istanbul, after five separate stops for checks by Turkish then Bulgarian border police in the middle of the night, it was bliss to find this cafe. With its worn squashy leather sofas surrounded by a sculpture garden, and a warm unhurried atmosphere, it provided the best hot chocolate I have ever had - pure, smooth, rich, dark nectar which lifted the spirts on a cold, grey October day. The art gallery was not very memorable, the hot chocolate was.
www.nationalartgallerybg.org
1 Prince Alexander Square, Sofia
+359 2 9800093
Google map: bit.ly/VOv8QC
I discovered this place yesterday, even though I have lived in Leeds for four years. Hidden away next to a fish and chip shop (I think that's new too?) just off Wellington Street, this place serves up a brilliant sandwich.
Although I had never been there before, I was clearly late to the party on this one as it was very busy and there was a queue for sandwiches. I had a roast beef sandwich on the biggest slices of bread I've ever seen, and my friend had a jacket potato slathered with tuna mayonnaise!
We were lucky to get a table as most people were ordering lunch to take away. The food was delicious, and we had to go back for some carrot cake to finish it off in style. I would really recommend Appetite cafe.
www.appetitedeli.co.uk
27 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4EA
+44(0)113 2435871
Google map: bit.ly/UrBubF
Starbucks, Costa, Paul: visitors to Prague can’t help noticing that the coffee giants have descended on the city. Thankfully though there are still plenty of cool indie cafes to discover including new kid on the block Prazirna.
The clue to Pražírna’s unique selling point is in its name, the Czech word for coffee roasting house. Yep, you guessed it – all their beans are roasted on the premises. As you would therefore expect, every possible kava variation is on the menu – Americano and cappuccino; flat white and filter, all at reasonable prices. Despite its stripped-down interior – the walls are unadorned brick apart from the odd arty black and white photo – this aspiring hip haunt somehow manages to be cosy rather than austere. There’s squishy seating on offer in its two spacious basement rooms as well as the usual hardbacked seats if you need to take advantage of the Wi-Fi and get on with some freelancing. The service is friendly and attentive but this remains a place you feel able to linger without ordering every five minutes.
The coffee itself is of course excellent quality, proffered on a small metal tray and served with a decent-sized tumbler of tap water. Don’t expect Starbucks style mega portions though: here at Pražirna, less is more. There are classic Czech winter warmers on offer too like medovina (a boozy hot tipple made from honey) and svařák (mulled wine) if you’re not a slave to caffeine.
All in all, Pražirna is a very welcome new addition to Prague’s indie café scene. I always leave there feeling full of beans.
kavarnaprazirna.cz/en/
Lublaňská 676/50, Prague 2
+420 720 385 622
Nearest metro/tram: I.P. Pavlova
Google map: bit.ly/W5Fcp1
* Lisette is our Been there local for Prague. You can read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/prague-local-lisette.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/LisettePrague
Psst. You. Yes you standing there in Dam Square, map in hand, wondering where to eat and not eager to sit down at the dozens of lousy tourist trap spots nearby. Over here. Down this non-descript street not much wider than an alley. Right off Dam Square, about 150 metres. It's Cafe van Kerkwijk.
It's surprising to find such a great, affordable, off-the-beaten path place so close to such a beaten path. My wife and I discovered it quite by accident; I've been in the city for years now and didn't even notice this street until last month.
There are no menus here - your server will come over and list the day's options. And then you'll be treated to a great homemade meal in a cozy environment - I'd call it comfort food but that might imply it is too basic. All the choices are interesting and they vary, from meat dishes to vegetarian options, sandwiches to full meals to great desserts and coffee. The at-home feel is enhanced by the two sisters who own it, one in the kitchen and the other on the floor.
It is busy - often packed with locals, which is a good sign in any city - and you can't make reservations. But wait a few minutes at the small bar and you will be rewarded, day or night.
www.caferestaurantvankerkwijk.nl/eng/11.html
Nes 41, 1012 KC Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31 20 620 3316
Google map: bit.ly/XZWcfU
* Jeff is our Been there local for Amsterdam. You can read his profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/amsterdam-local-jeff-funnekotter.jsp and follow his tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/jefffunnekotter
Poland’s Hel Peninsula was once mistaken for the Caribbean in my holiday photos – and you can send postcards saying you’re on holiday in Hel – but it gets very crowded in high season, so the Pomeranian/Kashubian coast to the west offers a quieter alternative with the same fantastic beaches. Łeba is a highlight; you can hire bikes cheaply for a forest ride through the Słowiński National Park to an amazing moving sand dune. Ustka is a lively seaside town with a particularly good bakery (Piekarnia-Ciastkarnia Eugeniusz Brzóska, ul. Marynarki Polskiej 40, 76-270 Ustka) and an excellent café specialising in stuffed dumplings which never taste quite as good outside Poland (Stara Pierogarnia, ul. Darłowska 10A, 76-270 Ustka. Tel: 00 48 59 307 03 03 Email: biuro@pierogarnia.ustka.pl). We went there three days in a row. The skansen (open air museum) of Kashubian culture at Wdzydze Kiszewskie is also well worth a day trip (www.muzeum-wdzydze.gda.pl), as is the more famous one at Szymbark, which boasts the world’s longest table and a house which has been built upside down, as well as a range of traditional food options and its own brewery. (www.na-kaszuby.pl/Ciekawe_miejsca/Szymbark.html).
Piekarnia-Ciastkarnia Eugeniusz Brzóska, ul. Marynarki Polskiej 40, 76-270 Ustka
Stara Pierogarnia, ul. Darłowska 10A, 76-270 Ustka. Tel: 00 48 59 307 03 03 Email: biuro@pierogarnia.ustka.pl
www.muzeum-wdzydze.gda.pl
www.na-kaszuby.pl/Ciekawe_miejsca/Szymbark.html
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