Tell me about your favourite cafe/tea room/coffee shop

[SausageSimon]

What is it you love about your favourite cafe, tea room or coffee shop?

Considering things like decor, atmosphere, the service or even things on the menu!

What is it that makes them your favourite?

I don't have a favourite as they all seem to be missing something vital.

I want the best coffee. A proper strong cortado- not a milky latte like replica. I know somewhere that does an excellent one but the seating is shite.

I don't want to be cheek by jowl with others in an uncomfortable seat. I don't want to sit in a draft or by a loo. I want a squishy chair in a corner with a bit of space. I'd like the lighting to be natural if possible, not harsh bright artificial light. I'm not a fan of twee Cath Kidston chintz, or prissy oilcloth. A squishy leather chair without twee crap everywhere.

I don't want cake. If I get peckish I'd like a savoury option that isn't all pastry.

I like a bit of quiet jazz humming in the background.

My favourite cafe is in a retail/office park. The decor is quite plain, the two outside walls are entirely glass and they have blinds for when the sun is low in the sky. One wall (behind the counter) is dark grey and the other wall is pale grey. They make really good coffee, they bake from scratch and change the flavours regularly. The food is a little bit hipster, but well made and they use good ingredients like free-range eggs etc. There are lots of vegetables and salad. They make soup and sandwiches from scratch, including making the bread. The menu is quite short, but they also have daily specials on a board.

Dark paint, comfy chairs of various types. Hazelnut praline brownies that are amazing. Portuguese custard tarts. Books to borrow and colouring stuff for kids.

Mine is beautiful. My favourite thing about them are the toilets 😁 wood pannelled and wallpapered (very expensive vintage type paper) and spotlessly clean.

Lots of newspapers. Scones. Crossiaints. Salmon and quiche - light options too. Also sell beautiful gifts

Comfy seating, quiet non-intrusive background music, enough room to sit without feeling like someone right on top of you, good coffee, proper cups not those silly glasses with the tiny low down handles that always feel.off balance.

I like cake with my coffee but hate that most cafes seem to have them open to the air so they always seem stale, starbucks is particularly bad for that. I also fully understand a profit has to be made but if I order a 'large' coffee, pay £3.50 but you serve me a tiny mug of latte then i won't be back. you

We have a local independant place tiny serving size, takes ages to get a coffee made, gluten free vegan organic no GM flat little brownies and flapjacks on plates uncovered near the till, high prices, hipster decor, little spindly legged chairs, annoying tendency to stop serving half an hour before closing time as they're closing up......... Never more than 2 people in there when i walk by, I have no idea how they're still open.

In a garden centre near Kingussie in the Highlands. You can sit by a large window and watch hundreds of birds feeding and, if you're lucky, red squirrels as well. But I cannot remember its name!

I agree with Taffeta. Well, except for this one rather hocking line I don't want cake

This is probably NOT going to be popular on MN either BUT, I avoid one locally that has lots of things to attract parents with babies and toddlers.
Quite frankly, the last thing I want in a coffee shop where I have escaped for a few minutes peace is the noise and mess and hassle of other people's dc

My favourite one is an independent in the town by me, it sells coffee that tastes like coffee, nice big slices of cake that are fresh and tasty, and not fiddled with (not a fan of overly fussy cake), it has a range of seating options from squashy leather sofas to wooden pews, and nothing is too much trouble for the staff. Oh and they are open later, so you can pop in after work or at the end of shopping and don't feel like you are in the way as they need to mop the floor. Lovely!

Oh and it has lovely loos, a very grown up atmosphere and a bookcase.

The Hotel Chocolat cafe in Cambridge! I don't drink tea or coffee, but LOVE hot chocolate. Theirs is amazing! There aren't many kids, there are no dogs, the chairs are comfy and the lighting is soft. There's also a nice clean toilet. Best place to have a nice sit down when I'm out shopping!

Small cafe owned by two sisters. Good home made soup and cake and usual cafe food like baked spuds and toasties. It’s goodvalue and after 12 stamps on your card you get a free drink. Many regulars. They have a sign asking people to share tables. It’s very clean and not pretentious which I find some food places can be, then they inflate prices.

Mine is parenting related! One that serves tap water in a fancy jug or water dispenser along with (paper) straws and a glass/cup so my 4 year old water lover can feel a bit special. It's normally on the side with the cutlery. I've seen this in national trust/English heritage/local museum cafe before.

Near my dad's house 200 miles from me. Superb coffee and food too. They also have a corkage licence so you can drink their in the evenings. It's on a little highstreet in a tiny village and everyone thought it would go under straight away. Free super fast broadband too so in the day lots of people on laptops working and staff are lovely. It really is amazing, they obviously put a lot of effort into sourcing the right coffee and ingredients and it really shows.

I love Cafe Central in Vienna for the coffee, the cakegasms, the atmosphere and the arched ceilings. The sense of history helps as well. The service is faultless.

In Tavistock (Devon), I Iove Dukes for the cakes, the bacon sarnies, a cappuccino just as I Iike it, and the tuna melts. I also think The Kitchen is ace, great cakes, croque monsieurs and madames better than anything I get in Belgium, and the Eggs Benedict are lush.

In Belgium I adored Chocolat in Tervuren, but sadly the lady who ran it died. It was a real reflection of her, a place to go for coffee and cake that felt like a hug.

The one in my village is great

It’s got a pink floral theme for the walls & furnishings, the chairs are comfy. It’s my style all over

The coffee is nice and strong, it reminds me of the best coffee I ever had at a hotel in Germany it was so strong one sip woke me up! The coffee cups are China and have a decent handle on them, so many places have coffee cups with silly handles or even worse glass cups.

They do a white chocolate and mascarpone cake which is absolutely delicious. All food (cake, sandwiches, pork pies, scotch eggs etc) are all made on site and they use local products where they can (even the honey is from a local business)

The children’s menu isn’t all chips and nuggets, they do that option but a few other more ‘adventurous’ offerings too.

They have decent space between tables so you aren’t sitting on top of other customers

Decent sized cups of tea and genuinely good cake rather than ones that look better than they taste.
Genuinely child friendly with good quality children’s menu

Mine does the best hot chocolate (don't drink tea or coffee), delicious sandwiches and pastries and the biggest plus? It's pretty much a childfree zone.

As a cyclist, we go to a lot of cafes/tea rooms. One of my favourites is absolutely tiny - 6 tables - but the service and food is amazing. They have a good range of gluten and dairy free food, and the cakes change often.
Another we go to is at a very popular dog walking spot and has a huge covered area outside so you can sit with your dog (or bikes) and they provide blankets and hot water bottles. The food is local and seasonal with lovely cakes

Not local, but somewhere we go on holiday a reasonable amount. Sherlocks on Flowergate in Whitby. Fabulous old decor, grandfather clocks, old books, and a regularly baked throughout the day scones.

A sign asking customers to share tables?
My absolute pet hate. Last thing I want to do when I'm relaxing on my own or chatting with a friend, is having strangers on my table. I find it so awkward. And I'm paying to 'rent' that table, not sub-let it.

Anyway, my favourite cafe is in my village, owned by 2 friends, rustic, warm and comfy. Homemade cakes to die for.

My favourite is an Alice in Wonderland themed cafe in St Anne's near Lytham. Lovely decor, delicious food, excellent staff, v reasonable prices. I don't live close enough to go as often as I would like.

I also love a greasy spoon type cafe in Bowness. Yummy bacon and sausage sandwiches. Not pretentious, great prices, friendly staff.

They have a sign asking people to share tables

No.No.NO

I like a little cafe in Bernard Castle, quite down to earth, nothing fancy, but does really good cakes.

I have several favourites locally

One near the station which is in a building dated 1890 and has an art gallery upstairs and a florist within the coffee shop.

One in a garden centre (not part of a chain) which sells beautiful plants

And finally one near the park which is just friendly and relaxed.

To make my list, coffee shops need to sell good coffee, have tables not too close together, not have a table right next to the toilets, have covered cakes and welcoming staff.