Coffee Angel ticks lots of boxes. It is a take-away, they do deliveries, they are open from early morning till early evening, it is a friendly neighbourhood cafe, a sun trap in the summer, a place to meet and chat, a place to work but most of all they provide good food and quality drinks and a loyalty scheme. You can sit on a stool at the window, a table inside, a settee at the window or al fresco in good weather.
The website provides information on what is available daily in salads, soups, specials and treats but as a taster, how about salmon and asparagus quiche as a special, or red velvet cake as a treat? I could almost guarantee feeling weak at the knees at the sight of the latter – it looks divine!
Their coffee is Fairtrade, Organic and Rain Forest Alliance certified, so again ticks all the boxes as it also tastes and smells good. They also offer ground coffee straight into individual cafetières for maximum freshness with their sandwiches are made in on-site. Where possible they source local ingredients and use local bakers and local suppliers for fruit and vegetables.
Many of Coffee Angel’s teas in their extensive range are organic and some are Great Taste award winners like Red Berry loose leaf Suki Tea and Green Rooibus Citrus loose leaf tea also from Suki. This range is served in individual teapots, some of which are sold on the cafe, on bamboo trays so you can control how long your tea infuses. There is also a way to enjoy this range to carry out with an ingenious tea pouch hooked inside the takeaway cup.
When Coffee Angel first opened, they had the wonderful chocolate espresso on the menu. I may have been the only person asking for this indulgent treat because it soon disappeared. However, Coffee Angel staff live up to their name and can still produce this delight for me. Even if that doesn’t appeal, their hot chocolate is pretty near perfection – just the right strength, flavour and warmth, and not too sweet.
They sell tray bakes and scones but my personal favourite is Pasteis de Nata. Like anything else, the less you have something, the more of a treat it is and they only appear once a week, preventing the principle of diminished returns kicking in. Although that is unlikely in this case! I have been lucky enough to taste real Pastéis de Nata/ Pastel de Belem in the Lisbon cafe where they were invented, Antiga Confeitaria de Belem, and these delightful Portuguese custard tarts made in Scotland match up very well.
This is a village café with friendly sophistication and great food and drink.