Best cafes for foodies

Planning a gourmet getaway or tour of the South West this summer? The latest Indy Coffee Guide reveals the best cafes and coffee shops for discerning sippers

The Indy Coffee Guide England: South No8 is a sister book to the Trencherman’s Guide. However, instead of revealing the most exquisite restaurants, it showcases the best cafes and coffee shops in the South of England – including some with an incredible food offering. Detailed and entertaining write-ups, photos and maps will ensure you don’t miss out on the best indie spots from Cornwall to Essex.

Here are a few we think you might like …

Cornwall

Bear Cornwall, St Mawes

Two very distinct pieces of history sit side by side on the stunning Cornish headland at St Mawes. One is Henry VIII’s 16th century St Mawes Castle; the other is Nigel Cullen’s immaculately restored 1969 Citroen HY van.

Nigel set up Bear Cornwall (named after his son Harris Bear, FYI) in the English Heritage car park at the end of August 2019 and has already won a legion of fans who are prepared to go out of their way for his fine speciality coffee.

Bear Cornwall is open from Easter to late October and on weekends in winter, so put this one on your hit list for a visit and the opportunity to delight in the perfect pairing of a beautifully crafted coffee with a crisp and buttery Da Bara Bakery cinnamon bun.

Gylly Beach Cafe, Falmouth (pictured top)

Fine white sands and gentle waves make a breathtaking backdrop for a mid-morning coffee at this fabulously-positioned speciality coffee spot where you can cradle a Cornwall-roasted Origin flat white while watching paddleboarders on the water.

Food is as much of a draw as the coffee and head chef Dale McIntosh excels in classic casual-dining dishes which he kicks up a notch come evening. Creations like crab ravioli with velvet swimmer crab bisque, beach vegetables, sea spinach oil and oyster leaf warrant a return trip later in the day.

In high summer, the place buzzes with foodies and coffee fiends taking advantage of the all-day menu, but don’t be deterred if it’s packed out; the team thrive on a full house and have installed a four-group-head espresso machine to meet demand.

Devon

Exploding Bakery, Exeter

This perma-busy cafe is testament to the notion of doing something simple and doing it well. Founders Oli and Tom started out with the modest ambition of crafting quality caffeine and tasty traybakes from a tiny bakery next to Central Station. Ten years later the daily to-do list is much the same, just on a larger scale.

The range of signature traybakes has been beefed up to include the likes of ginger dick, almond brownie and lumberjack, all rustled up at the bakery HQ across town. The coffee offering has matured too, with an inventory of roasters accompanying the house beans from Round Hill. If you’re hungry for more than coffee and cake, the open-plan kitchen also prepares a small menu of toasties, soups and salads.

Block, Barnstaple

For top-notch coffee and contemporary street food, you’d be hard pressed to beat this slice of urban cool sandwiched among the indie stores and cafes of Barnstaple’s Butchers Row.

The ever-changing menu is a globetrotting affair: huevos rancheros and sky-high American-style pancakes rub shoulders with bacon butties at breakfast. Then, come lunch, a line-up of fresh and healthy midday dishes takes inspiration from the East. Hard-to-fake favourites like ramen, pho and katsu curry are crafted with authenticity and care.

Fantastic food is only half the story: you’d be mad to miss out on a glossy Clifton Coffee flat white served in a vintage pottery cup. Sip at your leisure while soaking up the lively bustle.

Bristol

Nook

Inspired by the laid-back coffee culture of east-coast Australia, Nook is a shot of sunny Byron Bay in the heart of Bedminster. While travelling in 2018, founder Millie couldn’t get enough of the speciality coffee, healthy food and chilled vibe of Australia’s coastal cafes and, on returning home, decided to recreate the experience.

Nook’s colourful açai bowls, superfood smoothies and vibrant poke salads have been such a hit that Millie has opened three outposts – this one in Bristol, plus others in Bath and Frome. For brekkie, try the toasted banana bread with coconut yogurt, blueberry compote, maple syrup, banana and toasted almonds – one of the many vegan options. At lunch, dive into a bowl of bang bang chicken with broccoli, sweetcorn salsa, rainbow slaw and pickled red onions.

The Orchard Coffee & Co

No two days are ever the same at this coffee house and bakery. Whether it’s introducing a new guest roast on filter, masterminding a novel pastry or zhuzhing up the brekkie bill, the baristas, bakers and chefs love to keep the offering fresh and funky.

One of Britain’s most beautiful coffee venues, the gorgeous old building features a cloud-skimming vaulted ceiling and showers visitors with light from expansive arched windows. On the mezzanine, above the wooden bar that runs the length of the room, is the house bakery which turns out all the sourdough, pastries and cakes that adorn the counter.

Locals and visitors gather in this dynamic space to drink proper coffee, sink their teeth into crisp pastries and feast on contemporary brunch dishes. Baked goods include the likes of Biscoff cruffins, and breakfast plates range from homemade hash with mushrooms and kimchi to sourdough piled with smoked salmon, capers, dill and confit-garlic yogurt.

Dorset and Wiltshire

Soulshine, Bridport

In 2021, this Bridport favourite was taken over by friends and former River Cottage colleagues Andy Tyrrell and Joel Gostling. While Soulshine had long been known as a delicious destination for coffee and brunch, the duo raised its gourmet game with the introduction of an evening menu and a regular supper club.

Creative dishes crafted with wholesome ingredients are now available all day. Utilising their River Cottage experience, almost everything is made from scratch in-house (including some of the jams, breads and cakes) and there’s a preference for all things pickled and preserved. The breakfast menu revolves around eggs, sourdough, pancakes and the like, while the lunch and dinner line-ups focus on small plates of local, seasonal produce.

The Stalls Cafe, Salisbury

Located in an expanse of verdant fields in the Wiltshire countryside, The Stalls Cafe excels at serving small-batch-roasted coffee and wholesome home-cooked fare with limited food miles.

The 16th-century barn was transformed into a cafe by Anna Strang and Maggie Kerr, who met while travelling the world researching plastic pollution. Keen to channel their eco experience into a new venture, they created a community-focused space with sustainability at its heart on the farm where Anna grew up. Ingredients are sourced as locally as possible, with beef from the farm and unhomogenised whole milk from a local dairy.