Rate My Bistro

You’ll be able to spot Cafe Irie by its bright blue exterior! Going inside, the walls are brightly painted and the counter area reminded me of an old sweet shop. The only thing is that this is a very small cafe, with the chairs and tables too close together.

The breakfast of scrambled eggs on granary toast was ok but the eggs were a little overcooked. If you are looking to have the full cooked breakfast, then fried eggs are served, so be sure to tell the waitress if you would prefer to have scrambled.

We were disappointed by the juices, as they were not fresh juices. They tasted more like the ones that have been mixed with water.

Along the counter, there were homemade brownies and muffins. It would have been nice if these had been better presented and if they had been displayed with covers. One thing that can be said is that the waitress gave us service with a smile!

Cafe Irie, Thomas Street, Dublin 2

Our Rating:

I have walked past this cafe every day for months, and never gave it a second look until now.  Maybe it’s because secretly I’m a snob, or maybe it’s because I have a tendancy to judge a cafe based on it’s neighbourhood.  Whatever my reasons for not trying this cafe before today, I’ve learnt these two valuable lessons…one, never judge a cafe by it’s neighbourhood and two, stop being such a snob!

From the outside it really doesn’t look like much, but this probably has to do more with the area than the cafe itself.  Once inside though, it’s a completely different story.  The cafe is very clean and stylish, with both indoor and outdoor seeting.  There’s also a small lounge area with sofas.  A great deal of effort has obviously gone into the decor.

When it comes to choice, the Hamlet menu tops the bill.  Whether you simply fancy a light snack, tasty salad or a builders lunch, the menu has it all.  But this is me remember, so  I ordered burger and chips!!

The staff at Hamlet Cafe are extremely friendly and I didn’t feel pressured into placing my order, though it did take me a while.

Excellent selection of food and beverages, brilliant atmosphere and great staff.  If you ever find yourself passing by Hornsey Road, I highly recommend that you take a break at Hamlet Cafe.

Hamlet Cafe, 437 Hornsey Road, Islington, London, N19 4DU

Our Rating:

Whether you want a hearty breakfast or something lighter, then this is a nice cafe to come to. I think that the Brick Alley Cafe was formerly known as The Joy of Coffee and that is why the name on the outside differs to the one on the inside.

There are a couple of big tables and so communal dining is the theme here! There are also a  few window seats if you want to watch the world go by!

The food took a little longer than expected to arrive but it was all freshly cooked. The veggie breakfast of scrambled eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and toast was just right. The toasted bagel was a poppy seed bagel served with butter and jam. It was nice that the waiter let us replace the bacon with ham on the bacon and egg bagel!

Even though we asked for tea for two people, there was enough tea for a lot more. If you wanted something a little more refreshing, then the freshly squeezed orange juice is a must!

Brick Alley Cafe, 25 East Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin

Our Rating:

Tupelo Honey looks ok when you enter but it did not take long to be disappointed with this place. All the food on the counter is open and looked stale. The main dishes in the counter fridge were already prepared and cooked, and would only be warmed up if ordered. Right next to the window seats was a shelf filled with dirty plates and cups. If that wasn’t enough to put us off, then the open bin next to it definitely did.

There is quite a small seating area downstairs; the wooden tables and chairs were wobbly. Tupelo Honey has outdoor seating but it is very narrow and cramped. The whole time we were having our drinks here, we didn’t feel at all relaxed. We were actually quite relieved when we left. 

Tupelo Honey is open till late into the evening. Even though we went there during the afternoon, the upstairs seating was closed. They have two additional floors; one of which is a roof garden.

As for the drinks, the mocha and latte coffee was nice. They serve Illy coffee and they also do soy milk. Some of the staff were friendly. It is a shame that Tupelo Honey hasn’t made that extra effort with the state of its establishment, from the standard cleanliness to the seating and quality/display of food.

Tupelo Honey, 27 Parkway, Camden Town, London, NW1 7PN

Our Rating:

On entering Fig & Olive, there is the ornate seating on one side and the display of its cakes on the other! There was quite a large selection of cakes, fruit pies, cheesecakes and pastries. These were displayed behind a glass front but customers could still reach them. It would have been better for the cakes to be in a closed display fridge.

The cafe/restaurant extends to the light and airy area towards the back. The staff were really friendly and quite efficient. The only issue that we had was that it took a little longer than expected for our food. The food was worth the wait though!

The veggie quesadilla was filled with plenty of vegetables, cheese and feta cheese. It was supposed to be served with salad but I asked the waitress if the salad could be replaced with another side. It was great that I was able to have the quesadilla with new potatoes instead of the salad. I was happy that the veggie quesadilla was not leaking with cheese as I had asked for it to be made with very little cheese.

The bistro burger was made with tender beef and it was served in a multi-seeded bun.  The chips were crisp and not at all greasy. The burger and chips was a perfect combination and was very filling. 

Fig & Olive do a range of coffees, teas and cold drinks. The hot chocolate was perfectly sweet and rich.

I would say that Fig & Olive seems to be a good place to come to at any time of the day whether its in the morning, for lunch, dinner or for a drink and cake!

Fig & Olive, 151 Upper Street, London, N1 1RA

Our Rating:

The Serpentine Bar and Kitchen in Hyde Park has been newly renovated. It is a really great spacious cafe/bistro. They do a range of food, from fresh pizzas cooked in their pizza oven, to sandwiches and other hot dishes. Again, it’s a shame that some of their cakes and pastries were left open on display and only a few of their products, such as the brownies and flapjacks were wrapped.

The latte and mocha were both good and of a high standard. They also serve soy milk! It was good that we were made to feel relaxed even though we were just having drinks. The staff let us take our time even though the cafe got busy at lunchtime.

We experienced friendly service, although there did seem to be a lot of staff for the size of the place. This cafe is actually part of the Benugo chain. We have already reviewed one of their other establishments, BFI Benugo Bar and Kitchen on the South Bank.

http://ratemybistro.co.uk/bfi-benugo-bar-and-kitchen-south-bank/

We definitely preferred this cafe in Hyde Park though. The location of this Benugo place is very idyllic as it looks over the Serpentine. It has lots of outdoor seating, perfect for the summer. Indoors, there is a cosy seating area in the central area of the cafe, with comfy chairs and deckchair style seating too!

Serpentine Bar and Kitchen, Serpentine Road, Hyde Park, London, W2 2UH

Our Rating:

Caponata was full of surprises from the first moment we stepped inside. At first, it looked just like a normal restaurant with wood panelling and plastic seating. We were welcomed by the very friendly staff, who told us that this level of the restaurant was the informal Osteria, which means bar/inn in Italian. It had a really great aura and atmosphere and we were glad that we had come into this place for coffee.

As we went to the back of the restaurant, that was where we were pleasantly surprised. It opened out into a covered courtyard, where plenty of sunlight was streaming through. As if that wasn’t nice enough, one of the walls was totally covered with plants. It was just perfection and it made us forget that we were actually sitting in a cafe, just off of Camden High Street!

Caponata is a Sicilian restaurant and cafe and the formal restaurant is situated on the upper level. Some of the seats of the restaurant overlooks onto the courtyard.

We opted to go for mochas and we were taken aback when we found out that the coffee actually comes from Camden Coffee shop; one of Caponata’s neighbouring shops! That’s great that they were supporting the local business! The mochas tasted more like lattes than hot chocolate. That made a refreshing change as a lot of cafes make their mochas so you can only taste the chocolate and not the coffee.

To accompany the coffees, we had a selection of fresh biscuits. These were all really yummy! The biscuits that we sampled had various fillings such as fig and almonds. There was also chocolate biscotti and sesame seed biscuits!

As we were chatting to the staff, another surprise was revealed. Adjacent to the courtyard, the wooden wall is just a partition. On the other side of the partition is a music venue called The Forge! On some evenings, this partition is removed, so that the diners at Caponata can enjoy live music whilst enjoying their meal!

Our visit to Caponata was extremely enjoyable and we hope to return to sample a lunch or dinner here, oh and also their homemade ice-cream!

Caponata Osteria and Bar, 3-7 Delancey Street, Camden, London, NW1 7NL

Our Rating:

Maison Blanc is a nice French patisserie. It has a small takeaway counter as you enter. If you pass this and head to the back of the store, that is where the cafe area is. There is limited seating here but they also have tables outside. The cafe area is very light and airy.

The service was lovely and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Maison Blanc has great artwork along its walls and also a good display of biscuits and sweets. The bags of French treats and artisan chocolate would be good for gifts. In the display fridge, there are many pastries, tarts and also small speciality cakes.

We had mochas to drink and they were very rich and creamy; just as we like them. Maison Blanc do have soy milk. They also serve soups, salads and sandwiches. This cafe is a perfect place to come for breakfast, lunch or a coffee break.

Maison Blanc, 76 Hampstead High Street, London, NW3 1QX

Our Rating:

We went to this BFI cafe as our regular favourite BFI Riverfront cafe was closed on this particular morning. The decor looked very similar to Tibits on Regent Street:

http://ratemybistro.co.uk/tibits-regent-street/

Seen as Benugo Bar and Kitchen has been open for a lot longer, Tibits’ decor may have been inspired from this BFI cafe! Benugo is great as most of its seating is comfy sofas. This makes it an easy place to spend many hours! The area around the side of the bar is slightly dark and does not have much daylight.

As for drinks, I was happy that they served soya milk! The hot chocolate was quite rich and satisfying. The latte was also of a high quality. If you prefer the combination of coffee and chocolate, then definitely go for the mocha.

It was a good thing that we asked for our drinks to be served in take away cups instead of the normal mugs. The reason why I say this is because as we were being served, one of the customers came to the counter and asked for his drink to be changed because his supposedly clean mug had a lipstick mark on it.

The service was ok up to the point when it got to around lunchtime. We were then approached by one of the staff to ask if we were going to be ordering another drink. Bearing in mind that we had already had a couple of drinks each by then, we told her that we were not. She then said that it was getting to lunchtime service and we could not really just sit in the cafe area. The waitress cleared away our evidence of all the drinks that we had had, so it looked like we were just sitting there. We could slightly understand if the place was really busy but there were plenty of seats still available.

Benugo Bar and Kitchen has free Wi-Fi. This place does get very busy in the evenings as it is next door to the National Theatre and has a late closing.

BFI Benugo Bar & Kitchen, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London, SE1 8XT

Our Rating:

This espresso bar has recently relocated from the busy Upper Street to the N1 Centre. Looking at it from the outside, Tinderbox looks like a small takeaway coffee shop. But if you walk in and up the flights of wooden stairs at the back end, that is where the real coffee shop is!

The Tinderbox Espresso Bar is quite a trendy cafe! The main counter is situated in the middle section, with seating areas on both sides. It even has a little balcony area where you can sit and enjoy your drinks outdoors. Good for a hot sunny day but not on the cold spring day that we visited!

There are little alcoves where you can be tucked away in your own little world! These reminded me of American diners. There are small spotlights and a lack of daylight in these areas! If you feel like watching the world go by, then go and sit in the upstairs area. It’s a little like being in a library with the seats being close together and quite a few people were using it as a study/work area!

The drinks that we had were not great. The latte did not have a smooth flavour to it. The steamer – hot soya milk with almond syrup, was not that nice. It may have been due to the type of soya milk that Tinderbox uses. I found it a struggle to finish this drink as it wasn’t that moreish.

As for food, there were cakes displayed openly on the counter but they also had them in the display fridge. The service was good and I was impressed that the staff kept clearing up the tables and taking away empty cups even when you were still just sitting there relaxing.

Tinderbox has a quirky feel to it! On the ground floor level, there are two random airline seats and neon signs! Quite retro in one sort of an aspect!

Tinderbox, N1 Centre, Parkfield Street, London, N1 0PS

Our Rating: