Category: Coffee

Milchglas, Hamburg

Our team has had a bit of trapsing around the area near our office, checking out coffee places for the a good coffee place. I suggested we visited Milchglas, a place that touts itself as a coffee and catering place. We walked in and there quite a few people in, eating lunch so I guess it must be okay.

Milchglas

There wasn’t really much room to sit, but that was fine since we either normally have a coffee standing up, or at least take away.

Mlichglas Interior

The cakes, muffins and brownies looked pretty tempting.

Mlichglas Muffins

But I managed to stop myself :-)

Milchglas

It's easy to miss the entrance since it's up a small set of stairs and opposite another store.

Milchglas Exterior

Name: Coffeeshop Milchglas
Found at: Alter Steinweg 11, 20459 Hamburg
Website: http://www.milchglas-catering.de/

Flat White at Elbgold

Germans drink a lot of coffee. Apparently the next most after the Swedish, but they tend to either have it very black, or with a heck of a lot of milk. A quick google for “flat white Hamburg” uncovered a local roastery called Elbgold. On the weekend I was in Hamburg I managed to check out both of their locations to enjoy.

Firstly the flat white was pretty good. I got it to take away. The milk wasn’t too hot, there wasn’t much of it, and they did a very fantastic micro foam. The first location, Mühlenkamp 6 is in a lively, fantastic area thriving with people. The cafe, even on a cold winter days reflects this with no spot empty.

They did a great selection of sandwiches (on that famous dark German bread), pastries and cakes although I managed to hold back from indulging.

Their other location is tucked away near the popular Sternschanze. You have to go up a set of stairs, around the back of a building and you’ll eventually find it. Just walk amongst the other warehouse like buildings and wait to find the crowds of people there.

This location has a tonne more space, and is much better for sitting outside in their courtyard. On a nice day, you’ll still probably battle everyone else who wants to sit outside, but at least you’ll have a better chance of getting one.

Name: Elbgold
Website: http://www.elbgold.com/

Breakfasting the Italian way in Turin

We stayed a little bit further afield in Turin this time for the Salone del Gusto and that sort of made our breakfast trips a bit of adventure. We didn’t really need to rise early, and then with the meandering into town.

01_Gelatria

One of these places that we tried to go to had already run out of pastry, and with the poor weather, we opted for something quite close because we were going to head down to the festival anyway.

02_Coffee

It ended up being quite a popular place – and not just with the tourists like us in town (although maybe they were some Italian-sounding tourists.)

03_CoffeePastry

We had a pick of different croissants – reports from the others on the plain and marmalade croissant had it rather overrated, but I certainly enjoyed the custard one.

At least the coffee was okay and the overall cost not particularly expensive

Breakfasting at Caravan

It was a fairly rainy day that I met up with a colleague to talk breakfast about the new client I was going to join. We decided to meet somewhere close to my work, and decided on Caravan. It’s a great place that roasts its own coffee, has a great brunch offering on weekends and just a nice atmosphere all around.

CaravanCafe

Although tempted by lots of the different offerings on their menu, I started with a flat white whilst I waited for my colleague to arrive.

CaravanMenu

Well made – a perfect “heart” and all the things I look for in a well made flat white – not too hot, creamy milk foam, and a good combination, I probably could have gone for a second coffee.

CaravanCoffee

Breakfast finally arrives – I went for the caramelised banana served atop a hearty bowl of porridge. The porridge was perfectly stodgy and there was plenty of banana caramel to go around without being too excessive – it was pretty sweet after all, but just enough for the entire bowl.

Porridge

Name: Caravan Restaurant
Found at: Exmouth Market, London, EC1R 4QD
Website: http://caravanonexmouth.co.uk/

Brunching at Giant Robot

I remember hearing about Giant Robot when it first opened to much hurrahed fanfare. I understand there’s a shortage of restaurants serving good American food, but it seemed there was a bit more fuss than there should have been. Turning up for a Saturday morning brunch, it seems like the patrons agreed with me – we were seated pretty much immediately.

I ordered a flat white that was served in a mug. Decently flavoured and no real complaints about it.

We also ordered the brunch burger that was apparently pretty good. It had the bright yellow melty cheese one would expect from an American diner.

I went for the three-egg omelette, served with a huge slice of sourdough toast.

Perhaps it was just what I ordered, but I can’t say I was particularly impressed by the food. The dinner menu looks a bit more interesting but for brunch, I’ll have to try somewhere else next time.

Name: Giant Robot
Found at: 45-47 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1M 5RS
Website: http://www.gntrbt.com/

Culture Espresso New York

I’m always on the look out for decent places that do great coffee. One place that I found was Culture Espresso. The store is pretty big for a coffee place in Manhattan, with huge glass windows allowing lots of natural light into the store.

The bar is simple, though welcoming with a cold drinks station as you walk in, and a very tempting bakery selection on the right where the queue forms. I found this place because it was one of the places that actually did a flat white (US$3.75) and it was beautifully made.

Perfect latte art to enjoy. Deliciously well made to boot.

Name: Culture Espresso
Found at: 72W 38th Street, New York, New York
Website: http://cultureespresso.com/

Godshot

Berlin is in no short supply of coffee stores. And fortunately for me, they aren’t all like your run-of-the-mill German coffee stores where there is often more milk than in their coffee of their “latte macchiatos”.

One of the coffee stores I’ve been meaning to visit was Godshot. Although it’s not that far away from our workplace, the fact that they don’t open up until 9am doesn’t make it easy to get to before work, and my body’s auto-awake til 3am response with coffee after 2pm doesn’t encourage me to try going after work. So, with that, I had to wait for a weekeend where I stayed in Berlin.

Fortunately it was worth the wait for a good coffee. It’s surprisingly big on the inside, not something you’d really expect from the small front interior – although you’ll probably be nudging people out for any of the seats outside. There’s enough character in this place for you and another one of your alternative ego’s.

I like the fact, for example, the sugar, mixes and tap water stand atop old Austrian Airway dinner trollies and the soft leather lounge chairs make you feel like you’re visiting someone else’s home than just a normal coffee store.

Just like all good coffee stores, this one sells your classic Flat White (offering three different coffee beans from €2.70-€2.90) although on my post-lunch visit, decided to go for a full bodied espresso, that comes accompanied by a nice little biscuit that I failed to eat.

Name: Godshot
Found at: Immanuelkirchestrasse 32, Berlin, Germany
Website: http://godshot.de/

Bonanza Coffee Heroes

Yet another really great place in Berlin that does coffee worth visiting for. They even do their own roasts, as you can see in the picture below.

The cafe probably does much better in the summer with tables to sit outside as there isn’t that much room inside with their roasting equipment. This might explain why they offer magazines for reading as well.

A perfectly worth flat white to compete with any others around town. Great if you’re in the area.

Friendly service and a bustling atmosphere, particularly with Mauer Park not far from its steps, I can highly recommend this place if you’re in the area.

Name: Bonanza Coffee Heroes
Found at: Oderberger Strasse 35, 10435 Berlin
Website: http://www.bonanzacoffee.de/

Disappointing Brunch at St Ali London

After reading about St Ali’s opening in Farringdon, I just had to try it out the next time I was back for a weekend. It’s just that close. Anyone from Melbourne, who is into their food and coffee (and really, who isn’t when they’re from there) will know about St Ali. My first day in the office and someone introduced me to Brother Baba Budan (previous post here) in the city serving their coffee, and I had a really wonderful weekend brunch at their main location.

After reading a couple of reviews about the place already in London, things looked pretty good. I organised to catch up with a couple of friends at St Ali this weekend just gone, and unfortunately I have to report, they have a bit to get going before it’s going to win any awards.

Scheduled to meet my friends at 12:30, I thought I should arrive a little earlier to get a table, knowing how frustrating waiting can be. Things looked positive. As soon as I walked in, I asked for table for three, and they asked for me politely to wait by the door. It wasn’t long after that I was seated and whilst I waited (I still had at least 10 minutes to go) asked if I wanted any coffees.

Let’s get the review under way:

The good
St Ali in London is associated with coffee, and if they couldn’t get this right, I genuinely would have been worried for what they had to stand for. Fortunately the flat white (£2.40) delivered according to expectation with a well made espresso and not too much milk like the terrible lattes served around town.

It was also great not being rushed off our tables. Things were casual, although service didn’t seem to note when we needed something. The perfect charm of not being hassled when you didn’t want to be might have been something else where, actually, you were almost being ignored. It worked quite well for some time.

When the food arrived (more on that later), I had some good reports. The names on the menu are playful and whilst some people report them as annoying, give you a good idea on what you’re ordering. I was a little disappointed by the French Toast I had (the bread a little too dry), however the toasted walnuts provided some excellent contrast and the classic sweet/salty combinations worked like a charm.

We had a few problems with the bill (more on that later as well) and the second time, they took all the coffees off the bill. Nice to see them immediately respond to a problem pointed out to them… multiple times.

Unfortunately, my list of things they can improve are much, much longer. And I’m sure they’re good reasons for it. Living locally, I would hope they find time to up their game.

What soured our experience
Being asked for drinks was a good start. Juice was drunk. Coffee appreciated and then we started getting hungry. It took us a while to flag someone for food, and things looked good when our order was taken down. With our food taken down, I should have been more observant to see them actually put it through to the kitchen. Someone tried to bring us food that we didn’t order, however a simple indication that there were two dishes for the three of us helped them see it wasn’t for us.

We fretted a bit more, when a couple of people, arriving much after us, got their food order sooner than we did. Not just them, but another table. Twenty more minutes on and we asked to see if we had any more progress. Apparently not so much. The food did arrive, and I was so ravenous that I forgot to take pictures – definitely not like me.

The food was pretty good in general. I wouldn’t order the French Toast again though because the bread seemed a little bit too dry to really soak up the delicious maple syrup and fork the perfect combo of salty bacon, crispy walnut and soft bread. Was it worth the £? I’ve had better.

Despite the hiccups in the ordering, we finally asked for the bill. It was nice not being rushed off, however it seemed to take a while to make eye contact and get someone to bring us the bill. What arrived was a surprising four dishes plus extras. Although I may have been hungry, and we were originally served just two meals, these numbers don’t exactly even out.

We asked again for our bill and what arrived was a slight repeat of the first. We finally managed to get a bill (fifteen minutes later) that represented almost what we had only to find an extra coffee on it. Considering that this place serves a cheeky (12.5% service), that extra coffee does make a little difference. We pointed out this mistake and at least our waitress (points definitely for being friendly) took off all our coffees. This equated to approximately the service we would have asked to have been taken off given all of this galavanting. Oh, and did I mention they only accept one credit card – what are we? In Australia? This is why we have advanced portable, technical machines. If you’re going to charge 12.5%, at least earn it? Grrr.

I’m hopeful
Being a local place, and one where I had a good experience in Australia, I’m hopeful for things to get better. When we finally managed to pay, we were told the excuse, oh, we had Time Out come review us yesterday and still trying to recover.

What? I’m sorry. London deserves better than this. One doesn’t expect people who review a place to be better treated than those who might come everyday. That excuse just doesn’t cut it here. Use the excuse that you’re just opening. Don’t use excuses that allow you to treat people differently depending on what you get out of it.

Coffee is good. Food is promising. I’m still hopeful about the dining and eating in experience you can have.

Awesomeness by Antiopodes

Two of the friendliest shop owners greet you as you walk into this wonderfully warm cafe found conveniently right around the corner from where my current client is working. Everything they do is home made and prepared with care, particularly their all day breakfast, a much healthier and hearty breakfast that you’ll ever eat in England.

Best yet, they also do a mean flat white for an extremely reasonable €2. This lets you spend more on their awesome little cakes, slices and biscuits instead.

There’s plenty of seating available in this cafe, and even with free wi-fi that many of their visitors seem to occupy themselves with.

Name: Antipodes
Found at: Fehrbelliner 5, 10119 Berlin, Germany
Link: http://www.exberliner.com/locations/antipodes