The Farm 02/13

Morning! 🙂

Alright,  excuse the photo it was early and I’d only just woken up! The Farm is next to the popular Bill’s – now thats a whole different post I’d like to build up the suspence. It’s a cool place, named from where all their produce come from – a local farm as much as possible. The guys who work there were both really friendly and the whole menu is avalible all day long.

Karolina had a veggie breakfast I had ham,eggs and bubble and squeak. The ham and eggs were good but the bubble and squeak was a bit of a let down. The veggie breakfast was really good even the sauages were nice – had spices and herbs which makes a difference as some of the vegetarian sauages can be a bit bland.

Their menu is very varied and every time I have been there I’ve never been dissapointed unlike some other place near there! In my opinion its well worth a vist for breakfast, lunch or a drink!

 

99 North Road,

BN1 1YE Brighton

Seven Bees Cafe 3/13

Hay, one of the places we have been in the past month is Seven Bees . We were temped by the sign saying best breakfast in brighton award. Im not sure that it is the best i have had in brighton… Its in a really cool place down a little alleyway tucked away, I was impressed when I first walked in there –  nice tiny little set up with papers on the tables, warm and cosy.

We went up to the counter ordered one veggie breakfast, one bigger breakfast ( I know what your thinking but breakfast is most important meal of the day!) and two teas. The teas where brought over allready with milk in, I know I did not ask for black tea but its nice to have a choice of how much milk you put in your tea anyway.

When the food came out it was of a nice portion but it was a classic ‘greasy spoon’ breakfast. It looked like every thing was fried together with the egg stained from the mushrooms and, plus the bacon was a bit dry. I dont know if we went in there on an off day but it just wasn’t that great. Feel free to let us know of your experance  if it was the same or better.

7B Ship Street Gardens  The Lanes,

BN1 1AJ Brighton

Gino’s Cafe

Pete an I were doing a workshop at Evolution during the weekend, and since on saturday the KOBA experience left me feeling dissapointed and with less money in the wallet, on Sunday we decided to go something less high steet. On our way to Evolution I noticed this little cafe tucked away in one of the smaller street and thought why should we give it a go during lunch break – it’s usually those little hidden ones that prove to be real gems. We had a massive breakfast at home so fancied just some coffee to keep us going and of course a CAKE 😀

It’s incredible how quick you can forget that you are in central Brighton seconds away from Western Road, when you enter this little cosy/rustic cafe. They have a whole range of breakfaasts and homemade Italian food for brunches and lunches but we went for the cake&coffee deal £3.95 each. There were different cakes and pastries to choose from. I ordered carrot and Pete chocolate cake, but in the end we swapped 🙂 They were both fresh, moist, homemade and absolutely delicious! We swapped because I’m not a fan of orange peel in baking but luckily Pete loved it, and I could indulge in the chocolate experience 🙂

Coffee was fine and they had a whole range of newspapers to read which is always a plus. We were sitting in the front area, but if you pass the bar and go more inside there is a really nice kind of indoors patio/garden extension which looked very inviting. It’s relatively easy to find and definitely a more interesting option than the nearby Nero or Starbucks.

Gino’s Cafe

9 Hampton Street,  BN1 3DA Brighton

KOBA

Hi all, welcome to another post. We stopped in at the KOBA for lunch having passed it a few times before. It was a saturday lunch time so it was quite busy with what I would describe as upper market types. The service was average with what seemed a lot of staff but with out a lot of organisation!

 

Anyways THE FOOD. I had a confit of duck with potao puree and cherry jus ( if any one knows what a confit of duck means please feel free to inform!) All in all it was very tasty with the duck being very tender and the puree was very tasty with the jus and cherries complmenting it all. Karolina on the other hand was well disapointed. She ordered a vegetarian ‘pseudo fish (halloumi cheese) with chips. It came with what can only be described as McDonalds fries – literally – the kind that after a minute taste like cardboard. It was accompanied by something that was loosely resembling dried (!) mushy peas and a chunk of sicklish 4in by 2in bit of battered halloumi! For nearly £11 it was a big let down and this was pretty much the only veggie choice on the menu!

 

Its a hard one, because my food was really nice but the rest of the experience was pretty poor. For the price of the food I think there are better places to go. It was a dissapointment for us because we had high hopes for KOBA (after seeing it on ‘Made in Chelsea’ – not that we watch it ;))!

135 Western Road, BN1 2LA

Milk no Sugar

So I continue my wednesday hunt for a cafe that would help me with making a start with my dissertation and I think I might have found it! I walk up Trafalgar Street every Monday on the way to the Brighton train station, and after many months of passing a note in the window I finally saw that they have opened. I’m never sure if I’ll make it for my train so i don’t risk to stop by and grab a coffee in the morning, but they open early and as I discovered today you can pay by card – there is no minimum spend and it’s the touch&go kind of reader so a big thumbs up for that, makes it much easier when when you are in a hurry – I think they should advertise that in the window since people just seem to pass it by just like I used to do.

But today I was after a long sit in with my research papers and highlighters – I had coffee and cake, as you do to boost yourself up :)) The coffee and walnut cake was delicious, homemade, not too much icing, not too sweet, fresh and yummy! Since I work in a coffee shop myself and usually drink long blacks or americanos I can appreciate a good taste of coffee and I’m rather hard to please 😛 But their coffee was good (nothing has beaten the small batch so far though :))

It’s a brand new shop so it wasn’t busy in there, the barista was genuinely nice and helpful when I was making my choice. I didn’t feel like he is trying to sell me something, I felt he does care that I enjoy what I’ll choose. I was sitting there for couple of hours and since my cake was gone in seconds I started feeling a bit peckish after a while and tried one of the soups they offered – £2.50 for a bowl of homemade soup with bread – I haven’t seen anything cheaper than that anywhere in Brighton yet, have you?

Genreally prices were lower than in most coffee shops – muffins and cakes £1.20, lattes, cappuccinos and other fancy other variations of combing milk and coffee were £2.10, they had some original tastes I havent seen anywhre else either, like peanut butter and honey latte 🙂 I’m going back there next week for sure!

68 Trafalgar Streeet, BN1 4EB

Lunch at Forty One Restaurant

But it wasn’t the end of culinary adventures on Sunday, on the way back from the park the baby fell asleep so wisely decided there is no way any of us will disturb that nap. We thought it might be a chance to quickly go and have some proper food while she is sleeping. We walked and walked through Hove not quite sure what we fancied – a bit late for breakfast, but the right time for a big meal either.

In the end we looked through the window of Forty One to see if there is enough space for all of us, had a quick look at the menu and it was perfect! 🙂 We were welcomed with the buggy, the waiter was really helpful to accomodate us so it’s convinient for us as much as for them so we were not in the way 🙂 They seemed to understand time is of value – the baby is asleep – and we were served really quickly. Pete ordered a steak burger with the tiniest cut delicious fries and I had the most tender salmon escalope with potato pancake and lemon creme fraiche.The portion size was perfect for what we were after, and the food was so flavoursome that you just wanted to eat it slower to appreciate the abundance of tastes. I mean – lemon creme fraiche – I never had it before with fish and its simply a revelation! Pete said the meat in his burger could have been more original/homemade like but he still enjoyed it.The place looks kind of rustic, atmosphere is really nice, perfect for stopping and having a nice meal. It’s a local independent restaurant which is always good to support, with lovely staff, and really delicious food. And most of all it was a real value for money – my dish was only £6.50. Five stars from me! :)) 

41 Church Road, BN3 2BE Hove 

The Garden Cafe

This Sunday was a bit out of ordinary as we offered to babysit a 1 year old baby for a friend of mine while she’s at work. An early wake up on a sunday didn’t leave any time for breakfast, but anyway I am one of those people who can’t eat before 10am and so is Pete. Having not much experience with little kids we had no idea how the day is going to go but we went to the park and of course it started raining like crazy so we run to the closest cafe – The Garden Cafe in Saint Ann’s Well Gardens. Unfortunately in between faffing about with the buggy, making sure the baby doesn’t decapitate herself while exploring the under table world, having quick sips of coffee and hectic bites on tuna sandwich we forgot to take any pictures 🙂 But, the cafe is worth mentioning, because while having eyes around our heads (and empty stomachs) it was hard not to notice some really nice food coming out from the kitchen to other people who seemed to have tackled the art of eating and looking after their kids at the same time! Definitely worth going there even just for a coffee when you are strolling around the park. Very spacious, children friendly place – they had toys we could play with because we forgot to take any with us 😛

http://www.thegardencafehove.co.uk/

Breakfast at Tiffany’s march 2013

HI all, I thought that it was going to be a typical greasy spoon, but i was pleasantly surprised with the quality and choice of food here . They have a veggy breakfast which Karolina had and looked and tasted good and came with bubble and squeek and sort of a veggy burger none of the fake looking sauage or bacon that you get in some places! They have 9 choices of normal breakfast for £4.95 which I think is a good idea so you dont have to ask for extra of some stuff and none of other things (the horrible grilled tomato blah, who eats that?). I had option 5 which consits of fired egg, 2bacon, mushroom, beans, bubble and squeek and fried bread. It was all cooked fresh and came out quickly. Another plus of the place is the selection of teas they have – it is massive, all Pukka and many other herbal creations – and they are only like a £1.  I believe there are a few Breakfast at Tiffany’s places in Brighton, we went to the one on North Road. The guys working there are really nice, and it’s usually quite packed but atmosphere is relaxed. I think it’s well worth a visit for breakfast and if you are a student there do a discount monday to friday.

22 North Road, BN1 1YA

Mad Hatter 11/12

Welcome aboard, well I think the Mad Hatter is a veggie place but I cant quite remember, if any one can confirm or deny this please feel free to correct me! I do know that I ordered a breakfast and got a veggie one! It was good apart from the sauages which lacked a bit of imagination, what I did like was that they were serving a bagel with it. It’s a nice touch. It seemed to be a busy place but staff were good and the atmosphere was lively. They do have a bar downstairs  which  did not see (it was a sunday morning, i might have done the night before though, who knows) The prices were about right for the level of food. I think I would recommend the Mad Hatter as a good spot of breakfast or lunch.

35 Montpelier Road, BN1 3BA

Bageeeeeeels!!!

Redwood Coffee House

A flapjack to die for!

I’ve been in this store before for a quick coffee with Pete and remember thinking ‘wooow this could be my hangout place’. The inside is unexpectedly warm and cosy sitting room-like, it felt like one of those places where you can get a nice cup of coffee and sit with your book for hours. 

In the look out for an inspiration and motivation for starting my disertation I ventured out of the house and thought I’ll go back there and see how it goes. None of the cosy sofas were available but it was so sunny today (well at least for a moment) so I happily sat at the table in the window. And everything would be really lovely, because the coffee was alright and the raspberry flapjack was just divine. But the man behind the counter (and I don’t mean the usual jolly guy that’s there) was just a bit akward. I’ve been working in a coffee shop myself for the past few years and I know how important it is to put the customers at the heart of your buisness. He made me feel a bit weird after I came back to the counter 10 min later after I was served the coffee to pick up my cake (I simply thought they forgot, which happens to the best of us, I know very well :)) And it wouldn’t be a big deal at all, but I was sent back to my seat with the man telling me that my cake will be served to me in a way that was just not very nice. I mean it takes a second to pick up a piece of cake, put it  ona plate and hand it to me saving yourself time having to come to my table again.

Maybe I am a bit picky, but I do think that atmosphere is as important as the coffee. My search for the ultimate coffee shop tha would inspire my brain cells to be productive is still on!

97-99 Trafalgar Street,      BN1 4ER Brighton