# Bath & Bristol



## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

Right - I know the Bristol one has been asked millions of times, and I've heard good things about Brew Coffee Company, Small Street and The Playground. I think we'd be popping in for some food as well, so am really eager to hear from locals/regulars/people who have visited a few to see what they'd recommend.

As far as Bath - I'm not sure, we're popping in for a day or so and I think we'd be more open to get food elsewhere.

It goes without saying that I'll likely sample a few of them, but just wondering if anyone has any advice on must-go-to's or avoid like the plagues (aside from the usual chains).

Cheers all!


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## filthynines (May 2, 2016)

Colonna & Smalls is in Bath. It was good, but I was possibly a little bit underwhelmed because of all the hype about the brand.

Mokoko Coffee is pretty good, but they seemed pretty stressed the twice I went in to get takeaways and one of them pissed my wife off in the way she spoke to her. Nice cakes.

Avoid Cascara, IMO. I seem to remember that I asked what their guest was and they looked perplexed by the question. The house blend was less than good.


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## filthynines (May 2, 2016)

Oh, and the Colombian Coffee Company: not strictly speciality IMO, but I enjoyed a Cafe Bombon there and that's good enough for me! Tiny seating space, though.


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## filthynines (May 2, 2016)

Bristol: Harts Bakery. It's by Bristol Temple Mead station. It's bakery goods, but really good stuff. Extract Coffee is served very nicely indeed. If it's a weekend you will probably have to fight for a table.


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## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

filthynines said:


> Bristol: Harts Bakery. It's by Bristol Temple Mead station. It's bakery goods, but really good stuff. Extract Coffee is served very nicely indeed. If it's a weekend you will probably have to fight for a table.


 Cheers for all the replies buddy. I did see Harts bakery - was planning on popping in for some baked goods etc but didn't realise they did coffee too. Will have to give it a try.

cheers for the Bath suggestions too - I'll have a read of some of the reviews online on the recommended places and see if I can see what gear they have... we're going down this Friday to the Cotswolds but we're making a trip to bath & Bristol on one of the days so hoping to find some good places to eat and drink!


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## filthynines (May 2, 2016)

Cooffe said:


> Cheers for all the replies buddy. I did see Harts bakery - was planning on popping in for some baked goods etc but didn't realise they did coffee too. Will have to give it a try.
> 
> cheers for the Bath suggestions too - I'll have a read of some of the reviews online on the recommended places and see if I can see what gear they have... we're going down this Friday to the Cotswolds but we're making a trip to bath & Bristol on one of the days so hoping to find some good places to eat and drink!


 You're most welcome. I can't remember who sent me in the direction of Harts Bakery when I first visited Bristol for work, but it was well worth going out of my way. Parking can be a pain, so beware!


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## richwade80 (Aug 25, 2017)

More info here.

Bath
https://coffeeforums.co.uk/index.php?/topic/47922-Bath

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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

I was pretty underwhelmed by colonnas on a recent visit. Best experience I had was in nearby Frome in a place called Frama - delicious clever brew of a colonna roasted coffee, and the flat white from their decent espresso machine was the best I can remember having in some time

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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Another great little place in and around Bath is Gilou's in Bradford on Avon, he is just really passionate and makes fantastic coffee


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## MartinB (May 8, 2011)

We have a Society cafe in Oxford which is absolutely great - I believe they have a cafe in Bath as well. Never been in it though, but it should be good if its anything like the Oxford cafe.


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## Beanstair (Oct 25, 2019)

filthynines said:


> Colonna & Smalls is in Bath. It was good, but I was possibly a little bit underwhelmed because of all the hype about the brand.
> 
> Mokoko Coffee is pretty good, but they seemed pretty stressed the twice I went in to get takeaways and one of them pissed my wife off in the way she spoke to her. Nice cakes.
> 
> Avoid Cascara, IMO. I seem to remember that I asked what their guest was and they looked perplexed by the question. The house blend was less than good.


 Oh absolutely. I think Colonna is unbelievably overrated, and I spoke to quite a few roasters when I went to the london coffee festival this year, and didn't hear many good words about the folk at the top of their management ? - I believe in the family / community vibe!

I think Cascara is meant to be a good go to, but I'd fully 100% recommend Mokoko. Society is also quite nice!


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## mcrmfc (Sep 17, 2016)

MartinB said:


> We have a Society cafe in Oxford which is absolutely great - I believe they have a cafe in Bath as well. Never been in it though, but it should be good if its anything like the Oxford cafe.


Yes have been to Society in Bristol and Oxford...very consistent and really make coffee the priority. Also good selection of beans, coffee mags etc.

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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

I haven't managed to get there this year, but thought Colonna and Smalls was exceptional every time that I've been (maybe 10 times or so). I enjoy the vibe and the people were all nice but generally busy when I was there.


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## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

Went to Colonna yesterday and was actually given a free espresso because I hadn't tasted one run through an EK before, so he brought one over with my flat white. Also went to Lansdown(?) bakery and it was ok but I couldn't make a fully informed decision as it was a flat white again...

went to small street & brew plus coffee today and it was good. Bonus points that I went to Playground and they made a bear in my girlfriends hot chocolate. Fair play to them, the coffee tasted good too. And the drunk card game thing was quite fun with a couple other of my mates.


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## Beanstair (Oct 25, 2019)

fluffles said:


> I was pretty underwhelmed by colonnas on a recent visit. Best experience I had was in nearby Frome in a place called Frama - delicious clever brew of a colonna roasted coffee, and the flat white from their decent espresso machine was the best I can remember having in some time
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk


 I have heard many good things about Frama. Thanks for the heads up! Will definitely go now


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## Drewster (Dec 1, 2013)

filthynines said:


> Colonna & Smalls is in Bath. It was good, but I was possibly a little bit underwhelmed because of all the hype about the brand.
> 
> Mokoko Coffee is pretty good, but they seemed pretty stressed the twice I went in to get takeaways and one of them pissed my wife off in the way she spoke to her. Nice cakes.
> 
> Avoid Cascara, IMO. I seem to remember that I asked what their guest was and they looked perplexed by the question. The house blend was less than good.


 Having spent the last few days in a "cottage" in Bitton (just outside Bath) I have popped into Bath a couple of times and been into both Collona&Small and Mokoko....

We all ,MrsD, 3xDrewster-ettes and other halves) went into Bath for a meal on Xmas Eve (The Scallop Shell - posh/glorified Chippy) and as we got to town a little early I typed "coffee" into G-Maps... and C&S turned out to be about 50 yards round the corner....

Between us we tried 3 x different Flat-Whites and a couple of Chocolates.
The 3 FWs were all (probably expectedly) very well prepared and served and everybody who had a sip could tell the difference between them (or at least tell that there was a difference between them)...
The Chocs were appreciated by those who like such things.

Earlier today (Boxing Day) we popped back into Bath (parking in a similar spot but minus a couple of bods) but unfortunately C&S was closed, as we deliberately went back (meaning that the coffee/choc must have been worth another visit)...

So after wandering around town for a while, not a lot was open, we spotted Mokoko and popped in (frankly we would have gone in ANYWHERE at that point.... although I had resisted a couple of chains).

A couple of Flat-whites a couple of Crocs and a White Choc... were all appreciated


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