# Decent cafés in Toon



## Refused as fuck (Mar 25, 2008)

Anyone know a decent café in Toon? E.g. just for the chillax with mates on a Saturday afternoon before the football? I'm not averse to Starbucks but they're crowded as fuck on weekends and Cafe Royale, although pleasant means a 10/15 minute wait for a table. Good cake is a must.


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## Firky (Mar 26, 2008)

Posh: cafe 21 on the Quay Side (expect swanky west end london prices)
Greasy: Toon Sarnie, Helmsley Road

Off the top of my head.


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## Firky (Mar 26, 2008)

Pacific Cafe, hahaha.


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## free spirit (Mar 26, 2008)

salsa club, bottom of westgate road's great for a quiet coffee with lager option, plus natchos / potatoe wedges for nibbles, and it's rarely too busy in the daytime.

the best cakes option though is a little cafe tucked away on the top floor of this building just off northumberland street near to haymarket, i think it's on the corner of northumberland street and the alley heading down to steel wheels / beatdown records. The first 2 floors are some antique / brickabrak type shop, but keep going to the top floor and there's a proper old womens tea shop with great cakes, tea, apple pies etc and good for people watching. It's cheap too.


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## Firky (Mar 26, 2008)

There's Belle and Herbs too which is meant be dead cheap and sell loads of home cooked scran that is proper nice, it is in Heaton I think. Never been but have heard from a few people it is good.


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## free spirit (Mar 26, 2008)

firky said:


> There's Belle and Herbs too which is meant be dead cheap and sell loads of home cooked scran that is proper nice, it is in Heaton I think. Never been but have heard from a few people it is good.


no idea who told you it was dead cheap... I'm guessing a rich student?


it's not that expensive, but there's a greasy spoon nearer shields road end of the same road that does a full english all day breakfast for half the price of belle and herbs... b&h is meant to be good food though.


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## Firky (Mar 26, 2008)

well he is from paris so it probably is cheap 

where abouts is it?


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## free spirit (Mar 26, 2008)

heaton road - kinda the opposite end to shields road in the middle of student ville heaton land.

I've vague recollections of being there at some point, but think I was either hungover after a party, or entering day 2 of a weekend bender and having a coffee stop... memories of comfy chairs and decent coffee in big cups, it being a bit hippyish, but that's about it.


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## Firky (Mar 26, 2008)

i like hippyish, refused doesn't


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## free spirit (Mar 26, 2008)

well belle and herbs is in heaton anyway so a bit of a trek for before the football.

ok other cafes for cake

boskoops, just off the hippy green (eldon gardens), head from monument towards eldon gardens, first right into eldon gardens, about the 3rd building on the right 1st/2nd floor... well good cake / all day breakfast / sarnies etc.

forgot the name of it, but just down grey street towards dean street from high bridge street on the right, great cafe for cake selection.

actually theres a decent little cafe opposite rpm records on high bridge street, again no idea what it's called, not sure about it's cake selection though.

the side cafe near the bottom of dean street on the right just before the quayside has a decent cake selection too... and there's another decent place on nelson street (from monument towards grainger market, first right) opposite the grainger market - way better than starbucks, and about 20 yards away.

i like cafes me


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## neonwilderness (Mar 26, 2008)

firky said:


> Posh: cafe 21 on the Quay Side (expect swanky west end london prices)



Caffe Vivo around the corner is probably better for a light meal rather than Cafe 21.  It's part of the same group, so still a bit posh/pricey though.  Random fact of the day - I was involved with designing the kitchens at both restaurants.

Cafe Royal is probably a decent bet, the food is just as good (the guy who does the menus trained as a chef under the cafe 21 group), but it's a bit more reasonably priced.

Alternatively there's the cafe on Westgate Road that sells the infamous biker burger, a months worth of calories in a bun, a bargain at £3.50 IIRC.  Don't think they do cakes though


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## free spirit (Mar 26, 2008)

neonwilderness said:


> Alternatively there's the cafe on Westgate Road that sells the infamous biker burger, a months worth of calories in a bun, a bargain at £3.50 IIRC.  Don't think they do cakes though


the hill top cafe?

i was going to do a round up of the greasy spoons, but then saw the bit about cake so moved onto my afternoon cafes


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## Firky (Mar 26, 2008)

Is the caravan outside the college still there? YOu used to get a breakfast stotty for a £1.50 and it was basically a full english stuffed into a stotty


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## Pieface (Mar 26, 2008)

free spirit said:


> forgot the name of it, but just down grey street towards dean street from high bridge street on the right, great cafe for cake selection.



Blakes iirc - been there ages that one..



free spirit said:


> actually theres a decent little cafe opposite rpm records on high bridge street, again no idea what it's called, not sure about it's cake selection though.



My mate helped decorate that!


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## Refused as fuck (Mar 26, 2008)

Cool. Cheers, people.


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## free spirit (Mar 26, 2008)

PieEye said:


> My mate helped decorate that!


yeah, I used to know the sister of the girl who owned it, and a few people who've worked there etc.


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## janeb (Mar 26, 2008)

free spirit said:


> it's not that expensive, but there's a greasy spoon nearer shields road end of the same road that does a full english all day breakfast for half the price of belle and herbs... b&h is meant to be good food though.



The fabulous JJ's - spend most Saturday mornings in there with the paper and a greasy spoon breakfast 

B&H is stupidly expensive and far too crowded, and also awful service - the food is good but frankly i don't think its a patch on JJ's or most of the cafes on Shields Rd to be honest.

Sky Apple is a good veggie cafe just slightly nearer Shields Rd than B&H


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## neonwilderness (Mar 26, 2008)

free spirit said:


> the hill top cafe?
> 
> i was going to do a round up of the greasy spoons, but then saw the bit about cake so moved onto my afternoon cafes



Yeah, I think that's the one.

Perhaps someone should start a greasy spoons thread.  I have vague memories of going to one somewhere between Manors station and the bottom of Dean Street which was fairly decent.


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## The Black Hand (Mar 27, 2008)

Refused as fuck said:


> Anyone know a decent café in Toon? E.g. just for the chillax with mates on a Saturday afternoon before the football? I'm not averse to Starbucks but they're crowded as fuck on weekends and Cafe Royale, although pleasant means a 10/15 minute wait for a table. Good cake is a must.



The big M & S is quite good, they have at least 4 cafes  so you should find something you like, John Lewis has got a couple too, all not too far from the ground.


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