Mini Bites: Scooter Caffé, Waterloo

I went along to a great little place last night, and all you lot should really know about it. Hidden away at the Westminster end of Lower marsh is a tiny little café with a pretty novel idea. Packed to the hilt with scooter memorabilia, from a full blown scooter in the window to number plates all over the walls, it sells drinks. Yep, just drinks. From Monmouth coffee to all sorts of booze, you are welcomed to rock up, enjoy the internet and have a few drinks. The atmosphere is laid back and it kind of feels you’re in your own living room. There are even the addition of a few cats running around.

The clincher for me is that they welcome you to bring in your own food. It’s a pretty novel concept in my eyes, and I like it. Bring food, drink their drinks, do work, enjoy with friends. Scooter Caffé is what you want it to be. I love the lax atmosphere and more importantly, free wifi. Take into consideration the little events they hold like Monday night film nights, open mic and cartoons, and you have a pretty great place to hole up and chill out. Love it.

Scooter Caffé - 132 Lower Marsh, South Bank, London SE1 7AE

Embarking on the "Purnell's Tour" in Birmingham

Purnell's and I have not always had a great relationship. Last year, alongside my fellow intrepid food tourists (also known as my dad and my sister), we set off bright and early from Surrey in order to make our way to Birmingham for a 1:30pm lunch date. All was going well up the M6 until we were caught downwind of a large crash outside Birmingham, and were inevitably delayed. Ringing up the restaurant to tell them we were going to be late, they informed us that the kitchen took last orders at 13:45. Regardless of the fact that we had travelled from London just to eat there, were told that no order would be taken past that time. We were desolate and stuck on the motorway, two factors which often go hand in hand. As we drove past at 13:55, I pleaded with Twitter for options, and headed to Lasan. Thankfully, our journey was not in vain as Lasan knocked the proverbial out of the park, so much so that my dad and sister have been hankering for a return journey.

So there I was outside Purnells once again, a year and a half later and midway through a mini staycation. Would it be worth it?

Bread Street Kitchen

Poor old Gordon does get a bit of a bashing in the press, doesn’t he. It was always inevitable that there would be an automatic condemnation of any new venture, and the launch of Bread St Kitchen was no different. Early feedback was ambivalent about the food, with many concentrated heavily on the shambolic service that they had received. Personally, I can forgive certain aspects of poor service, especially in the first week of opening, as long as the food is good enough to back it up. Having been invited to join a few others to give the menu a road test, I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

Union Hand Roasted and everything I wanted to know about coffee

Aaah coffee, that sweet magical elixir, full of dark mystery and restorative properties. Nothing better than having that equally sweet and bitter nectar, combined with a dash of milk to mellow out the flavours slip down your throat. The conqueror of mornings and cure for hangovers. Coffee how I love thee.

Coffee had been just another drink for me for many years. Something I would buy in granule format from the local supermarket, chuck in a mug with milk, hot water and sugar, and be done with it. Over the years, following visits to Australia where coffee is a culture, to Bali where the specialise in coffee pooped by the civet cat and more recently following the emergence of London's coffee scene, I have learnt to embrace coffee as more than just a hot drink, but of a complex and incredibly enjoyable beverage.