Artisan, Brighton, UK

The Artisan Delicatessen is focused on a fine selection of products including a large range of olive oils but they also serve up food and coffee. Although not marketing themselves as a coffee shop they could happily do so as they stand up with the best in Brighton. The barista beavered away on my drink and it came just in time; the different cured meats, some hanging and a large range of cheeses were tempting me to go wild and spend.

 What arrived was a thick, black and steaming medium to small mug. It was moving around like a demented dark weather system, the swirling masses were quite hypnotic. The immediate sense was that this was super strong coffee based on the look and the rich aroma. One sip confirmed this but showed more too. The coffee had a dark roasted flavour with earthy taste. This broad, full taste gave way to a creamy after taste at the back of the throat.

There were no real hints of sweetness and perhaps this was too strong which is a rare complaint from me and nothing a little water would have resolved. The beans came from Lazy Jose and this was their "we are 3 espresso" blend as far as I could tell from their sign.

• Black Americano
• Very strong
• Dark, broad and rich in flavour
• Thick crema
• Medium cup
• £2.10 

A near flawless coffee from this far from basic deli; great full flavour although perhaps a little strong and dark for some. 

http://www.artisanlivetoeat.co.uk/

Map 




Cafe Coho, Brighton, UK

I somehow stumbled on Cafe Coho on Twitter or they cleverly marketed themselves to me and it worked. Either way, in the torrential rain, the Today programme in one ear I set out along the sea front to check this place out. 
I'm glad I did. 

The cafe itself was nicely decked out and the barista was attentive and friendly. Coho serves Union beans and is obviously focused on selling high quality coffee. They serve hot food, sandwiches and a range of pastries but as you can see by the images below the coffee comes first.  

The black americano had a fantastic sweet taste. It was very broad with a rich aroma and this balance gave way to smooth creamy notes. No bitterness or soured points at all.

I returned at the weekend and found the second round was just as good. Flat whites and babychinos were also excellent. For a small and busy place we somehow managed to get two pushchairs in which is always comforting to know. 

They are working on a strong marketing push with heavy twitter activity and a website purely pushing a mailing list so expect for this house to be very full.

• Black Americano
• Strong
• Sweet well balanced flavour
• A trace of crema
• Medium cup
• £2.40 

Sweet, strong and smooth, everything joe should be. At last another great coffee house in Brighton, serving outstanding tasting coffee. 

www.cafecoho.co.uk / Map / info@cafecoho.co.uk/ http://twitter.com/cafecoho

Pizza Express, Brighton, UK

I've always been a fan of Pizza Express which to me has provided a solid well priced pizza experience better than the majority out there. Like coffee, good pizza should be simple to put together but in practice it is often pretty terrible stuff. Bad pizza should not be the case and I don't know why it is but I'm certainly not going to start blogging about it.


Either I'm growing (in scale not my tummy) or I think their pizzas have got smaller over time but still it was plenty for a lunch. I went for the Da Morire Romana which was invented by a bloke called Simon in a competition and was awesome. The core being Gorgonzola and caramelised leaks, the sweet and tang playing off against each other nicely.


What better way to round off a pizza than a coffee? Their americano came in a good sized cup with simple black line illustrations across it. The aroma had something slightly off about it, perhaps a little stale but the taste was generally good. A little weak but it hit the tongue with a wide spectrum of taste. Those initial concerns were then backed up by what could have been a creamy after taste turning sour in the back of the throat.  


On another day this coffee may have been decent so I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt, saved by the general good flavouring.   

• Black Americano
• Weak in strength
• Flavour good whilst drinking but stale aftertaste
• A little crema
• Small cup
• £2.00 

So not a "station coffee" thankfully so still worth rounding off your meal with but not up there with the big boys.  

Pizza Express 
Map

Damn Fine Joe bored of brighton

You can now see updated reviews from Damn Fine Joe on the excellent blog:

http://boredofbrighton.co.uk/

+ lots of other interesting things to read there so get stuck in.

Nia, Brighton, UK

This restaurant cafe is situated on the edge of the North lanes and with the large windows is very welcoming. Inside it is bright, light and certainly kid friendly with enough room for prams. The menu is quite wide and seemed very appealing.


My brother was a fan and took me here. We had all our girls plus our near teenage nephew in tow. It was a good choice being able to sit down right away with all our host of vehicles and clutter and the staff were unfazed by this circus. Unfortunately our waiter didn't process our order. The manager was great and not only immediately offered free drinks but what sold us was she had the waiter come over and personally apologise. This personal touch and fast management when the problem was discovered is to be applauded and removed any anger on our part. The food was probably rushed out too us and this resulted it in all being a bit mediocre but I have had good reviews from others so I think we were unlucky this time.


But I write about coffee not food or atmosphere. Well as much as it pains me as I wanted to like this place there is not much to see on this front either strong, smooth but very bitter. We both had the americano and on tasting our faces said it all. Watery on the front of the pallet but with considerable strength it seemed over espressed. The bitter after-taste was not too gritty but not at all pleasant.

Taken early in the morning. Not quite open yet.

• Black Americano
• Strong 
• Generally smooth for overly bitter aftertaste
• No Crema
• Medium
• £2.40

Sadly not very good at all but it was free so what can you say? 

http://www.nia-brighton.co.uk/
Map

Black & Blue, London, UK

Another in the pantheon of great restaurants in Borough Market, Black and Blue does good meat and is a nice place to eat, it certainly utilises the arch space it inhabits well. A lobby like bar flanked with high tables for those waiting sees a narrow corridor area to the left and a large American style diner area to the right. Cows adorn the restaurant including this fellow who meets you as you step out the lift that takes you to the toilet.  

The food is focused on meat, steak to be precise and the t-bones we ordered were of the highest order. A glass of cab-sav on the side made it all slip down a treat. Onto the coffee; time being short an espresso was  ordered.

The espresso came in a largish mug and was itself quite big. The aroma was fantastic and the first taste was a great big hit to the pallet.  Touching all the right notes, smooth and flavoursome it was not quite an espresso, more an americano due to the strength and the size. It didn't seem overespressed in flavour as it was sweet and not overly bitter but the amount of water reduced the strength. Still even at this size there was enough raw coffee there to keep the taste and a nice oily sheen.

• Double Espresso
• Strong (but could be stronger)
• Great aroma and a full flavour
• Good Crema
• Large
• £3 

A very nice tasting drink and the only criticism is one of definition, a little large and therefore a little weak for the drink ordered.


http://www.blackandbluerestaurants.com/restaurant/Borough-Market/1
Map

Top 5 in Brighton 2010

A new year, a fresh desire to find the best coffee in the world. The mission is not over yet and there are many coffee houses in Brighton alone to sample.

The top 5 (in Brighton) in no particular order:

9 Bar
Ground
Coffee@33
Bills
Taylor Street Baristas

Feel free to send suggestions of where to try next.The sad but honest fact is that most places will get a middling to poor review, only the very best coffee will get a thumbs up.

Remember this is all about the coffee not about the ambience or staff or food, just the black stuff.