Irish News journalists love a coffee (and a pastry, by the sounds of it) and they’ve shared their favourite spots around the north for a decent coffee and a snack.
First Avenue, Ormeau Road, Belfast: Ryan Smith
The Ormeau Road has no shortage of brilliant independent coffee shops: from General Merchants, to Kaffe O, to the newly opened Drip. But for me, it’s First Avenue. It’s got friendly staff, great coffee and food and is the ideal place to catch up with a friend or to get some work done. I’m not quite sure what the correct coffee to hours spent in a coffee shop ratio is when I’ve got the laptop out – but (perhaps until now) they’ve yet to pull me up on it.
Plus, it’s right beside Ormeau Park so it’s the perfect place to grab a coffee to go before a walk.
Born & Bread, Portstewart Promenade, Co Derry: Michael McWilliams
While there is never a bad time to visit the north coast, the many coffee shops are more relaxed when the summer crowds move on, and there is something to be said for looking out on a wintry scene while enjoying hot drinks and good food.
Born & Bread is, as the name suggests, owned by Portstewart natives and is perfectly situated overlooking the harbour, where waves crash against the rocks.
Teas, coffees and lovely scones are on offer, while loaves are on sale to take out and enjoy at home. Hot food is also on the menu from breakfast time through to late-afternoon, with the soups particularly tasty.
And when you’re literally yards from the Atlantic Ocean, the seafood chowder is a natural choice which will make sure you don’t need much more to eat for the entire day.
Audacity, Beersbridge Road, Belfast: Simon Doyle
Over the past while, several coffee shops have popped up along east Belfast’s Beersbridge Road. Audacity was the first of these to appear in summer 2022. It is a small, dog-friendly space, which was what first appealed to me. While it no longer offers its generously-sized sausage rolls – there had been vegan and more standard options – it continues to provide a range of great sweet treats, some dairy-free.
Owned and operated by Niall and Jamie, the coffee is great, and every Sunday is ‘Toto Sunday’ where the music is exclusively, well, Toto. Open seven days a week, it also hosts occasional events at night.
Park Life, Bangor, Co Down: Jonathan Campbell
Located at the Park Drive side of Ward Park, near the bandstand, Park Life has nothing to do with your Vorsprung durch Technik and everything to do with good coffee, traybakes and hot food. The grilled cheese sandwiches are superb.
There’s an outdoor seating area but that is open to the elements. Oh, and unlike the song, this Park Life actually is about you joggers who go round, and round, and round - on a Saturday morning it’s very handy for a pre-parkrun espresso or a restorative snack afterwards.
Kaffe O, Belfast: Conor Coyle
It feels like this Danish-style coffee shop has been around Belfast for a lifetime.
Still very much independently owned despite now having four shops and a coffee hatch in Belfast, it still manages to retain a local, independent feel in all its locations. While it does offer a variety of salads and pastries, it’s all about the coffee here and it’s as good as it gets in a world of competition in the city at the moment.
Bonus marks, as always, for being dog-friendly and allowing our not so mild-mannered pooch to pretend like he’s a human for an hour.
Milled Coffee, Sion Mills, Co Tyrone: Gary McDonald
Milled Coffee House is a cosy little caffeine haven adjoining the award-winning Joe’s traditional fish and chip shop nestled in the historic village of Sion Mills.
Run by Louise Hamilton, a self-confessed coffee snob, Milled features artisanal blends from New Kid Coffee in Letterkenny - and the coffees are sumptuous. They need to be, because as Louise told me: “Just one poor coffee can mean the difference between gaining and losing a customer.”
Oh, and Milled’s menu includes breakfast baps, sourdough toasties, fresh bakes, Teapigs speciality teas, ice-cream sundaes (yum), and milkshakes.
Tribe, Saintfield: Neil Loughran
Saintfield has become a bit of a coffee shop hotspot in recent years, with Kin and Folk, and Greta’s, the latest additions inside the last year.
But, since its early days operating from a converted outhouse just off Main Street, Tribe upped the levels considerably. The coffee was/is great, so too the pastrami and sauerkraut reubens, with the menu expanding beyond recognition since making the short hop to new, roomier premises.
The owners - David and Paula Kelly - merit mention too. This couple are at the forefront of anything good going on in the village, whether that’s the flourishing Saturday market, or the ‘Summer Swal’ sessions that draw people together for pints, pizza, magic (I was, for a few terrifying moments once upon a time, the Debbie McGee to the top-hatted maestros Paul Daniels) and music. Their efforts don’t go unnoticed.
Great coffee, though, remains at the heart of it all.
Brew & Bake, Lisburn Road, Belfast: Chris Sherrard
Brew & Bake is so good, they’ve opened twice.
Barely 100 yards apart, one branch (the original) remains focused on bakery beauties to go with your cuppa while the newer premises (facing the police station) is your place for brunch to fill you up for the day (think grilled cheese toasties, breakfast baps and flavour-loaded french toast).
Most people come for the cinnamon buns and stay for the rest. And it’s not hard to see why as they are a mouthful of magic topped with cream cheese icing.
But just about everything that comes out of their ovens is to be savoured – from the sausage rolls to scones, cookies and cakes.
Given we’re here to talk about the coffee, it hits the mark as well. As does the chai latte. Some really interesting blends available to underscore the ‘brew’ part of the title.
If you’re trying to find Brew & Bake on a Saturday morning just look for the queue outside – and it’s worth the wait.
The Guillemot, Bangor, Co Down: Maeve Connolly
The Guillemot café and deli is a Bangor institution. It’s got everything – cracking food, perfect coffee, delightful staff and oodles of atmosphere.
You can’t book so be prepared to queue at busy times which, for the Guillemot, means from the time the doors open until they close.
The deli has a great cheese counter plus interesting jars, tins and packets from around the world and it serves Christmas sandwiches doused with a hearty slug of gravy. Brussels sprouts shouldn’t work in a sandwich, but they do here.
Little Eddy’s, Killinchy, Co Down: Allan Preston
Attached to the popular Daft Eddy’s restaurant on Sketrick Island in Killinchy, Little Eddy’s offers great coffee and buns alongside views of Strangford Lough.
While top-quality fish and chips with a Guinness are served next door, the café beside the ruins of Sketrick Castle offers a more casual option to visit a stunning location without breaking the bank.
A magnet for cyclists and young families in Co Down, it’s also not unusual to see canoeists in life jackets queuing up at the counter for their caffeine hit.
While not on everyone’s doorstep, the stress-busting atmosphere of the island setting is definitely worth the trip.
Fable Coffee, Beragh, Co Tyrone: Ryan McAleer
It’s hard to beat your local, and for me it doesn’t get much more local than Fable Coffee in Beragh.
Every village deserves a good coffee spot and mine got what it deserved when Fable opened for business over the summer.
It’s just a gentle dander from my front door into Fable’s homely atmosphere, where great coffee and bundle of newspapers await me.
Whether it’s a quick coffee and croissant in the morning, chicken wrap in the afternoon, or a hot chocolate and tray bake after watching a game of football on a cold Saturday, Fable is already a firm family favourite.
