My Must Try Coffees In Shrewsbury
So I’ve always been an avid coffee drinker. I’m a chef, right. It’s engrained in our day to day survival. Walk in the kitchen at 9am, demand front of house make you a coffee. Admire the latte art with gratitude, then leave it on the side for half an hour. Pop it in the microwave, take sip - it’s too hot, leave it on the side again for 30-40 minutes. Repeat this 2-3 times before finally drinking it cold around midday!
I am by no means a total coffee nut, I certainly wouldn’t call myself any level of knowledgable expert but I do know what I like and as with most things I put in my mouth, I can be picky about it! Shrewsbury is actually where I really started to gain an interest in the finer details of coffee, where they are grown, the art of producing coffee, making the cup of coffee and the all important latte art on the top (don’t ask me to try any latte art - at Jamie’s we had training from the World Barista Champion in Milan - even he gave up on me!)
I’m starting to think that Shrewsbury might have a caffeine problem - I would love to know the stats but I think its got to have the most coffee shops per square inch compared to anywhere else in the world! There seems to be new places opening all the time which all seem to constantly be busy! Magic for a coffee lover!!!
Anyway, in no particular order, here’s my must try coffees in Shrewsbury……..it’s important to note these are my favourite coffees, not necessarily my favourite cafes/coffee shops……….maybe that’s another post for another day!
Patch’s Coffee, Market Kiosk - The Happiest Coffee You’ll Taste!
Right when you think that you’ve captured the best of the best coffees in Shrewsbury a coffee God moves back into town and makes you rethink your entire life!
Patch is back! I first came across Patch when he opened The Colonel’s Son Coffee in Castle Gates - it was a total revelation for me! An entire new standard of coffee in Shrewsbury, serving coffee he roasted himself! I would literally walk right across town just to go there. This was pre-covid - I think?! Is anyone confident of any date or event that happened between 2019-2022?
The shop unfortunately shut. Fortunately Shrewsbury has some serious coffee joints, which really carried me through the dark days! In the time he was gone, the wonderful Birds Nest (see below) opened up a little kiosk on the side of the Market Hall - absolute winner! Great coffee without the stairs - total winner! I was stunned when a social media announcement came out saying they were closing the kiosk! What possibly could have happened? I feared the worst - another coffee hot spot gone!
Then, a few days later, another social media post went up - PATCH WAS BACK! Cue total pandemonium in my head!
Think that famous Jonah Hill GIF when you search (excited) - that was what was happening inside my head!
Over the moon to see that Patch’s coffee standards hadn’t slipped one bit. Utterly delicious! Coffee from really good UK based roasters. All the trendy packaging. The sort of bright, fresh, cool craft beer style packaging and a product that doest disappoint! What sets Patch’s coffee apart isn’t the great coffee beans he buys and serves. It isn’t the masterful technique he has when it comes to making a coffee. It’s the pure happy, positive vibes that goes into every cup of coffee he makes. It’s the beaming smile, the consistent friendliness. It’s the total happiness! There isn’t a happier coffee in Shrewsbury - not even close!
I head to Patch’s not only for a delicious coffee but to also get my soul filled with a little bit of happiness. The laughter while we chat and wait for my coffee to be ready; ‘seriously dude, take your time with the coffee’. To genuinely feel a little happier, a little more lifted and 100% more positive about life. I love the fact that I have to check my watch everytime I’m that end of town. If I head around the corner, or leave the Market Hall out of the wrong end, I know I will have to buy a coffee from Patch - it’s too delicious to ignore. But then I am also going to have to spend 10-15 minutes absorbing his vibes - do I have time? Of course I do, there is very little in the world that should get in the way of anything that picks you up as much as a coffee and a chat with Patch. I sometimes even find it frustrating waiting in the queue watching everyone else get their ‘Patch Fix’ - I have just had a Dragon’s Den moment in my head - literally just now. Bottle up the good vibes, stick it in a nicotine patch - Patch’s Patches! Maybe without the nicotine, probably be too much with both stimulants! Coffee, Nicotine & Good Vibes - ok, this isn’t the 1980s - this isn’t going to work. Terrible Idea!
I urge you to go and grab a coffee from Patch - you get a cup of delicious coffee but even better than that you’ll leave feeling that little bit better and more positive about pretty much everything! A proper coffee for your soul!
Condor, English Bridge - Speciality Coffee At It’s Best
This place absolutely shouts about all the fine things about coffee. Raul and his team make one of the best, smoothest coffees you will find anywhere, not just Shrewsbury. Love, care and attention are the name of the game. Coffee making is a skill and a total art in this place. Nothing will ever be rushed, nothing will get served that isn’t on the money!
Good vibes, good music, nice and light coffee shop with an spacious feel to a relatively small space, its perfect for a quick takeaway grab and run or (he’s popped in some new tables and chairs) you can sit in, relax and enjoy the awesome vibes on offer!
Regular changing guest coffees from roasters all over the UK means there is always something new to try - and Raul is so knowledgable and ready to unload some interesting coffee info onto anyone who wants to know. Signs up about what coffees are currently on with all the details of origins, growing conditions and flavour notes means you have the opportunity to learn about the coffee if you wish - but there’s no edge here, just a warm welcome so don’t be intimidated but all the jargon, if just want a delicious coffee without the fuss - this is the place! And don’t be afraid to ask questions, the team love it!
Pont Bakery, Wyle Cop - Mocha’s Like No Where Else!
Anyone with a sweet tooth in Shrewsbury most likely knows about these guys! Lauren and the team have bought a Parisian style bakery to Shrewsbury and it has been a total hit since they opened. I reckon it was weeks before there wasn’t a queue forming half an hour ahead of opening time! The weekend’s are still rammed but there’s definitely a little more room in the week! Don’t let the queues put you off though - it’s always worth the wait! The pastry’s and cakes are insane and of a standard nothing short of the best bakeries in the biggest cities - Manchester, Birmingham, London - I haven’t really seen a bakery that far ahead of what Lauren is offering - but they also have a secret weapon!
THE BEST MOCHA YOU’LL FIND THIS SIDE OF VIENNA!
With such a high quality bakery, the quality of ingredients are paramount, so Lauren gets in the best chocolate. She also uses Hundred House Coffee for the coffee goods - they are a great local roaster, with a delicious range of coffees and a bit of a Shropshire legend - combine the 2 and you end up with an absolute delicious monster! I had a mocha in a chocolate shop in Vienna that changed the mocha game for me - Pont’s mocha transports me back to that magical time when I realised just how delicious something as simple as a mocha could be!
If you want the ultimate chocolate slap in the face, grab a mocha and one of their chocolate brownies - keep the afternoon free for chocolate heaven naps - full blown delicious!
The Birds Nest, Market Hall - Crowd Pleasing House Blends & Speciality Coffee, Great Baristas & The Best Dirty Chai!
The Birds Nest in the Market Hall is somewhat of a Shrewsbury legend - amazing cafe! Great food, great coffee, great music, amazing hustle and bustle atmosphere - to quote their own tag line ‘Good Vibes Only’. But what they do best is the thing most places struggle with, consistency - whether its the food, coffee, cakes or just general happiness and attitude of the staff - it’s always on the same level and always on point! They either have an incredible recruitment system to find the best people, or they've created an amazing place to work! When the staff are always so happy to be there, it makes you happy to be there - a proper good welcome! It’s also one of my favourite places to work from - in fact, I’m sat there now, enjoying their vegan breakfast (with some scrambo’s on the side, obvs) and a flat white from a new coffee they are trying - they tell me it’s a controversial choice as it’s not quite the total crowd pleaser they normally go for - I can tell you, its bloody delicious!
Anyway, I’m off on a tangent - this is supposed to be about the coffee!
This was the place that first got me looking at single origin coffee, filter and pour over coffees, got me focussing on the actual flavours of what was on offer and to appreciate the finer details of the dark, good stuff! This was one of the first places to offer it and also the place that got me trying to perfect the pour over coffee at home - like latte art, something I am no where near mastering - maybe I should leave it to the experts!
Head there, try their filter coffee, get given a little flyer all about the beans, where they are grown, how they are grown and start to pick out the flavour notes, or just head there for a super delicious, crowd pleasing house blend coffee. One of their baristas, Liam has a total passion for coffee and (in my opinion) is one of the most knowledgeable, friendly and talented baristas in town - don’t be afraid to pick his brain! Having some of the best baristas in Shrewsbury who really care about the coffee, means everyone on the machine knows how to make a really good coffee - so whatever you choose, it will be delicious! There’s that magic word, consistency!
There is something delicious for everyone when it come to the coffee from this place! Another place packed with love, care and attention!
There’s also a special shout out to their Chai Latte’s and more importantly, their Dirty Chai - the best in Shrewsbury! Not sure where they get their blend from but it hits different!
The Shrewsbury Coffee House, Castle Gates - Consistent House Blend!
In my opinion, consistency is the most important and most difficult thing to get right. Making sure your customers know exactly what they are getting, keep them coming back for everything they love.
The Shrewsbury Coffee House has this is bucket loads!
They don’t mess around swapping coffees, finding new roasters, highlighting the minute details in each coffee - but instead, they search out the most delicious, crowd pleasing house blend coffee that suits their machine, that suits their baristas and most importantly suits their customers - then they stick with it! At the moment they are using Hardlines - a coffee I have only recently come across but one that now sits proudly in my own kitchen, ready to be plunged in the cafetière - ready to start the day in the most delicious, caffeine fuelled way!
Whenever you go to the coffeehouse, you get the best, consistent experience. It doesn’t matter who’s on the machine, it doesn’t matter what day of the week, what time of day or even what mood I’m in (which changes my experience of almost everything) - the coffee is always on point, always delicious!
It’s another cool spot. Good vibes, good music, great staff and another coffee shop where the staff seem to love being there. Lots of local art is splattered all over the walls and it’s another ideal spot for cracking open the laptop or reading a book!
Drink in, or takeaway - Can’t recommend it enough!
Petit Glou - The Market Hall - Unexpected & Underrated Pour Over Coffee From A Place Obsessed With Wine
If you want good wine that’s ethically and responsibly sourced, with a focus on flavour and process rather than label and name - then you probably will have come across Petit Glou and Glou Glou, both parts of the Iron & Rose empire - Shrewsbury’s specialists in natural, organic and biodynamic wines. What you might not have noticed, is just how good their pour over coffees are!
As a business focussed on regionality, it’s no surprise they choose Hundred House as their supplier - both also members of Slow Food Ludlow - we like to support each other the best we can! It’s always a good sign when you see the little red snail!
Petit Glou often has Hundred House’s latest crazy creation from their Freak & Unique range on offer and only serves their coffee as a pour over - a way to focus on the flavours of the coffee and the skill in making it - this sits perfectly with the overall ethos of their business. Also served in a carafe - why wouldn’t you?!
What a lot of people don’t realise is that the fermentation processes in coffee making are really aligned to wine making - offering the perfect cross over - another reason for them to choose the single origin pour over route!
The coffee is made with love, the water is lovingly poured and patience is key - the coffee is silky smooth to taste, light and packed with easily identifiable flavour notes. They have a cool vibe that thrives off the hustle and bustle of the market hall, but its also tucked away enough upstairs that you can easily forget where you’re sat!
Petit Glou (& Glou Glou) has a really cool, approachable style to an industry that’s crammed with stuffiness, an elitist attitude and just general snobbery! They are focused on their products and giving everyone the best experience possible. Whether it’s wine, coffee, cakes, teas, cheese boards, toasties, whatever - they want you to love their products as much as they do - it’s a true passion! The staff as always ready to offer advice, answer any questions and really impart their knowledge on you - as well as making the best recommendations! They are knowledgable, friendly, laid back and have the approachable style that lacks in most other (dated) swanky booze shops in town! It’s not the early 20th century and we aren’t in the Dorchester right now, so lets just lighten the mood, guys!
Next time you’re in the market hall, don’t just see this place as a wine shop/bar - stop, try a coffee, have a slice of their Basque cheesecake…….then buy a lovely bottle of wine on the way out………
Plantkind, Milk Street - Hidden Gem Filter Coffee
Plantkind is delicious, there’s no need to say much more! Renowned for the very best falafel/salad boxes and wraps and more recently a journey into the world of all kinds of delicious, plant based street food - with local delivery available, its a total winner. The falafels are a full time fixture, and I hope that never changes but with the street food, they offer a different theme every month, taking you on a journey around the world with delicious examples of amazing cuisine, some you will have heard of, other regional dishes you might not have (who doesn’t love to keep learning though, right?!)! Nothing contrived, everything delicious!
Provinence & flavour is important to these guys, so its no surprise to learn they use small UK based roasteries with single origin beans and make the coffee with attention and always make sure its tasting its best before unleashing it on the public!
They don’t make much noise about what coffee they have on - I appreciate that - really makes it so much less pretentious and keeps it a bit more real - remember they aren’t a coffee shop - they just want to serve something delicious with their amazing food…….and it probably helps fuel the team while they are banging out all those delicious falafels!
A really delicious, light coffee - have it black and taste everything!
So next time you’re in there, order your falafel wrap/box, and try their amazing value for money filter coffee! Delicious!
