A special mention for Caffe Nero, Ecclesall Road

I wouldn't get away with a blog about coffee without mentioning this place. :-)

I've spent plenty of hours here, too. The staff are always welcoming and will remember your order if you're a regular. People tend to shy away from chains, but I would argue that Nero is a step away from the others. Whilst Starbucks and Costa are run as franchises, Nero is all one company with one owner. This means that their standards should be consistent across the brand, though I dare say I've witnessed coffee of a lesser standard than that produced here at shops further afield.

Now let's get something straight, I'm not an espresso aficionado: that honour belongs to my bike mad better half. I appreciate the merits of a coffee with marshmallows and syrup, and all that other stuff that pollutes the pure product. So between the two of us we have all bases covered and it's obvious that the guys and gals here care about how their drinks are made.

Free wifi without any silly time limits is also a plus, and clearly makes this spot a favourite of the MacBook Air owning crowd, as there are plenty of plug sockets dotted around the joint. In fact, I'm using their Internet right now with a caramel frappe latte!

I'm told their regular espresso is nice too, and we never feel rushed sat around. Despite previously citing my love of comfy chairs (of which there are plenty), I find myself often sat on the high tables near the counter for some reason, checking out the latest flyers from local talent.

The only thing for me that lets this place down is their sad lack of gluten free lunch options. I try to stay away from bread for main meals at least (I frequently succumb to their maple pecan pastries or white chocolate raspberry muffins), and really the only thing open to me with that in mind is soup without the bread.

So, if I've had lunch, ill spend a day here happily. But ill probably like to have eaten something substantial first (except at Christmas where the turkey panini is irresistible)!

Ode to Manhattan

This blog was born from the loss of one of my favourite coffee haunts in Sheffield, Manhattan Coffee on Ecclesall Road.  It closed suddenly overnight, though looking back over the past few weeks I could see the warning signs were there.

We first started going to Manhattan a fair way over a year ago, and I remember on my first visit being pleased to find a place that actually served jacket potatoes, being the sort of person who likes to avoid bread.

Manhattan provided comfy chairs, wireless internet, good food and great coffee.  We would spend many hours just sitting there watching the world go by and usually planning our next move on our rare quiet days off.  The odd coffee after work, the even less frequent coffee during my lunch hour (if I took my motorbike), and the regular weekend lunch and coffee or three.

Every Sunday the bikers would arrive and park up outside, and my other half would be eyeing up their machines and their gear.  I'd have a caramel latte, he an americano, and the staff would always remember our order, right down to no onions on my salad, please.

Recently, Manhattan's gained a licence for selling alcohol during certain hours but it seems this wasn't enough to save it.  After discovering their rooibos tea, they sold out a bit later and never restocked.  The menus disappeared off the tables, and then one day we drove past the owner loading paintings into a van.  Thinking it was just time for a redecoration, we drove on, but later realised it was the end of our favourite coffee shop.

And so our hunt begins, for somewhere else we can spend our days and our money, relaxing in Sheffield, whether we be wearing bike leathers or cycling lycra.  Does another place exist for this radiotherapist and barista?