The Black Dog - Tunbridge Wells

I used to walk past this café all the time and admire its wall (yes, its wall) which has a painting of a surf board with a picture of a dog on it. Having finally been in, I can say that that picture (and the ‘A’-board outside at the moment that reads “a yawn is a silent scream for coffee” suit this place down to the ground, a little weird and more than a little wonderful. The Black Dog is an Australian themed café which is decorated with pictures of Australia, black dogs (obviously), four beautiful guitars on one wall and what look like giant paper flowers hanging from the ceiling. The whole place gives off a wacky but comfortable feel that I love.

My peppermint tea is perfect and the food looks great, including a great lunch menu and a counter full of exciting flavors of cake, if only I hadn’t had lunch already (and they didn’t close in half an hour!) All in all The Black Dog is a nice, quiet spot with the music not too loud and a proper chilled out feel not to mention a great window seat that has given me a new-found appreciation for window seats!

Facebook: facebook.com/pages/The-Black-Dog

Twitter: @BlackDogCafe

Website: Blackdogcafetw.co.uk

Address: 20 Camden Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 2PY

Gusta - Tunbridge Wells

Now is the age of the café, for Tunbridge Wells at least, with the arrival of yet another small café joining The Black Dog, The Bicycle Café and Comic Café on Camden Road. Gusta is an Italian café nestled into a small shop space. They serve a range of hot and cold drinks, beers, cocktails and wines to go along with one of their many authentic Italian dishes and snacks (including a choice of meat and cheese boards or even a mix of both!)

The space is long and thin but still comfortable and spacy and only a little cramped when all the tables are full. The place is kept bright and clear by the light, bare wood (that everything is made of) and the white walls with a smattering of photographs (framed in light wood, of course). Its perfectly Italian down to the Italian waiters and the cheese and meat counter. I especially love the wall at the back, which reads: “Chi mangia bene, vive bene!” which means ‘who eats well, lives well’.

Though the hot chocolate could do with a little more chocolate in it, over all Gusta is a little slice of Italy well worth visiting! (Me Gusta, sorry, couldn’t resist!)

Ismail - Tunbridge Wells

Only taking up half of the ground floor in the old Halifax building (sharing the space with Cotswold outdoor store) Ismail is not one to be put in the corner, its reddish-pink walls and dark wood bar stand out from the cream and orange of the rest of the shop. There are plenty of tables in the space they have and there are always people here, inside and in the outside seating (with a great view of the opera house). The shop looks beautiful with its one red/pink wall and pictures in mismatched frames.

I love it at Ismail and everyone else seems to too as the place is really popular! If you try one thing make it the hot chocolate, the best hot chocolate I have ever had. A tall glass mug coated with melted chocolate and then filled with hot milk and a chocolate coin to top it off. You mix it yourself and it tastes perfect! This time however, on my way to buy my amazing hot chocolate I noticed a sign on the bar, strawberries with a melted chocolate dip you say? Yes please! (I am never one to say no to chocolate or strawberries but both?!) I wasn’t let down, it was amazing.

Friendly and relaxing, this is the perfect place to kick back, in an ideal spot in the centre of town and in a beautiful building.

Twitter:@IsmailCoffeeTea

Website: Ismail.co.uk

Address: 95-97 Mount Pleasant Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1QG

Fine Grind Espresso Bar - Tunbridge Wells

Possibly the most suave coffee shop (or should I say, coffee ‘bar’) Tunbridge Wells has to offer, Fine Grind is the kind of place I would expect to find full of coffee connoisseurs drinking coffees with long names and reading, also to be full of smoke, if people could still smoke inside that is. As it is, the air is clear and you can see its smart red and black interior with matching black chairs and tables and black and white photographs adding a touch of classic charm.

As well as offering a wide range of coffees they have a line of Tea Pigs teas and a hot chocolate (which is delicious!) The food choices are amazing too, things like ‘goat’s cheese and peppers with caramelized onions’ (I’m guessing sandwich but it would be just as good by itself!) Though, the weather has been hot recently here, so if a hot drink isn’t what you are looking for then the well-stocked fridge of fizzies and juices may be more to your liking. One of the staff even handed out glasses of water with ice in them because it was so hot today, (for which I was very greatful!)

I was nervous about doing this review because I don’t like  coffee all that much but Fine Grind is classy and gorgeous and the perfect place to chill out with a cuppa and read a book (as a customer near me was doing) or get some writing done (like me) or just kick back and watch the world go by, you can even sit at a stall by the window for a better view!

Twitter: FineGrindTW

Facebook: facebook.com/finegrindespressobar

Website: http://finegrindtunbridgewells.co.uk

Address: 90-92 High Street, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1YF

Shrager's Patisserie - Tunbridge Wells

Welcoming you in with the blue and cream decor and the well-stocked cakes counter Shrager's Patisserie (named after Rosemary Shrager, who has a cooking school nearby) is the image of sophisticated British tea time. Shown even in my tea set, a white teapot and cup with a black saucer, very chic.

The room is full of wooden chairs and tables but a balcony onto the second landing (barely a meter up from the ground itself) offers a glimpse of more comfortable chairs and sofas surrounding coffee tables if you fancy something a little more laid back.

As the establishment is named after Rosemary Shrager, her literature is close at hand wherever you sit. There is a bookshelf displaying all her written work (as well as interesting bottles of things such as vanilla sugar and blackberry vinegar) and leaflets about her cookery school on every table. I like that though they are everywhere it doesn't feel intrusive, as if they are trying to sell you the school, more just to point out its there.

My tea and croissant are perfect and the staff are so friendly and happy to have a chat with me about the school or finding the twitter page (which took us a while) I could happily sit here for a while, maybe read one of the books?!

Twitter: @rspatisserie
Website: http://www.rosemaryshrager.com/deli-shop/
Address: 4 Sussex Mews, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5QJ

La Roche - Tunbridge Wells

Some places treat you well but when I visited La Roche today I tweeted that I was being treated like a queen and I felt like it, you only need to see the presentation of the food to see what I mean. It took me forever to choose a dessert from all of the beautiful hand-made and decorated French desserts. I decided on a gorgeous chocolate éclair, sat on a gold card, topped with a patterned chocolate wafer and a chocolate coin stamped with ‘La Roche’ in gold, extremely beautiful and just as tasty. The smiling young waitress behind the counter sent me to find a table while she placed in on the bottom of a two tier cake stand, putting a cake fork and spoon on the top tier and finishing it with strawberries and raspberries. When she brought it over I couldn’t help but remark on how pretty it looked and thank her profusely.

The counter is delicately filled with French cakes and pastries from apple danishes to cupcakes and not forgetting the gorgeous éclairs. Off to one side is a glass cabinet, proudly displaying three ruffle-effect cakes, they look wonderful and show the talent of whoever made them and are available by commission. The whole place is decorated in gold and marble-effect, shown in the pillars (that match the floor and the counter) that adorn the gorgeous arched cabinet at the back of the room, now being used to display the fresh bread that they bake and sell here. Saying that, the whole room smells like baking, just adding to the classic bakery atmosphere and the fresh flowers in the center of the counter round off this fresh, friendly and traditional café to perfection.

Twitter: @larocheTW
Website: larochetw.co.uk
Address: 7 London Rd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 0RR

The Cake Shed - Tunbridge Wells

Surrounded by an eclectic collection of art works, comfortable chairs and bare wooden tables I am eating the best Victoria sponge I have ever had, bliss. This beautiful café seems to have it all, local brick-a-brac and art (for sale), delicious home-made cakes and a fun and funky atmosphere. I could sit here and eat this cake all day.

There is inside and outside seating and on a lovely day there is nothing better than sitting out on the historic Pantiles with a cup of loose leaf tea! The inside seating is lovely, all bare wood and comfy seats from which you can see the kitchen behind the counter to one side and the Pantiles to the other. The kitchen is surrounded by chalk boards that are mostly menus but some have fun things written on them. My favorite is ‘life is what you bake it’ which is very true. I can also see the chemical compound for caffeine and ‘hello, is it tea your looking for?’ which made me smile. The rose on the table in front of me seems to be the cherry on top of a fantastic place.

Perfect for a slice of cake or something more substantial and a cup of one of the many flavors of tea and a relax with their calming music The Cake Shed is gorgeous. 

Twitter: @thecakeshed1
Website: thecakeshed.co.uk
Address: 32 The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5TN