With places such as Allpress, Prufrock and Penny University it is all about the beans but for those who like to eat just as much St ALi is a rare combo of the two.
St.ALi is in the tardis space that used to be Dust nightclub. The interior has retained an industrial feel but benefited from some polishing up and customers can sit on the ground floor tables, the circular coffee bar, or the quieter upstairs.
The menu is served all day so if you fancy a breakfast at 5pm of House-braised Beans on Sourdough Toast with Salted Ricotta, Lemon, Mint and Truffled Mascarpone (£6.35) you know where to go.
Lunch serves similarly interesting food such as the vegetarian Caramelised Sweet Potato Tart with Snow Pea Shoots and Herb Salad (£6.35) followed by desserts like Chocolate Jelly or homemade cakes.
St.ALi’s roastery dominates the back of the ground floor behind the coffee bar. The aroma from the roasted beans is amazing at all times of the day and if you get there at the right time you can watch the roastery in action (no doubt they would be very happy to explain the process). The beans vary from day to day according to which are good at the time and this reflects in the taste; our lattes were so good we had two in succession.
Neon Rating: Go! Go!
Finally somewhere with really good coffee and really good food. We’ll go back with a group of friends and make use of the huge wooden table upstairs for a long boozy brunch.
Thank you to Cherie City for the photo.