In what used to be a rag-trade warehouse, DJ Alan Thompson veered away from club-beats long enough to present us with his other passion: great coffee in a chilled venue.
There’s still a nod to what the man is known for, with a huge black and white mural of DJ headphones plastered across one wall (also on his DJ business card) with the cord dragging your eye around the whitewashed room. Polished metal drum stools spin up and down to the perfect height at perfectly battered communal tables, which are in turn a nod to the seamstress history of the compact converted space (you’d be forgiven for checking the draws for thimbles and thread).
At the top end of Reservoir Street, the cafe’s reputation has drawn the crowd, because you’d hardly go looking for it if you didn’t know it was there. Black and orange accents keep the space simple but bright and the distinctive breakfasts (the Scottish comes with a hefty slab of black sausage) keep people coming back.
The atmosphere is relaxed and low-key and the troop of local kids moving in this circle appreciate it by sipping Campos lattes, or Chamellia organic teas.