Food & Drink

Coffee (or Tea) Time in Canterbury at Patisserie Valerie

/ cathyp

Afternoon Tea at Patisserie Valerie

Coffee is always  good at Patisserie Valerie but the chance of a  full afternoon tea is not one to be missed.
afternoon tea

Finger sandwiches in different breads cucumber, smoked salmon and a delicious pesto and chicken.

Two scones each with jam and cream.

A selection of cream cakes.

finger sandwich
jam scones
cake stand
assorted cakes

 

  • Excellent location in the high street next to the Chaucer statue.
  • Good service with a friendly waiter.
  • We had a nice reserved table.
  • The Earl Grey tea was very good and the pot was refilled.
  • The food was delicious especially the mini quiche.
  • Not cheap but good value for a treat.
  • The toilets showed signs of heavy use but had obviously been cleaned earlier in the day (lovely smelling hand wash).

 

empty plates

Too much food we should have only eaten one scone each to save ourselves for the cream cakes.

Never mind we struggled on and managed to finish everything!

Verdict

 

This is one of the best cafes in Canterbury with an excellent menu and good staff.

 

Coffee Time in Canterbury at Turquoise Cafe

/ cathyp

The Turquoise Cafe in Butchery Lane  sells real Turkish coffee and backlava. It has a good range of delicious looking cakes and tarts and an extensive hot drink menu.

 

 

A nice upstairs room.

dessert
dessert
hot chocolate
earl grey
  • Excellent location near the cathedral.
  • The service was very offhand not sure they really wanted any customers that morning. We won’t be going back so I don’t know if that was just an off day.
  • Not cheap but reasonable for what we ordered.
  • Nice place upstairs to sit with comfortable chairs.
  • We didn’t try the Turkish coffee but had hot chocolate and a cup of Earl Grey, both very good.
  • The food we had was excellent, large slices and the option of cream on top.
  • The toilet is at the top of the spiral staircase!

 

upstairs at Turquoise cafe

Verdict

Looks nice and the selection of food and drink is good but I won’t go back to somewhere with such an off hand attitude to paying customers.

Shame as it could be a nice place.

Coffee Time in Canterbury at the Moat Tearooms

/ cathyp

The Moat Tea rooms are in Burgate.

Moat tea rooms

 

Downstairs there are many different teas available to buy.

There are a few tables but more up the very steep stairs. The floor is so steeply sloped in the front room upstairs that we moved to the back.

This cafe emphasises its traditional feel with cakes in the window and old fashioned tables and china.

There are small round tables with pretty cloths to look like an old fashioned tea room.

upstairs moat tea rooms
upstairs moat tea rooms
scones & cream
scones & cream
scones & cream

Tea Time

 

There are a variety of different teas on the menu. I had my favourite, an Earl Grey, the description on the menu was much better than the actual tea but maybe that is just down to personal taste.

The scones were warm and the cream and jam were both good quality.

 

  • Good location, near the cathedral.
  • The service was welcoming and the waitress was efficient.
  • There are plenty of tables upstairs.
  • We had tea so I can’t comment on the coffee!
  • The food was very nice.
  • the prices are reasonable.
  • The toilets are clean!

Moat tearooms

Verdict

This tea room is mainly  aimed at tourists but we really enjoyed our cream teas. Would be happy to go back.

 

 

Coffee Time in Canterbury at The Eatery

/ cathyp

This large cafe is on the second floor past the bathroom accessories  in Fenwick.

 

 

The Eatery

There is a menu at the door and you need to queue to order. Cakes, sandwiches and lunches are all available.

 This cafe seems to be quite popular even on a weekday.

coffee at the eatery
coffee at the eatery
The Eatery
lunch at the Eatery
lunch at the Eatery

 

  • Excellent location inside Fenwick.
  • The service was a bit slow but pleasant.
  • Lots of space and plenty of seating.
  • The coffee was very nice.
  • The lunch menu was good, the fish and chips were delicious.
  • The prices are reasonable.
  • The toilets are large and clean.

 

 

 

The Eatery

 

Verdict

Very pleasant cafe with a good menu. Worth another visit.

 

Coffee Time in Canterbury at Brownlee & Ivy

/ cathyp

Inside Waterstone’s book shop this cafe is surprisingly large.

 

Brownlee & Ivy

 

 

Up the stairs this book themed area is an attractive place for coffee.

It was quite busy but there was still room to move around easily and the queue wasn’t too long.

The wi-fi was fast and we didn’t have to wait long for our food

 

 

frittata
tuna & mayonnaise

 

  • Inside Waterstones is a good location in the middle of town.
  • The service was a bit offhand and the staff seemed very stressed. The card machine didn’t work but no one felt the need to apologise for the inconvenience.
  • Comfortable seating and a flower on the table was a nice touch.
  • Coffee was quite nice.
  • The food was very nice, the frittata wasn’t perfectly cooked but tasted good. Lots of choice on the menu.
  • The prices were reasonable but I think if you are spending over ten pounds anywhere you should expect to be able to use a bank card.
  • The toilets were a strange red/pink colour but clean!

 

 

 

coffee and lunch

Verdict

This is a nice place and we may give it another try.

We enjoyed the coffee and hope the staff were just having a bad day.

 

Update!

Waterstones has moved and the store has been taken over by Closs & Hamblin or C&H as we used to call it.

The cafe has been decorated and re branded as The Haberdasher’s Kitchen.  Apart from the decor changing, the toilets are now a more normal colour, nothing much has changed. The staff and menu are exactly the same. Still OK but not great, we probably wont go again.