Basket Case!

Frisbee Golf at Craigie's Cafe in Edinburgh - an inexpensive child attraction. 

Marmalade Brownies

Watergate Bay Hotel in Cornwall and their orange marmalade brownies.

Target Your Advertising

To celebrate getting to 1,000 blog posts over three years and our wonderful readership of  professional cafe operators Great Cafes is trialling some (limited) advertising.  If you have a product - cake, cold drink, equipment for instance - target your advertising by using Google Adwords and specifying the Great Cafes Blog.

Canine Cafe

Craigie's Cafe keeps the canines and their owners happy in a separate outdoor section.

Make Your Own Waffles

Make your own waffles at Cornwall's Watergate Bay hotel breakfast buffet plus step by step guide on the menu.  The kids adored it. Machine and mixture from The Malted Waffle Company www.waffles.co.uk

Get Comfy

Craigie's Farm Deli and Cafe in Edinburgh reminds customers that their picnic benches are not for picnickers.

Tell Us, Not Tripadvisor

At Hubbox in Exeter and the handmade by human food was excellent.

We're Awesome

The Vape Lab E Cigarette & Coffee Shop in Shoreditch - an interesting combination.

Bitcoin accepted!

Yesterday's Goods

Chough Bakery in Padstow reinforces the message that today's baked goods are truly fresh.

Mackerel Burger

Great burger and hot dog outlet in an Exeter retail unit with container kitchen

Mack Daddy mackerel burger was good

Great signage and theming

Best When Chilled (as indeed we all are)

Chilled Summer soups - Gazpacho and Pea & Mint - from Pret.

No Button Pushers

There will always be a debate about the pros and cons of automatic bean-to-cup coffee machines and their barista-operated semi-automatic cousins.  Benugo believe in baristas, not button pushers, as their coffee cup sleeve proudly promotes.

Pretzels

Cheese topped pretzels at Tesco and a product that would sell well in any take away cafe.

Quality Food Shop

Quality Chop House on Farringdon Road, London opened in 1869 and now has a food shop - see  http://qualitychopshop.tumblr.com/

A Good Throshing

 Another regional cake from The Real Norfolk Cake Company.

A Slice of Britain

The Real Norfolk Cake Company's Vinegar Cake is featured in this interesting new book 'A Slice of Britain' by Caroline Taggart which features regional cakes.

In an age when pastries are similar in almost every cafe, regional cakes provide that point of difference.

Traybakes

Cakesmiths in Bristol reckon they are the coffee shop cake specialists and their traybakes at the London Coffee Festival hit the mark for quality and offer something a little different.

New for the Chains

'New' large jaffa cakes at Costa and 'new' meringues at Paul. 

Tesco Euphoria

Euphorium Bakery section at Tesco in the West End - premium sandwiches and pastries.

Colour Me Beautiful

 Simple use of colour at Turner Contemporary's cafe in Margate.

 Colourful chairs and food presentation boards.

Allergen Aware

EAT have taken steps to comply with the new allergen regulations coming into force on 13th December. Have you? See the Ham & Cheese Toastie contains some of the 14 allergens that need to be declared:

1. Cereals containing gluten
2. Egg
3. Milk
4. Mustard
5. Crustaceans
6. Fish
7. Molluscs
8. Lupin
9. Nuts and nut oils
10. Peanut
11. Soya
12. Sesame
13. Celery and celeriac
14. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites

Townies & Blondies

 Townies - tart + brownie - at Bea's of Bloomsbury Farringdon.

 Brownie selection - Valrhona, Blondie and Killer (coconut, peanut butter, hazelnuts, praline and more)

Bubble at Home

I never thought it would take off in the mainstream market but 'make at home' Bubble Tea kits were getting attention at the recent Food and Drink Expo.

Gluten Free Growth

 Handmade Cake Company are experiencing their biggest growth with gluten free cakes and traybakes.

 No.G bakery have a whole range of gluten free products and their website is www.toogoodtobeglutenfree.com

Distinctly Different

 The Table in Southwark is the winning combination of architects Allies & Morrison, whose offices it sits in, and Shaun Alpine-Crabtree.  A small range of distinctive homebaked savouries and pastries.