Welcome to the first edition of my Cafe Hopping series! With the cafe culture booming recently I wanted to let you all in on my cafe hopping shenanigans. I find cafes are great places to hangout with friends, catch up on my reading or even work out of them. Visiting more than one in a day means you don’t get bored and the vibe of each cafe can even dictate how productive or chilled you are.
But is cafe hopping not an expensive hobby, having to buy a drink in each one? Well not compared to pubs or bars, in fact it’s money saving, and if you choose a cafe-bar to meet friends you can effortlessly make the move from writing up your blog over an iced Americano to sharing a bottle of wine with a friend once the laptop is packed away.
Cafe hopping is already popular in a lot of Asian countries where it’s not unusual for cafes to stay open till after midnight. Many people choose to work out of them, treating them as their office for several hours at a time. Of course, this may also depend on their WiFi availability and how good their coffee is! But read on, as these questions and many more will be answered as we start our cafe hopping journey.
Flat Caps Coffee
9-11 Carliol Square, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6UF
Open 8am-4pm weekdays and 9am-4pm weekends
The gorgeous aesthetic of Newcastle’s first speciality coffee shop established in 2010 makes this a must-visit place. They have handy indoor and outdoor dining available serving their menu of breakfast and brunch items, which are not only delicious but also reasonably priced. The coffee is really good, my go-to is usually an Americano, but I have also tried their cold brew, green tea, and peach and green tea.
Wifi is free and pretty good – I was able to google stuff I needed and upload a blog post and photos. They also sell coffee beans, cakes and gifts (some of this is online, for which they have subscription offers AND their very own rewards scheme to collect and spend points).
There isn’t anything I don’t like about Flat Caps. It would be great if it was open a little later, but it’s chilled, leafy vibe means I can relax and catch up with friends or it’s quiet enough for me to work from. I also wasn’t the only one there with a laptop and ordering brunch, so this cute place is obviously pretty popular for working. I did a few hours of work here then I packed up and off I went to Yolo Coffee.
Yolo Coffee
(Unit 18) The STACK, Pilgrim Street, NE1.
Open 8am-7pm every day
Yolo Coffee may be small but it provides an amazing range of items for its size – coffee, frappes, iced teas, instagrammable hot chocolates, tray baked treats, Parisian grilled delights, crepes, sandwiches and toasties. The classic interior is relaxing and dreamy; I can imagine reading a good book here over a simple flat white.
All food and drink items are available to take out or if staying inside, watch the world go by from their small, but sunny seating area. Only a few seats are available so it’s not going to be the best sit down coffee for large groups, but for a catch up with my friend and a spot of work, the window seating can’t be beat. On a sunny day it’s glorious and even though you can see everyone hurrying by it’s remarkably quiet inside.
Oh, and you can also order to a table inside STACK if you wish. There is free Wifi, which again was good enough for uploading/google searching and if it’s a sunny day then selfies at golden hour are the best here. Once I’ve caught up with my friend it’s time for the final stop on my cafe hopping day….off to the Social Cafe Bar.
The Social Cafe Bar
27 Ridley Place, NE1 8JN
Open 11am-10pm Mon-Sat and 12-9pm Sundays
This cafe bar has the cutest outdoor seating and the interior has a fresh, continental vibe. Selling coffee, pizza, paninis, waffles, cocktails, beers and wine it’s definitely an all day cafe. I love that it’s open till late and while the mood shifts a little, I still felt comfortable doing some last minute work over a glass of wine as it moved into the evening crowd. A great place to hang out and eat but also not unusual just to chat with a friend at the window seat until late – no judgements if you’re not taking advantage of their cocktail offers.
No free WiFi close by unfortunately so make sure you have data if you need it, but they sell cupcakes from Pet Lamb Patisserie in the Grainger Market. This more than makes up for using my mobile data! I ate here and the food is wonderful. There is a lovely buzz about the place and it’s super friendly.
Cafe Hopping Series
I hope you’ve enjoyed a day in my life cafe hopping. Look out for #2 in the series, coming soon! Leave a comment below if you’d like to recommend a cafe for me to visit or if you would like your cafe to be featured. See you all at the next one.