The Sadly Deceased

Boars Nest Café, Hull

This excellent café happens to be in an old butcher's shop, and I could happily sip coffee here until the cows come home. Died: 2007/8. Note: as far as I'm aware, the Boars Nest restaurant across the road is still carrying on as normal.

It's just over the road from its "mother" restaurant the Boars Nest. The prioprietors opened this little place in 2006, and chose thankfully to keep much of the old butcher's interior. There are still the old iron racks with meat hooks, tiled walls and livestock mosaics.

The unique decor (for a café) has been carefully augmented with a chalk board menu full of ice creams, an old style telephone, a copper kettle and glass cylinders of ice cream toppings. The old, oddball tables and chairs fit the bill nicely.

It mostly deals in coffee (all fair trade), ice cream and cakes, so just what the doctor ordered. There are some snacks available too. It's very small, but even when I popped in on a Saturday lunchtime and it surprisingly wasn't full. The service is friendly.

All in all, it's an authentic cosy café experience, and comes highly recommended. Without doubt it is now my favourite coffee spot in Hull.

63 Princes Avenue
Hull
HU5 3QX
www.theboarsnesthull.com/boarscafe.htm

The Coffee Shop, York

The strangely nameless "Coffee Shop" in York has gone. In its place is "Toto's Café", which doesn't look any good, and has many inappropriate apostrophes on its menu. Please please go to Coffee Culture just across the road.  Died: December 2008

The Coffee Shop can be a little gloomy but it's in an excellent spot (right by the Minster) and it does good coffee and ice cream The piles of coffee beans in the window and various items of coffee "machinary" are a nice touch. There is a wide variety of the black stuff which tends to hit the spot.

It's fairly continental in style. I'm thinking particularly of the inside "bar" and the outside chairs and tables. There's a spot or two to hide away in upstairs, although it's deceptively small inside. It's a strange place. No sign outside, no real identity, but good.

The Coffee Shop,
College St. (near the Minster),
York, YO1