Dodging Newcastle's weekly monsoon (is there some supervillain at the Met office organising these to coincide with my visits?), I lifted the soggy menu card on the outside tables at Coffee Beans and headed downstairs. On a warm sunny day it would be great to sit outside and watch the comings and goings but in the event a basement table seemed safer even with the dangers of flooding factored in.
Coffee Bean have gone for The Homely look (see Chelsea Dock post) with laminate flooring, neat round tables and comfy leather dining chairs. No sofas is always a plus. I think the artwork on the walls may have been for sale but I didn't crawl over to examine it too closely. Bucking the trend, there were one or two people coming and going and some of the customers seemed to be regulars which again is a plus.
Unusually, the staff do not serve from behind a counter but have a bench against the wall, don't know how they feel about this, I'd feel a bit on display but it makes the best use of a small space.
My order of tea and a cheese scone was served with matching china, milk jug, real butter and a giant scone which really filled a gap until supper time.
Keep this one in mind for a quick coffee or snack when in town. You could go across the square to Starbucks (as a friend and I did on Sunday) and you'd get fast service, latino music, good standard and choice of coffee and cake. You'd also get a very busy atmosphere. Coffee Beans for a relaxed time and a chance to take stock and watch the world go by and sometimes that's what it's all about.
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