Great Coffee, Newcastle Quayside

Nobody likes to be second choice, let alone third, but when it comes to coffee shops you have to go with the one that is open and today Great Coffee was it.  My first choice had sadly and unavoidably closed due to illness, my second choice doesn't do Mondays, but that won't deter me, I'll pick another day.  So, Great Coffee it was after a lovely stroll along the Quayside on a sunny autumn afternoon.  It is lovely down there, and there were even drunken revellers at 3pm (finishing late or starting early?  Who knows?)

Great Coffee is on the corner of Broad Chare opposite the law courts.  I opted for the gluten free dime bar cake and a regular tea (Ringtons!) and sat overlooking the Baltic and the Millenium Bridge, reading the Journal.  You could sit outside but it's maybe not quite that warm now.  The service was friendly and efficient, I spotted loyalty cards but wasn't offered one.  The clientele were a mix of business people and strollers like myself.  The atmosphere was light and bright - pine floors, cafe-style tables and chairs, a few barstools, and a semicircular bench (I refuse to call it a sofa) which would make quite a snug spot on a cold day.  The music was in keeping but I couldn't name that tune.

So, third choice does not mean third rate!  Indeed when I looked around there are very few true cafes on the Quayside - bars, naturally, and restaurants, and a nice looking ice cream place, but to my mind Great Coffee fills a niche and does it in a cheerful, attractive way.