Castello Coffee

Castello Coffee is freshly opened on Castle Street, offering high quality coffee, homemade soup, and a range of savoury and sweet items to entertain your palette. I popped in for a coffee, the other day, and promised to come back for a soup visit. It worked out that I could do that today, so was delighted to seize the opportunity.

Interior

I’d tweeted my appreciation of their coffee, previously, so on this occasion, I introduced myself to the welcoming counter staff, so they were aware that this review was being written.

The place is small, but brightly appointed, with a strong emphasis on light wood. It can see a few folks at tables and others at a counter, so I guess you could pack in maybe fifteen folks. They have a lovely little sun-trap seating area, outside, which will be a busy spot of sunnier days, but today it was rather rainy so these seats remained unoccupied.

To go with my soup, which today proved to be leek and potato, I opted for a hummus, carrot and salad roll. It was suggested that the roll could be heated, but I declined. I had a little time, today, so decided to sit in.

Soup

The leek and potato soup, lovingly homemade by the staff, was a triumph. It was full to bursting with chunky pieces of leek and potato, and looked properly good. Indeed, one customer who had just popped in for a sandwich took one look at it and ordered up some to takeaway, gently lamenting the taking of warming soup on Midsummer’s Day.

The roll wasn’t quite so good. The filling was generous enough and the combination of flavours worked fine, but it didn’t pack much of a punch, so there’s room for improvement on that front.

I rounded things out with a little espresso. As with many places across the city, they use Artisan Roast beans (update – they do now use Allpress, of course). It hit the spot very nicely.

Roll

So Castello Coffee is beginning its journey from a really strong starting point. Their coffee is very good, as is their soup. As I settled up my bill, discussions turned to what tomorrow’s soup would be. The suggestion of mushroom and mint had me passing on some suggestions, as I have a really good mushroom soup recipe that’s derived (pinched) from a soup I was served in the King’s Wark, many years ago. Few things make me happier than soup chat, so this had me whistling a happy tune as I headed back to my ivory basement.

I’d suggest you pop in to Castello Coffee soon, as they’re doing good work.

Update – August 2013
Castello is our favourite place for coffee in the city. Issues around the sandwiches were rectified almost immediately, and they now produce high-quality stuff. It’s an outstanding wee place, and a must-visit.

Scores
Blythe scores the Castello Coffee:
3.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
4/5 for setting
giving an overall 15/20

Today’s questers was: Blythe

I ate: leek and potato soup; hummus, carrot and salad roll

I drank: espresso

I wore: red and blue www.tieclub.co.uk tie

Total bill: £7.50