Having recently opened in the former premises of Cafe Viana, the chaps from The Drop are keen to raise the profile of this little corner cafe, on South Bridge/Infirmary Street.

Exterior

Their masterplan includes refreshing the interior, with a focus on showcasing local artists, improving their coffee, with a recent change to Matthew Algie beans, and the recruitment of a new chef to improve the breadth of their menu. This all sounds splendid.

So, the place is a work in progress, with the clearest illustration of this being a slightly sparse feel to the wall decorations, but this is simply the blank canvas on which exciting artistic things will soon happen.

Soup

I went for a blended approach, today, by sitting in to sample their espresso, then taking away soup and a sandwich.

The espresso was good, with strong flavour. There was a lot of it, more what I’d expect from a quad shot rather than a double. It lacked a little viscosity but the flavour was sound, so with a little tweaking this will be a quality item.

Toasted sandwich

For food, I opted for their lunchtime soup and sandwich deal, for £5.50. To their sweet potato and chilli soup, I added a “Mexican wedge” toasted sandwich.

As an aside, they need to do a little work on their pricing, as it seemed a little inconsistent. The lunchtime deal works out well, particularly given that the individual items add up to £7, but I think £4.50 for a sandwich is pretty steep. The pricing of some of their coffee seemed a little high, too.

Anyhoo, I toddled off down the road, and with the requisite photographs taken, I was soon tucking in.

The soup was very good, with a nicely textured, brightly orange soup packing a good amount of flavour and a light prickle of heat.

The sandwich was a nicely judged combo, too, with chorizo, chicken and cheese, augmented with red and jalapeno peppers. I enjoyed it, muchly.

So overall, The Drop is starting from a very respectable foundation and has an achievable sounding plan to improve their offering. They have a few kinks to iron out, but it’s early days for them in their new enterprise. I’d say it’s well worth popping in for a visit, as the quality of what they already have on offer is very respectable.

Scores

Blythe scores The Drop
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3.5/5 for setting
giving an overall 14.5/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: sweet potato and chilli soup; “Mexican wedge” toasted sandwich

I drank: espresso

I wore: stripey socks

Total bill: £7.60