Mint Cafe

Owned by the same folks as Connect, the Mint Cafe and flower shop has been plying its trade since November 2012, but has only recently started opening at weekends. I discovered them via Twitter, but couldn’t think where there was a cafe on the corner of Semple Street. That’s because Mint is buried in between offices, but is easy enough to find if you follow their helpfully abundant signs.

Much like Connect, it has a strong family friendly feel, but has a somewhat broader appeal than the Bugaboo dominated Comely Bank premises.

The interior is incredibly bright and airy. Clean white dominates, with green detailing, giving a sense of minty freshness that seems appropriate for the name of the place.

The menu offers a range of cafe staples, with some weekend all-day brunch options to augment things. I wanted soup and something, with the something turning out to be a chorizo tortilla, once I’d chatted things over with the extremely helpful owner, Nell Nelson.

Soup soon arrived, accompanied but rustic bread. The soup, a tomato and herb, was good, without really hitting the heights. The bread was very tasty, and served me well as a mopper-upper.

The tortilla that followed was a wedge of well-seasoned egg and potato goodness, with a crispy slice of chorizo on top. It was accompanied by some simple salad leaves and sweet peppers, topped with seeds, and a drizzle of oil and balsamic. I thought the salad rather good, though the tortilla was a little underwhelming.

I rounded things out with good espresso, bringing to a close what had been a pleasing lunchtime stop off.

So overall, I found Mint to be quite charming. The welcome was the highlight, as both the owner and counter woman were extremely welcoming and friendly, and full of merry chatter. The food was solidly good, but the menu could use a few tweaks to make some of the dishes just a little more vibrant. I’ll certainly be back, though, and look forward to seeing how their offering develops, over the coming months.

Scores
Blythe scores Mint Cafe
3/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3.5/5 for setting
giving an overall 14/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: tomato and herb soup, chorizo tortilla and salad

I drank: water, espresso

Total bill: £8.30