Exterior (with new sign)
In my younger and more vulnerable years, I played a very minor role in a piece of thievery from Annabelle’s: we pinched their sign. And I don’t mean an easily liftable A-board sign; I mean people on each other’s shoulders unscrewing a swinging sign from above the cafe’s entrance. Fuck knows why we did it, but it was hilarious for us at the time and no doubt a baffling pain in the arse for them.
So, apologies Annabelle’s: I was student tosser, but now that I’m a grown-up tosser, please accept this sincere apology.
In a further twist, I visited on the day that Filament had their bench stolen from the front of their cafe, likely by the current generation of student tossers. Thankfully it was returned a couple of days later. And so the world turns.
Soup
Anyhoo, Annabelle’s is a delightful little cafe on Sciennes Road. The menu is packed with homemade delights, with a good mix of cakes and savouries, and a good range of hot dishes. I was in a soupy mood so ordered the broccoli and blue cheese from a daily changing list of three options.
This was promptly delivered by the friendly waitress. It was accompanied by two rustic slices of multi-seed bread, made in-house.
Interior detail
Both the bread and the soup were very good indeed. The bread had a lovely cakey crumb and the soup had just the right amount of blue cheese tang to balance the broccoli. I was impressed.
So overall, I was glad to finally apologise for past misdeeds, but mainly it was just fantastic to find Annabelle’s on such fine form. I must come back and explore their menu in more detail. On the basis of their very pleasing soup and bread, and the lovely atmosphere of the place, I very much look forward to that. You should make sure to visit and when you do, please don’t steal anything.
Scores
Blythe scores Annabelle’s
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 15.5/20
I ate: broccoli and blue cheese soup
I drank: water
I wore: blue
Total bill: £4.50