Society Cafe

We first discovered Society Cafe on a day trip to Bath, a city that’s home to two branches of this cool, classy coffee shop (there’s also one in Bristol and another in Oxford). As the rain fell, we stumbled in and were grateful to be in the dry. It was a refreshing change from the chain coffee shops that dominate our city centres.

The house coffee here changes seasonally but is always roasted by Origin Coffee, based in Helston, Cornwall. Society Cafe also features a changing weekly guest coffee, which always comes from a UK roastery too.

If coffee isn’t your thing, it sells teas, hot chocolate and soft drinks, plus a lovely selection of cakes, pastries and sandwiches.

Expect calm spaces that cater to everyone from mums with buggies to couples and students. Its recently opened Harbourside cafe in Bristol has plenty of space for freelancers looking to get out of the house and work in a cosy corner or to sit and read with a big mug of coffee. The Society Cafe tends to have a selection of art and design magazines and books available. In its Kingsmead Square cafe in Bath there’s even a cinema room!

Decoration is sparse, almost Scandi in feel, with simple furniture, plants and a mix of local art and cycling accoutrement (through to whole bikes!) on the walls, depending on which cafe you visit.

By Alex Ryder, Bristol & Bath editor

Photos: Society Cafe Facebook page