I have lived in Cornwall for almost 6 years now, and in that time I have seen so many wonderful coffee shops open up. No longer is it impossible to find delicious, good quality coffee. There is also an abundance of places to get Vegan options and although the Summer can get very busy, we get to enjoy all these beautiful spaces over Autumn and Winter when it is quiet and cosy! I thought I would share a few of my favourite cafés with you in this post. Let me know if you have visited any of them, or if you have any recommendations for me, I love finding new coffee spots.
First up is my most local café, The Short & Strong, which is in the pretty harbour village of Charlestown. They not only have lovely outside seating but before COVID (and I hope again soon) they have cosy inside seating too. This used to be an old boat shed until about 4 years ago, when they did a full renovation, and it became my regular haunt for a cheeky morning brew.
The Short & Strong have a great menu, you can get all milk alternatives & they use local coffee and tea. If you drink Matcha, Turmeric or Beetroot Lattes, they have you covered. Smoothies and Hot Chocolate too. Their food menu is ideal for brunch, they do the classic bacon/egg rolls, full English breakfast, avocado on toast and a delicious vegan breakfast too. Oh & their granola, yoghurt and fruit is very refreshing in the Summer. If cake is more of your thing, they always have a great selection, lots of locally baked treats and the Vegan Peanut Butter Blondies are not to be missed.
You get a nice view over the harbour, but be warned it gets SUPER busy, so be prepared to wait for a table. Unless, like me, you get there very early in the morning as the sun is coming up.
Now, Shiva is quite a special place & it is located in just the most adorable housing estate called Nansledan on the outskirts of Newquay. It is an entirely new housing estate where all the houses are different styles in sweet pastel colours, and I just want to live there. They have established quite a community feel with cafés, bakeries, homeware shops, florists and even a dog groomer. How perfect!
Shiva is a café with a Yoga / Pilates studio and is focused on wellness and health. The café is a lovely space too, where they do a supper club in the evening as well as a roast dinner club at the weekend. It opens late on Friday and Saturday evenings with a licence to serve alcohol.
I have only been during the day and their breakfast, brunch and lunch menu is full of locally sourced food and drink, they prepare almost most of their offerings themselves and what they buy in is good quality and locally produced. I am plant based, and their menu has so many lovely options, as well as having ALL the milk alternatives too. I have sampled their Berry Bali Bowl, Vegan Sausage Rolls and Soups. All were delicious.
They offer everything from Matcha to Chai and their iced coffee & regular coffee is so good too. I am partial to their sweet treats and whenever the Vegan Jaffa Cake or Biscoff Flapjack is on the menu I can’t resist! I challenge you to have the will power to say no to their cake counter. They have lovely outside seating and the café itself had a very relaxed, bright and friendly vibe. As it is on a housing estate, it is mostly full of locals – unless someone has been recommended to visit or a tourist has discovered this hidden gem.
So if you’re heading into Newquay anytime soon I highly recommend visiting Nansledan, not only for a nice coffee & brunch at Shiva but make sure to visit Teylu Trading – a gorgeous Scandi home store and also Home is a lovely florist and homewares shop too. Well worth an hour of your time, for sure.
The final café for part one is Island, which is also over in Newquay. Owned by the same people that brought us Strong Adolfo’s on the Atlantic Highway (also a fab place for coffee & food). Island is relatively new and is pretty cool inside (do people still say cool?), well I do & it is a nice space, with a black counter, black and gold coffee machine, black Huskee cups and black crockery, which is is right up my street! I love the vibe, and even bought myself a Huskee reusable cup after visiting.
Island is just outside Newquay centre & well worth popping over. I love their Vegan Curried Cauliflower and Cheese Toastie, it’s delicious. They have a good amount of Vegan options and their coffee is lovely too. I did manage to resist a cake, but they had a wide selection of indulgent treats, including many Vegan options too. They offer matcha, chai, beetroot & turmeric lattes and milk alternatives. Their food is locally sourced, and they have smoothies and a seasonal food menu. It is a very cool location and I highly recommend popping in.
