Artel

The Gen Norwich has a vibrant café culture to rival any other city in the UK. It used to be said that Norwich has a church for every week of the year and a pub for every day. If that’s true then there’s got to be a coffee shop, café or a bloke with a coffee maker on the back of a bicycle for every morning and every afternoon tea break of the year. That’s convenient. In such a crowded race its small wonder that some delightfully distinctive runners have emerged. We made our way to Artel, a café serving coffees, cakes, breakfasts, brunches, elevenses and lunches all through the week.

Atmosphere During the summer Artel spills out onto London Street with seating to soak in the sun but our chilly November visit was definitely an indoor affair. A refuge for the numb fingered and runny nosed, the welcoming smells of roasted coffee and a mountainous array of cakes make up our first impressions. We were shown to the upstairs seating area by Milo the dog, a strong contender for employee of the month and undisputed winner of goodest boy of the week for 78 weeks running. He had a human hold the menus for him but that’s just good delegation. The room leaned heavily into the ‘funky primary school gymnasium aesthetic’ (you know the type!) with cute little wooden stools tucked under laminate wood tables and what appeared to be a repurposed wooden climbing frame running along two walls. Please note, climbing up these in plimsolls and vest is apparently frowned upon. Unlike Artel, my old school gym could never claim to have the cool upside-down plant pots suspended from the ceiling (no matter how enthusiastically the mould grew). If you think upside down plants are impressive, you should really check out the upside-down watering cans: they’ll properly mess your brain up. A wall of geometric blocks of colour completes the overall effect to give a casual and effortlessly stylish impression.

The Main Event We arrived mid-morning in perfect time for brunch; the meal of the over sleepers and the snooze button bashers. I am both of these things. To warm up a matcha latte was in order, best described as delicious pond scum. That’s meant as a compliment, I promise! Artel’s menu changes seasonally and while their current offering is absent the excellent seitan they had over the summer (hail seitan, how will I give worship to my wheat gluten dark lord now?) there are plenty of other exciting things on offer! I went for the togarashi waffle with salt and pepper chicken. It’s served with red pepper sauce, house slaw, spring onions, chilli and a honey soy glaze and yes, you guessed it, it’s a little on the warm side. The togarashi waffle is a subtle flavour but the red pepper sauce and chillis really pack the heat. The house slaw was kimchi by another name and brought with it bags more flavour. To temper the spice the honey soy sauce offered a welcome sweetness and a moreish stickiness. The whole dish worked well together with the boldly seasoned chicken and turned some simple ingredients into a great meal.

With this we had the vegan English breakfast with a doorstop of sour dough bread playing host to a hearty dish. The tofurei sausage has a delicious smoky flavour but is only really sausage-like by virtue of its shape and the texture may be alarmingly un-sausage-like (that’s a word now) for a meat eater, but delicious on its own merits. The parsnip rosti has a lovely taste and is an unusual addition to the ensemble but welcome for all that.

Pud The vast array of puds on display are always changing but we were lucky enough to enjoy an apricot tahini cake. Tea soaked to really give another layer of flavour, it is at once moist and granular in texture and goes down easily.

Overall Competition is rife in the city for great breakfasts and great cafes. Encourage the independent scene that Norwich is rightly proud of and remember: Artel is always worth a visit.

Venue – 8 Fodder – 8 Value – 9 Overall – 8.5