On the bar now Keel House blend on espresso, Yirgacheffe natural on filter
See the week's listHarbourside roast bar
We roast in six-kilo batches behind the counter, grind every filter to order, and keep the kitchen short enough that nothing waits under a lamp. Walk in, read the board, tell us what you feel like.
No bookings for tables under six · Counter service · Beans ground while you wait
Pastry comes out at 07:00 and again near 11:30. When the trays are empty, they are empty — we would rather bake twice than hold stock overnight.
On the bar this week
The list changes as batches run out, usually every eight to ten days. If you are not sure, read the pour note on each one — that is how we would serve it if you left the choice to us.
01
Our everyday blend, built to hold up against milk without turning bitter. Cocoa and toasted hazelnut up front, a thick finish, low acidity. This is what goes into every flat white unless you ask otherwise.
Espresso & milkAlso sold whole bean
02
Loud and fruit-forward — apricot, black tea, a little jammy as it cools. Natural processing means more sweetness and more character; it is not a subtle cup. We keep the roast light so none of that gets buried.
Filter, by the cupPour-over, 300ml
03
The balanced one. Red apple, caramel, clean finish. It works as a single-origin espresso if you drink it black, and it is the easiest thing on the list to hand to someone who says they do not usually like coffee.
Black espressoOr batch brew
04
Decaffeinated with sugarcane ethyl acetate rather than solvents, which keeps the body intact. Dark chocolate and dried fig. We pull it on the second grinder, so a decaf order never means a ten-minute wait.
Any drink, any timeAlways on
Service windows
The bar is open straight through, but the kitchen works in three windows. Knowing which one you are walking into saves you asking.
06:30 – 10:00
Full espresso bar, pour-over, and the first bake out of the oven at 07:00. Eggs and toasties start at 07:30. The room is quiet, the grinder is loud, and most people are standing.
10:00 – 14:30
Everything on the board is available, soup included from 12:00. This is the busiest stretch; tables turn quickly and we may ask you to share a long table rather than wait.
14:30 – 17:00
Coffee, tea, cake and whatever bread is left. The hot kitchen closes, the music comes down, and the back half of the room becomes the quiet hour from 15:00.
Roasting Tuesday and Friday mornings — expect noise and smoke until 09:00
Behind the back wall
Six kilos at a time on a drum roaster, twice a week. Small batches are slower and less forgiving, but they let us change a profile the same week a new sack arrives.
We buy in single sacks from two importers who publish the farm and the price paid. Nothing is blended before roasting, so each origin gets its own curve.
Every new lot gets sample roasted at three levels and tasted on the bar before it goes on sale. Filter lots stop earlier; blend components run longer for body.
Espresso rests seven to ten days before we pull it; filter is ready at four. The roast date goes on the bag, not a best-before, so you can judge it yourself.
The grinder is reset at open and again after the midday rush, because humidity in a harbourside room moves more than most. If a shot tastes off, send it back.
The room
Twenty-eight seats, two long tables and a window bench. Here is how we keep it workable for everyone in it.
Plenty of power at the long table and the bench. During the midday window we ask that laptops come down so the room can turn over — reading, notebooks and conversation are always fine.
Send a note through the enquiry form and we will hold the back long table. Below six we work first-come; it moves faster than you would expect.
Music off, grinder work finished, and the back half kept for people who want somewhere still. It is the best time to taste a filter properly.
Dogs welcome on the tiled front half, water bowl by the door. Prams fit along the window side. Bikes stay outside — the aisle is narrow and the trays are hot.
Asked at the counter
The six we answer most days. Anything else, ask whoever is on the bar.
Whole, oat and soy, all at the same price — there is no charge for a milk alternative. The oat is a barista edition that holds a proper texture, so a flat white made with it still comes out as a flat white. We do not stock almond; it splits against our blend and we would rather keep one fewer carton open.
It is on the list properly. Night Watch is decaffeinated using the sugarcane method, which keeps far more body than solvent processing, and it sits on its own grinder so an order does not hold up the queue. Most people who order it black cannot pick it out of a blind pair against the house blend.
Yes — the kitchen keeps a written ingredient sheet for every item on the board, including the bread and the pastry lamination, and whoever is on the counter will read it with you. Tell us before you order rather than after. The room handles nuts, gluten, sesame and dairy daily, so we will be honest about what we cannot guarantee as free from cross-contact.
Always, and at no extra cost. Tell us what you brew on — aeropress, moka, V60, French press, or a specific espresso machine — and we will set the grinder to match. If you are buying for espresso at home we would rather sell you whole bean and talk you through the dose, because ground espresso goes stale within days.
Up to five, walk in and we will find you seats. Six or more needs a note through the enquiry form at least a day ahead so we can hold the back long table and brief the kitchen — a large order landing mid-rush without notice slows every other ticket in the room.
No. Counter service and first-come seating is what keeps the queue moving and the coffee hot, and a reserved table sitting empty for twenty minutes costs the room more than it gains. The only exception is the group table above, and standing orders for beans, which we set up through the same form.
Group tables & bean orders
Two things worth writing ahead about: a table for six or more, and a standing order of whole bean for an office or a kitchen. Everything else is easier in person.