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A daytime café from leather bag company Beara Beara isn’t the first place you’d think of when on the hunt for somewhere dedicated to the joys of cheese. Yet, here it is, wonderfully plonked on Upper Street in all its swish, minimalist splendour. And, unexpectedly, it really works.
It really is all about the cheese here. Bar the salad (although one has crumbled feta, to be fair), pretty much everything here centres around the dairy stuff. The house classic toasted sandwich arrived like a cheesy gut-punch – in a good way, promise – with the molten blend of mature cheddar, ogleshield, mozzarella and colston bassett proving rich, deep, and delightfully greasy. Enticing cheesy crusts peeped outside the sandwich, while sharp spring onion and chilli stopped you drifting into a dairy-induced stupor.
Next, the vegan toastie – that’s right, Beara Beara has got it all covered – came with treacly plant-based cheddar, with roasted red peppers, spinach and avocado adding a craved lightness. And then, oh goodness, the macaroni cheese scotch egg arrived. An absolute triumph. The sizeable ball came encased in panko breadcrumbs, regally sitting on a pool of sweet, chunky tomato-and-onion chutney laced with juicy, plump raisins. Busting it open was heartbreaking, but getting inside reaped the rewards: the yoke of the egg oozed all over the gooey lava of cheeses. Heart-stopping, blood-clotting and delicious.
Sure, there were a couple of niggles. The chai latte could have had more spice (though it did come on a cute wooden board), and the croissant was pretty average. Head here for the ultimate in refined comfort food. A warm and cheerful café for when it’s pelting it down outside, or you’re battling through an epic hangover, and all you can think about is cheese