Caffe Uno

I sometimes go here for lunch with my mum. The café can get a little cramped at times and is normally full of older people, but the home cooked food is lovely and is very reasonably priced. They make things like home cooked pies (like mince, or chicken and ham, etc.), broccoli bakes, lasagne, and so on, served with chips, champ or salad. Smaller meals are available, like sausages rolls, sandwiches, paninis, and even desserts like slices of cake. You can even just nip in for a tea or coffee. Staff are friendly and helpful.

I think I got this confused with Café Nero when I first went into it. I went to one in Manchester and I remarked to my girlfriend how very dissimilar they were. It was only whilst we were having some tea that I realised my mistake… oh woe is me.
I thought I would adopt a marginally pretentious attitude as I don’t think there is anythin more pretentious than sitting outside and having a coffee when it is already quite a warm day.
However, the mistake above is true and when we left we both mentioned how it was a nice coffee shop but nothing particularly special. Thus our entire journey home was if we were to open up our own coffee shop, how could we make it so that it wasn’t going to fall into the ‘bland’ category. We discussed everything from slides to children’s slides, and thought of ripping off some McDonald food, but on the whole of it, Café Uno is in effect another place to sit down and pay for tea.
Certainly nothing special. But sure, what coffee shops are?!

In a world of Starbucks, Café Nero’s and Pret’s Café Uno as its name suggests in number one. it’s a no frills café in the centre of Belfast. You couldn’t imagine a granny’s meeting going on in Starbucks but while in Café Uno today it was as if I had walked into a granny’s conference.
That is the charm of this place, that made me pop in for a coffee and it is the same charm that will help customers coming back time and time again.
The prices aren’t half bad either I got a large Coffee, yeah that’s right no Americano’s in this joint, and a chocolate muffin all for £2.20. If this is not value I do not know what is. You would struggle to get a Tall Cappuccino for this price in Starbucks.
If you like it traditional and like a bit of gossip and eavesdropping then pop into Uno for a quick bite or a coffee.

After a tough afternoon browsing in HMV (just browsing, never buying) I like to nip over to Café Uno and get a quick caffeine fix. Even though it’s small the place never seems too busy and if the suns shining even better to sit outside and watch Belfast scurry by.
A creature of habit, their lattes are spot on and so far I haven’t ventured into their foodstuffs though the sweet stuff and sandwiches look pretty good. The staff are quite laidback as well, never getting into a flap so it’s a nice wee Zen moment in the heart of town.
Pros: Great tasting coffee, good for people watching.
Cons: Easy to miss.

I’ll confess that I haven’t been in here in a few years, so this review is to be read with that in mind!
I used to go regularly enough though, but for the life of me I don’t know why because I don’t remember it being that good. It was always really packed and cramped because there aren’t that many tables in the place so i never really found it that enjoyable and I just found better places to eat, really.
Like I said though, that was a few years ago, so it could be all change in there.

When I first landed in Belfast a decade ago you would be lucky to find good fresh Italian coffee anywhere in the city. As tastes change and develop coffee across the UK and Ireland has become king, therefore business is brisk and competition high.
I tend to keep my coffee simple, a strong double espresso usually hits the spot and is always the best indication of the quality of coffee on offer.
It was a gorgeous day outside last week and I fancied a caffeine jolt to top up my daily excesses. Café Uno does the usual mix of frothy coffees, flavoured coffees, chilled and also does a range of sandwiches and Italian food. I can only comment on the large espresso I had and I must say it was top notch.
Rich bitter chocolate, smoky cigar tobacco and an strong lasting bitterness on the finish. It was exceedingly large too, certainly worth the £1.60 I paid for it.
The atmosphere is lively and inside is reasonably spacious. I sat outside to enjoy the sunshine and watched the world go by while thinking I should be doing something much more productive.