The Best Cafe’s & Coffee Shops to Visit in Bath

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A trip to Bath is always a good idea, whether it’s for sightseeing, a touch of retail therapy, a trip to the spa, or simply a coffee and catch-up with friends. Bath is such a beautiful city to wander, with its honey-coloured stone buildings steeped in history and, of course, plenty of cafés dotted everywhere. Meaning a caramel latte, door-wedge slice of cake or glossy cinnamon bun is never too far away. What’s not to love?

The only “problem” is that you’ll be absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to coffee shops and cafés in Bath. This Georgian city certainly doesn’t fall short in the independent coffee shop department, which can make deciding where to try first a little overwhelming. It’s a tough life, I know.

Which is why I’m here to share a little selection of coffee shops and cafés, from traditional cosy spots with your nan’s floral curtains as décor, to chic, modern, minimalist spaces that could easily become Bath’s next Instagram hotspot.

Here’s a look at some of my favourites, each with a completely unique style and offering.

Bath’s Best Cafe’s at a Glance – Don’t Miss 👀

• Cafe au Lait for bottomless brunch
• The Whole Bagel for stuffed bagels
• Rosario’s for a taste of Sicily
• Cortado Cafe for stacked pancakes
• Nata & Co for a Portuguese classic

1. Cafe au Lait

Cafe au Lait is located near Bath’s main train station, making it a perfect first pit-stop and a warm welcome to your time in Bath if you’re arriving by train. It’s also conveniently just around the corner from the main multi-storey car park, so really, you’ve no excuse not to pop in.

Depending on which of your senses kicks in first, you’ll either spot its bright blue exterior or catch the rich, freshly ground aroma of artisan coffee drifting into the street. And if great coffee is your love language, this is an ideal place to start.

Indoor seating is fairly limited, but there’s usually enough to get lucky and grab one of the wooden tables without too much of a wait. The tables are marked as ‘laptop free’, so if you’re planning to whip out your MacBook and set up office for the day, you’ll need to perch at the bar instead. I guess this rule helps to keep tables free for people who want to sit and eat.

The menu at Cafe au Lait is large, with plenty of mouth-watering options to tempt your tastebuds, plus a specials board for even more choice. They serve an all-day brunch too, which is great if that morning lie-in won the battle against your alarm clock. And, if you fancy something extra special, you can prebook a bottomless brunch here for £40 per person.

We both filled our bellies with their English breakfast and it did not disappoint. Crispy bacon (none of that pale, anaemic-looking stuff), golden hash browns, a herby sausage, perfectly poached eggs, homemade baked beans with a subtle spicy kick, and a token side of vitamins in the form of cherry tomatoes and a flat mushroom. It was a brilliant way to start the day and kept us fuelled for hours of exploring Bath.

Prices are reasonable (by today’s slightly eye-watering standards), and our £13.50 fry-up felt well worth it.

2. The Whole Bagel

If you love a deep-filled bagel that’s oozing from its sides (I’m not entirely sure bagels technically have sides – but stick with me), then you must head to The Whole Bagel. We’ve had many-a-bagel rustled up from here over the years, and on a recent trip we introduced the boys to it too, which went down as a very big hit.

It works in a similar way to Subway (but that almost feels insulting. It’s much nicer, promise). I only mean that you can fully customise your bagel and it’s made fresh to order right in front of you. First, you pick your bagel flavour, then you choose from an selection of fillings and sauces.

There’s plain, poppy seed, everything, multi seed, sesame and cinnamon & rasiin bagels to choose from. If you’re curious, my go-to order is a multi seed bagel with the ‘Mighty Swiss’ filling – holey Swiss cheese and thick slices of flavourful Wiltshire ham, topped with salad and mayonnaise. James usually goes for something a little more adventurous like a Spanish Club or New Yorker. They also do wraps and baguettes, plus theres gluten free options too.

You can have your bagel wrapped in brown greaseproof paper and sealed with a cute orange sticker to take away, or there’s seating upstairs or outside in their courtyard. We’ve done both, but more often than not we grab ours to go and eat it perched beside Pulteney Bridge or near Bath Abbey where there’s usually a great busker.

The Whole Bagel uses local produce where possible, and makes authentic bagels in the traditional way to make sure they have that iconic chewy crust. The whole Bagel has been in Bath for 18 years, and is still Bath’s only dedicated bagel shop and café.

Read about: The Creamery Station Cafe, Castle Cary: Track-Side Restaurant Review

3. Rosario’s

Rosario’s is what I’d class as your traditional, old-school café. Think floral curtains, lots of orange-toned pine, family photographs hanging from picture rails, and yellow walls that have seen years of conversation and coffee refills. It has a slightly older, more authentic vibe and, while it may not scream “Instagrammable”, the coffee is delicious and you can enjoy a little taste of Sicily in the West Country.

It’s the kind of place that feels established and full of character. The display counter downstairs was stacked high with tempting Sicilian cakes and Italian treats, and it’s clearly somewhere you’d come not just for coffee, but for a proper Italian bite to eat too.

We kept it simple with a couple of lattes and a sesame seed toasted panini with Prosciutto cotto, Mozzarella & Tomato. But the menu stretches far beyond that with far more exciting options like Sicilian Chickpea Fritters, Arancino and pasta dishes.

The café actually stretches across both sides of the narrow street, with outdoor seating lining the shopfronts. Fairy lights are strung above, and canopies roll out to protect diners from the UK’s all-too-often unfavourable weather conditions.

4. Cortado Cafe

If you’re planning to sit in at Cortado Cafe, you’ll want to get there early to bag yourself a table, or be prepared to wait a little while. It’s a compact café run by an Argentinian/British couple and it’s clearly very popular.

We managed to grab a window bench right beside the door, which was prime people-watching territory. The only downside was the steady stream of customers squeezing their way in, which meant an icy-cold breeze was whipping around our ankles every few minutes. Bruhhhh. It was chilly.

Thankfully, my caramel latte was basically a warm hug in a mug. They also offer some more unique flavours like maple syrup and homemade pumpkin spice. James went for the pistachio latte, which was tasty albeit slightly unexpected, as it came with tiny chopped nuts inside rather than just the flavour. A surprise, but not an unwelcome one.

We came for breakfast and ordered their fluffy stacked pancakes, which arrived in impressive leaning-tower-of-Pisa fashion.

James absolutely won this round. He doubled down on the pistachio theme and chose the pistachio pancakes, which were sandwiched between thick layers of green pistachio sauce and topped with red berries. They were incredible. Slightly sickly, yes but oh-so-good.

I opted for the apple, maple syrup and oat crumble pancakes. They were delicious too, but I’ll admit, James’s were better. His had that perfect sweet-and-sour balance, with the berries cutting through the richness. Whereas mine was sweet from top to bottom.

If you fall in love with their coffee, you can even buy their beans to try and recreate the magic at home. And if you’re short on time, there’s a separate (sort of) grab-and-go queue so you don’t have to wait for a table just for a takeaway cup.

5. Nata & Co

For a little taste of Portugal, head to Nata & Co for some creamy, custardy goodness. It’s located right beside Cortado Cafe.

They have seating upstairs and serve beautifully authentic pastel de nata, with a twist. Yes, you can absolutely stick with a classic (and you won’t regret it), but they also offer topped versions. I spotted flavours like Biscoff, Oreo, Lemon and Nutella, along with plenty of other dangerously tempting options.

I was so excited to eat mine that I completely forgot to take a photo, rookie error. But I can confirm it was a very close contender to the incredible pastel de nata I had in Malaga.

Sadly, it didn’t bring the Portuguese sunshine with it. But the pastry itself was gorgeous nonetheless.

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Conclusion

There are so many fantastic coffee shops and cafés to enjoy in Bath that you could easily spend days hopping from one to another, purely in the name of research of course. Hopefully this gives you a good starting point and helps narrow down your endless options (slightly).

Now the only real question is… which one are you trying first? And if you have any recommendations, please let me know and i’ll try and give them a try next time I’m in Bath.

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