As much as I like to think that I am not brainwashed by what I see on the likes of TikTok and Instagram, I can put my hand on my heart and admit I’m a sucker for a food recommendation - especially when the location looks as cute as this.
When I came across No. 8 Court Street in Newtownards I did have an internal debate on whether I would drive half an hour to get a glittery coffee and a bun and surprise surprise, the sweet tooth won.
No. 8 Court Street is a boutique coffee shop that has one of the most ‘Instragrammable’ aesthetics in the coffee shop game. Think pink, cute and sparkly and then times it by three and that is what you are welcomed by at the door at No 8.
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Every detail in the cafe has been thought about, from the prints on the wall to how the food is presented, everything was picture perfect. And in a world where social media seems to dominate even Google when searching for a place to eat, No. 8 has it down to a T(ea).
The girls that worked there were all so friendly and chatty from the minute we sat down and it completely lent itself to the cosy atmosphere and experience - you could tell they genuinely enjoyed seeing people light up with how beautiful the place was and they made our visit.
We had initially intended to only get a coffee and a bun but a quick scan of the menu made us hungry for lunch so we decided to go all out and treat ourselves.
I ordered the waffles, bacon and maple syrup - a combo hard to get wrong - and a Biscoff latte and my friend ordered a cappuccino and Brie, bacon and cranberry sandwich because, apparently, it’s never too early to get into the Christmas spirit. We also ordered a big slice of coffee cake and a chocolate and honeycomb traybake to devour after our lunch.
Our coffees were as tasty as they were stunning to look at. Presentation is definitely key at No. 8 because the chocolate dusting on top was almost too pretty to ruin by stirring the coffee - with the Chanel stencil, we joked it was the most expensive coffee I’d ever be treating her to.
We were both pleased with our lunch and it was just the perfect amount of food on the plate to allow room for a treat after. A well thought out move on their part.
As I said, waffles, bacon and maple syrup are a powerful trio and I can always expect to leave the plate empty. The waffles were unlike any I had tried recently - instead of the typical dough-like texture you often get when ordering homemade waffles, these almost crumbled in the mouth and withstood being lathered in the maple syrup.
I am normally weird about textures and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be a fan but they were just the right amount of sweet and salty that I enjoyed every bite and even, begrudgingly, shared a corner with my friend. Her sandwich came with a small side salad and was served on a delicate plate and there were no complaints from her.
Sometimes it’s hard to beat a simple lunch when you know it’s been made fresh and you are sitting in a setting like this, it’s well worth a scoot in the car.
The star of the show was the desserts - their homemade bakes are what they are known for and what caught my eye to begin with and I could have tried one of everything if my stomach let me. Coffee cake can be so hit or miss and No. 8 have a hit on its hands.
I would go as far as to say that it was the nicest coffee cake I’d ever had (my sister will not be pleased to hear her lockdown baking didn’t make the cut). The sponge was so light and fluffy that I didn’t get the sick feeling of being full even after my lunch.
After stealing a bite of the Crunchie tray bake, I can confirm that it was just as delicious but there was no taking the shine (literally there was glitter on everything which we loved) off that coffee cake.
Although a bit outside of my usual stomping ground, I would happily get in the car again tomorrow to make the journey to No. 8 Court Street.
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