Whilst it’s not hugely surprising to discover a vegan cafe nowadays, it’s still great when you happen upon one, especially one as lovely as The Vegan Coffi House in Aberdare. Just off the main street, this enchanting, elegant and eclectic spot makes you feel like you’ve left the modern world, with all its chaotic beep-beeping and chirp-chirping, behind and entered into something cross between grandma’s house and Alice In Wonderland.
In fact, there’s a sign on the wall depicting the famous tea party. It reads, ‘‘Would you like an adventure or shall we have tea first?” At this stage of my life, it’s fair to say, I’m more likely to go for the latter. In fact, it was a latte…or was it a cappuccino? Either way, it was delicious, especially alongside my equally fine vegan duck wrap.
Glancing around the place, the decor really does all come together rather nicely – the furnishings, I’m told, straight from owner Jeraldine Waddingham’s home. Much of it Victorian in style, there are high-backed chairs, a naked brick and stone wall, ornaments, books, different clocks, pictures, lampshades, coatstands, candles, fire pokers, pans, and a teddy and various other trinkets on the mantlepiece. Rustic farmhouse meets cosy tearoom.
As you head up to the counter, you’ll notice various cakes and foods on display and a menu that should entice even staunch meateaters to give something different a try. From a cooked breakfast to variously-filled jacket potato with various fillings, banana and blueberry cake, wraps, pasties, Victoria sponge or just a plate of chips, it’s hard not to find something you’re not wanting to give a bash. It’s here too, on your left, that you’ll see a leafy conservatory where you can also choose to sit and eat in an environment quite different from whence you’ve come.
Quite unlike anything else in the area, it’s great to find a getaway haven that possesses that personal touch whilst offering something other than the everyday. That the food and drink tastes so good is also proof that delicious delicacies requiring neither meat nor dairy really do abound.
Stopping to have a brief chat with Jeraldine is also a highlight: welcoming and accommodating, her passion for the place and her love for animals is evident, with plans to open a dog-grooming parlour in the near future. The Vegan Coffi House is also dog-friendly, with canine-specific ice creams, ‘puppucinos’ and the like. Humans, meanwhile, can book afternoon tea, a bespoke buffet, or something to take away.
The Vegan Coffi House, Weatheral Street, Aberdare.
Info: Instagram
words OLIVER R. MOORE-HOWELLS
