Sorbus

9 Dock St Dundee DD1 3DR »Map«

Tuesday - Saturday Espresso, cold coffees Coffee: Unorthodox Roasters Also: Cakes, artwork, snacks

Coolness: Contemporary arts and interior ware

---

Sorbus is a small coffee shop in Dundee's historic centre that packs a lot in.

They're serving up carefully made espresso-based coffees using Unorthodox Roaster's 'Wee Stoater' - a natural Brazilian - Minor Figures cold coffees and Eteaket teas.

There's a handful of small tables at which to sit and chill, surrounded by Dock Street Studios artworks, candles, soaps, jewellery and other objects on sale.

The Studios host all sorts of events and offers local creatives a platform to showcase their art, homewares, furnishings and more and are just across the road from the V&A Dundee.

Also, keep an eye on Sorbus' social channels for coffee tasting and learning events.

More: facebook.com/sorbuscoffeedundee/

Daily Grind Speciality Coffee Bar

18 Exchange St Dundee DD1 3DL »Map«

Everyday Espresso Coffee: Sacred Grounds Also: Beans, milkshakes, baked treats

Coolness:  Tattoo-inspiration meets an ethos that would make your mum feel welcome

---

Daily Grind is in amongst the narrow arteries of Dundee's old city, two streets back from the river Tay.

Contrasting with the grand stone buildings of Dundee's industrial past, the glass-fronted Daily Grind takes up a sizeable piece of real estate in combination with sister business Hard Grind barber shop.

As you pass the Stoormtrooper mannequin at the door, the coffee bar and friendly baristas in the centre of the room beckon you to have a chat and place your order. You'll enjoy seasonally changing coffees from Arbroath-based Sacred Grounds and they also sell retail bags of beans for home brewing. You can get a take-away or take your time at a table along the right hand wall.

Even before you've had your coffee you may experience a bit of sensory overload when you first visit Daily Grind.

The decor is motivated by tattoo art with a retro twist. Built on a backdrop of gleaming white, your eyes are pulled from one chunky black and brightly coloured design to the next, before you notice walls filled with quirky line art of ships, hearts, skulls and other classic tattoo stalwarts. The whole left of the coffee shop is dedicated to a large range of graphic-led apparel - both their own and from Dundee brand Abandon Ship - all of which has something to say.

The best thing, though, is that this is a very welcoming place that goes out of it's way to be inclusive. As well as coffee, the team are clearly passionate about tattoos, design and barbering that's positively sculptural, but they also celebrate difference. From LGBT Pride pins at the till, to Abandon Ship's 'not everything sucks' slogan adorning the coffee machine to welcoming and interested staff, the Daily Grind offers a very friendly port to anyone, in any storm.

More: facebook.com/dailygrinddundee/

The Bach

31 Courier Pl Meadowside, Dundee DD1 1DJ »Map«

Open every day Espresso, V60, Aeropress, Chemex, syphon, french press Coffee: Sacred Grounds Also: Meals, cakes

Coolness: High ceilings - high quality

---

The Bach (pronounced The Batch) is New Zealand-Scotland inspired cafe - and a 'bach' is apparently a holiday home in Kiwi land. While this may be a lesser known fact, it's very well-known that Kiwis generally love high quality coffee and have a hand (alongside many Aussies) in a disproportionate number of great coffee shops across the UK as a result. It all augurs well!

Arbroath's Sacred Grounds is The Bach's chosen coffee - which definitely gets the thumbs up from us. They're turning out some fine single origins and going from strength to strength. You're spoilt for choice when it comes to brewing methods - and can pretty much take your pick. It's great to be able to have this much choice in Dundee, where speciality coffee houses are still fairly rare.

The menu is broad and creative - with brunch looking particularly appealing. They make their own food including options for gluten free, vegetarian and vegan folks. The weekday lunch and evening menus are sharing plates, that include a range of tasty morsels to try. They make our own burger patties, sausages, beans, granola, BBQ sauce, Habanero ketchup, chilli jam, cakes, slices and biscuits. Needless to say they're big on making their own mouth watering food!

(Photos from The Bach's instagram page as we're yet to get here!)

More: facebook.com/thebachdundee/