Rialto Coffee Co

33 High St Eyemouth TD14 5EY »Map«

Tues-Sat Espresso & Chemex Coffee: Clifton & Union Also: Sandwiches, cakes

Coolness: Big city specialty coffee in charming seaside Eyemouth

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Rialto Coffee (5♥) is in the heart of Eyemouth - near the border with England on the East coast of Scotland.

Co-owner Michael is as obsessed and passionate about specialty coffee as you'll find anywhere, working closely with Clifton Coffee and Union for espresso and Chemex respectively. Although from time to time other tasty roasts make their way into their Mahlkonig EK43 grinder. For espresso you can expect some of the best choclatey profile beans around, and on the filter side, Michael changes regularly, exploring beans and origins and taking his customers to new places.

While there's been a cafe on Rialto soil since 1905, Michael's parents bought the shop in 2002 and ran a traditional cafe offering hot coffees and big breakfasts until 2012, when Michael and his partner Eilyn moved to Eyemouth and took it on. In 2014 they refurbished the shop and made the switch to specialty coffee - thereby becoming Eyemouth's first (and still only) specialty coffee shop.

Michael and Eilyn's ethos is one of respect and enjoyment. While their big board in the shop shows the coffee farmer and origin to help customers connect - "just like when you buy a box of eggs you know who the farmer is" - the team are also very attentive to customers' preferences. Some have taken the journey from large, hot sugary cups to specialty coffee proportions, but others just want what they want, and that's what they get! "It's nice to be nice" is the way Rialto rolls.

The food on the menu is pretty big, so you're bound to find something you like. Rialto's menu uses high quality ingredients, changes seasonally, features local premium suppliers and is made on premises. To give you a sense, you may find yourself tucking into home made sausage rolls, soups, sandwiches, ciabatta and panini with ingredients such as slow roasted pork shoulder, fresh mozzarella, roasted butternut squash, feta and beetroot hummus. Plus options such as chick pea tagine, Argentinian empanadas (think pasty) and Greek spanakopita (think filo, feta and spinach). Oh and there are the cakes! - made by Eilyn. On display at the counter you'll find a wide range of sticky, fruity, chocolatey cakey goodness to choose from. We also grabbed a couple of bottles of locally produced Left Field Kombucha tea - and there were other craft producers on offer.

The shop frontage is deceptive - looking like a small traditional store from the street, but there's plenty of space inside, with tables and chairs in both the front and out the back past the servery.

Being just one street back from the sea front, Rialto is an absolute joy to swing by after a wander along the beach, around the active Eyemouth dock or along the many walking routes in the area.

And the icing on the cake for those considering a visit is the resident seals in Eyemouth harbour. For a pound or two you can buy fish from a van, clip them on to fishing lines and lower them down to the seals as they loll about in the water with an air of expectation.

More: facebook.com/rialtocoffeeco/