Books and Beans

You'll find yourself surrounded by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves whilst nursing a proper flat white at this brilliant combination of independent bookshop and café. Tucked along Belmont Street in the heart of the city centre, it's the sort of place where you pop in for a quick coffee and emerge three hours later having discovered your new favourite novel and polished off a slice of their legendary homemade cake. The atmosphere strikes that perfect balance between studious concentration and gentle chatter - you're as likely to spot students cramming for exams as you are bookish locals settling in with the weekend papers. The coffee's consistently excellent, the cakes are baked fresh daily, and there's something deeply satisfying about browsing the carefully curated book selection between bites. It's what every neighbourhood café should aspire to be.