Coffee Clouds

You'll find Coffee Clouds tucked away on Shrieves Walk, just off the main drag but close enough to the Royal Shakespeare Company that matinee crowds aren't a shock. It's the kind of place where the espresso machine gets a proper workout and the baristas actually know what they're doing—no burnt shots, no apologies. The cakes rotate depending on what's been baked that morning, and unlike the tourist traps around Bridge Street, they don't taste like they've been sitting under a heat lamp since breakfast. The space itself is snug; you're elbow-to-elbow with other regulars if it's busy, which it often is, but that's precisely the point.