Henley Coffee Shops Review

by The Viking Voice Team

On a dreary day in March, the Viking Voice team traipsed into Henley to sample the delights of its coffee shops. Here’s what we found:

Caffè Nero

Caffè Nero is nice but quite expensive. It’s located on Henley High Street, so it is easy to get to and find.

The things we liked the most were the interior decor, which had a nice theme and created a good atmosphere, and the customer service, which we rated as “amazing” due to the speed of the service.

Another positive thing was the quality of the food. The ham and cheese panini was especially good and was “toasted well” according to Gordon.

Perhaps the one thing that let Caffè Nero down was the actual coffee, which was well presented (see the picture to your right), but tasted kind of average.

Other drinks? The hot chocolate was rated highly, but was considered a little expensive.

Overall, Caffè Nero earned a score of three stars from our reviewers, Declan and Gordon.

Henley Coffee Shops: Review

by The Viking Voice Team

Hot Gossip

Lottie and Dulcie were very impressed with Hot Gossip and gave it a five star review rating of “amazing”. Why?

“Our drinks were amazing and we loved our rocky road too!! Best we’ve ever had!! Lottie had an iced coffee, which was complemented by a deliciously sweet vanilla syrup, whilst Dulcie indulged in a rich hot chocolate made of the finest cocoa powder known to man!

The staff had clear communicative skills, and were very kind and cheerful, and thus Hot Gossip got full marks for customer service. This coffee shop also scored well for its unique 60s themed decor. The juke box at the centre of the shop is very unusual for a coffee shop, and is constantly playing great hits which further the coffee shop vibe.

We would 100% recommend Hot Gossip to anyone!

Kind staff and phenomenal food and drinks, in particular the decadent rocky road, filled generously with marshmallows and digestive biscuit.

Henley Coffee Shops: Review

by The Viking Voice Team

Starbucks

Only two stars for Starbucks? Sam and Jett explain: “The coffee was of a somewhat good quality but I would say that it lacked the richness of good coffee like in Berries. The coffee beans lacked strength and was slightly disappointing for a major chain. I would also like to note that the coffee was not a reasonable price being £3.65 for a regular flat white.”

However, the other drinks were highly rated. “We ordered a chocolate cream which is a chocolate milkshake/frappuccino. Overall this was a very nice and freshening drink which would be very nice in the summer. It was very delicious and was difficult to stop sipping.”

How about the food? Our reviewers ordered the banana cake, which was enjoyable - especially the assortment of nuts on the top - but a little on the dry side. The cafe was clean and the customer service was good. The location of the coffee shop is excellent, being right in the middle of town.

It was slightly disappointing that many of the chairs were thrown away on the top of couches, meaning that the seating places were constricted. Overall, the overpriced drinks put us off Starbucks.

Henley Coffee Shops: Review

by The Viking Voice Team

Berries

Sam and Jett may have been a bit harsh on Starbucks, but they loved Berries! Sam explains, “I ordered a flat white and the coffee was of very good quality, being very rich. We found out that this barista brews his own coffee. This is one of the nicest coffees I have had in a very long time and would definitely go again.”

The two baristas were very friendly and chatty. I would say this is a very big strength of the café. They have a good location on the high street and the coffee shop gives off a very nice and warm mood. They have a very nice arrangement of food, which can been seen from the outside, with a huge variety of baked goods on show.

In a very rare chance, Sam and Jett met Harry Styles in Berries. (Could this be true???) They said he was getting coffee with his girlfriend. “We were both very surprised and tried to get a picture for the article, but he politely declined. This could be because he looked a bit ill and probably wasn't planning on being recognised due to having a beanie and a mask on. However, he was very nice even though we got turned down!

Henley Coffee Shops: Review

by The Viking Voice Team

The Chocolate Cafe

The Chocolate Cafe is located along Henley riverside and has a beautiful view of the river with features of flower pots and decorations and a perfect outdoor seating area. The interior is dated, but has a calm touch. It has low level lighting, which is well suited to the coffee shop and its green and purple interior and fairy lights add a cosy touch.

The tables were small and overcrowded with chairs, while the background music was groovy and created a positive atmosphere with retro vibes. Uniquely it has a small shop, selling mugs, bags, cards and other decorations. We encountered very polite servers, and the owner was kind and quick to make the drinks, which were brought to us on a tray. We were even given a discount.

The two white hot chocolates were very tasty and very sweet and we did enjoy them. However, they became sickly pretty easily and we didn’t finish them due to their large size.

The regular hot chocolate was not as enjoyable, it was very bitter and tasted of pure cocoa powder. It tasted as if there was no milk or sugar inside. The white chocolate rocky road was tasty, although the use of white chocolate instead of milk meant that it became quite sickly. The chocolate fudge cake was quite dry, did not taste completely fresh and felt as if it had been frozen. However the chocolatey flavour was nice.

The coffee tasted quite cheap; nothing too extravagant. The taste was quite bitter even with sugar. The overall presentation was average, so a middle score is appropriate.