It’s always disappointing when you go somewhere and spot that the big chain coffee shops are teeming with people while the local independents remain relatively quiet. There are branches of Costa, Greggs and Coffee #1 all within a tiny radius in Nailsea town centre, all of which are generally pretty busy.
I’ve written before about the fact that there are also various independent coffee shops in the same vicinity, including Coates House and Cafe 119. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve paid a couple of visits to a third: Coffee Corner on Colliers Walk.
In mid-2022, this unassuming-looking coffee shop was taken over by Mustafa Karkur, who’s switched up the menu by adding both food and drink from his native Turkey. Alongside Turkish coffee you’ll find all sorts of sweet and savoury treats, including filled savoury pastries, house-made baklava, cookies, Turkish desserts and more. On a Saturday, you’ll often find a counter outside the front of Coffee Corner where you can order freshly-made gözleme: Turkish flatbreads stuffed with all manner of different fillings.
There’s plenty more on offer besides the Turkish treats, though: take a seat in the light and airy coffee shop and enjoy one of a range of flapjacks, a panini with a choice of fillings, a slice of cake or a hot or cold drink. There are 15 different flavours of milkshake to choose from – and Coffee Corner is also the first place in Nailsea to offer bubble tea. Priced at £3.50 for a regular or £4 for a large, there’s a selection of nine different fruit teas and five milk teas – with five bubble options, too.
On my first visit, I decided to go classic and order a flat white (£2.85). Served in a short glass, it was a decent strength and with the velvety texture you’d expect.
Of course, it would’ve been wrong not to try some of the Turkish delights on offer – and at two for £1.50, the mini spinach and cheese rolls seemed very well priced. The filling-to-pastry ratio was decent and the filling was full of flavour…the only issue was that being reheated in the microwave meant that the filo lost some of its expected crunch.
The flapjack (£2.50) was a decent example of its kind, sticky and chewy and just sweet enough.
Owner Mustafa was excited to learn that it was our first visit to Coffee Corner and told us that we needed to try the baklava, which he makes himself. Priced at £1 per square, he cut a piece in half and served it up to us to try as a free sample, and we were impressed. I rarely see baklava with such a generous amount of pistachio filling. Combined with the crunchy pastry and the generous amount of sugar syrup soaking through the layers, it was incredible.
My second visit was with my five-year-old, who was excited to try out a different coffee shop on the day his reception class was closed because of teacher strikes. This time, I ordered a honey milk tea (£3.50) – none of the tapioca pearls that I’d wanted, as they sadly weren’t yet ready. The tea flavour still came through nice and strongly despite the addition of milk, honey and ice, and it was the perfect level of sweetness.
Now, ever since his first visit to Mollie’s Diner at Cribbs, the small child is ever-so-slightly obsessed with Oreo milkshakes. Guess who was pretty excited to discover that they were on the menu at Coffee Corner, too. Priced at £4.50, it was served in a cup almost the size of his head, the inside of the cup drizzled with chocolate sauce and the milkshake topped with squirty cream. Thick, creamy and containing plenty of blitzed-up Oreos, I think his face in the photo below shows that it was a hit.
We also bought more baklava to take home and that was granted his seal of approval, too – the boy has taste. It was also lovely to see Mustafa interacting with him while we were there: it makes a big difference when places make the children feel welcomed too, not just the adults. I’ve got a feeling that Coffee Corner will be a regular haunt from now on…