We enjoyed a trip to the rather excellent new cafe, Coffee and…? on Abbeydale Road last weekend. I started to hear great things about the gluten free waffles here on the Sheffield Gluten Free Facebook Group, and I am a big fan of waffles, so this was prioritised.
As with lots of our trips out these days, this started with a dog walk (the cafe is dog friendly as well – bonus) in Ecclesall Woods and then popped through Millhouses park to avoid spending too much time on the main road.
I’d already emailed the owner in advance to check out the gluten free credentials. They have a separate waffle maker for gluten free waffles, which is essential. They did, of course, warn about flour and bread being present in the kitchen, but they do take reasonable precautions to minimise cross contamination risk – clean bowls & utensils etc. (As my own kitchen isn’t even fully gluten free, I’m usually happy to give places a go if they sound like they know what they’re doing.)
We arrived about 12.30 and the place was packed, but we didn’t have to wait too long for a table and we were soon enjoying teas and coffees.
Also on the menu were some classic breakfasts (gf options available), salads and interesting brunches like Turkish eggs and mushroom Florentine, but I was here for the waffles, so let’s focus on those.
There are three savoury and three sweet options. For the savoury, a choice of smoked salmon (avo, poached eggs, hollondaise etc), chicken (avo, pickled pink onions, poached eggs, sweet chilli) and mushroom (creamy garlic sauce, spinach, poached eggs). I went for the chicken one but I’m not a massive fan of poached eggs, so I had halloumi instead from the extras.
I’m sure you’ll agree, this was a rather fine waffle: a really decent portion and generously loaded.
But what you can’t tell from the photo was how good the actual waffle was. I have a waffle maker which I use regularly so I know how heavy a gluten free waffle can be. But the texture of this was very light and airy. I very rarely say this, but you would not know this was gluten free. The owner said the first few attempts at a gluten free waffle had been terrible, but they persevered to improve the recipe, and they have completely nailed it.
There are three sweet options, which were pistachio and raspberry, nutella and banana, and berries and cream with meringue. My son had the banana one (not the gluten free version) and I was going to upload a picture, but I only took a video of it, so I guess I’ll just have to go back.
I was way too full for any kind of dessert but we decided to treat ourselves to a little something from the cake counter to take home. There were a few gluten free options including Lamington cake and chocolate and banana bread (stored in the display above all the gluten containing ones). I bought the last piece of GF egg custard, which I enjoyed very much later on with a nice cup of tea.
Coffee and…? is a small cafe that doesn’t take bookings so either get there early or be prepared to wait a little while – the waffles are worth it.
Coffee and…?
984 Abbeydale Road, Millhouses, Sheffield S7 2QF