Coffee Tea and Cakes – No Expert …but I know what I like

Giant Coffee : Ramsgate

Wow, yet another new Coffee Shop/Café has opened in Ramsgate. This new coffee shop Giant Coffee is located on the ground floor of the old wine warehouse in Charlotte Court not far from Staple. This almost hidden area is also home to the Ramsgate Arts Club in the old wine warehouse basement and to the very attractive Saltworks shop next door.

There is plenty of space for outside seating in Charlotte Court but it wasn’t in use on our visit during Giants opening weekend, but if they do have access to it, it will be a lovely spot in the summer.

The Giant Café itself is quite small and cosy with friendly staff, excellent coffee and delicious plant based cakes (amazing what a good baker can do without dairy). We had a piece of ‘Chocolatey’ banana cake with a hint of coconut and a very refreshing and tasty pineapple cake. We’re looking forward to returning to try more of their cakes.

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Njord – Scandi Style : Cliffsend Pegwell

Latest visit (September 2025) :-

Njord had to close for several months this Summer due to flooding, but thankfully it’s now open again, completely renovated and with a new chef and new menus. We popped in for breakfast, ordered a Full English and Chef’s Toast (almost a Full English on toast – it didn’t exactly match the menu description as it included Chefs rosti rather than pickled red onion, but I was fine with that). I also couldn’t resist some post breakfast Apple pie. It’s great to see this excellent cafe back on its feet.

The (seasonal) 69 Open-Top bus can be used to get here from Ramsgate, the Viking Ship bus stop is only a few minutes walk from Njord.

First visit (May 2024) :-

I’ve wanted to try out Njord for a while now, I mean a Scandi style place overlooking Pegwell Bay is so intriguing. So we headed out on a lovely sunny day (it’s only a few minutes away from Ramsgate by car or bus) and about a 40 mins walk if you’re feeling energetic!

Njord is in a great location on the edge off the Pegwell Bay nature reserve, it’s rather lovely inside, with a mix of comfy lounge style seating & coffee tables, dining tables with bench seating and bar stools at the window overlooking the bay. There is also some outside seating and lots of bike racks for cyclists.

The breakfast/brunch menu is mainly muffin, sourdough & croissant based dishes. We rather fancied the less conventional breakfast of Cochon Pulled Pork with Sundried Tomato & Chorizo Tapanata and Poached Kentish Free Range Eggs on a toasted English Muffin with Hollandaise sauce & chilli flakes. However they’d ran out of pork and were doing a pulled Chicken recipe instead, so we ordered that and Americano Coffees. The Coffees were served quickly and were excellent, I even had some left when the breakfast muffins arrived, the pulled chicken muffins tasted as good as they looked too, nicely spiced from the Tapanata and very filling.

Njord is also a Bar with an excellent drinks menu, lots of different brands of rum and gin is always a good sign. They also serve a few cocktails to enhance your breakfast/brunch experience.

The cakes at the Bar looked really good as well, they’re from the Beardy Baker in Canterbury, so I’ll certainly be back to try those.

Attractions in the area include the aforementioned Pegwell Bay nature reserve and the Viking Ship Hugin, which is a great photo opportunity and I guess sort of in keeping with the Scandi style at Njord.

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Foliage : Ramsgate (moved to Broadstairs)

UPDATE : Ramsgate cafe closed May 2025 – Foliage moved to Albion Street in Broadstairs.

First visit Broadstairs cafe (July 2025) :-

We stopped by the new Foliage venue in Broadstairs and ordered cake & coffee from the bar. All the down stairs tables we taken, so we climbed the rather steep staircase to the upstairs room. Amazingly the waitress delivering out order managed the stairs while balancing a full tray!

The distinctive look and the menu are the same as the former Ramsgate cafe, although I’m not sure if it’s the same cake supplier as the selection on our visit was limited.

First visit Ramsgate cafe (July 2024) :-

The Foliage Cafe opened a few years ago and I’d never managed a visit until now as St Lawrence High Street is a bit off my beaten track. However I have to say that it’s definitely what I would call a “Destination Cafe”, that is somewhere I would now go out of my way to visit, it’s an absolute gem. We went on a Tuesday afternoon expecting it to be empty, it wasn’t. There was a steady stream of customers and I can understand why, excellent service, really good coffee and seriously good cakes are just some of the reasons to visit. It also has a lovely atmosphere based as it is inside a very attractive little Garden Centre and if the weather is nice you can also sit outside in the pretty garden area at the back. The Cafe is licensed and there’s an interesting range of Cocktails on the menu (they even run Cocktail making classes). They’ve started doing Cheese & Charcuterie boards as well and have fairly regular Live Music evenings. Foliage is actually only a few minutes walk from Ramsgate Station and Ellington Park, so if you’re in the area it’s so worth making the detour.

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Vincent’s : Ramsgate

Vincent’s is a gem of a cafe in Ramsgate, one you would struggle to find without local knowledge. It’s located in Spencer Square in the little hut overlooking the Tennis Courts, I didn’t even realize that it had inside seating, but it does and it’s surprisingly spacious. It’s a friendly place serving good Coffee and homemade Cakes. The outside seating is on both sides of the hut, so you can also sit overlooking the rather stunning Vincent van Gogh sculpture.

Spencer Square leads into Addington Street where you will find some interesting independent shops, see the Addington Street section of the Ramsgate Shopping Guide for details.

Vincent’s is also located at the start point for the Vincent van Gogh self guided walking trail.

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Weekend at The Albion House Hotel : Ramsgate

Despite the title of this post we were not actually staying at the Albion House Hotel. Although we did find ourselves spending a substantial part of the Weekend there. We started with Champagne Afternoon Tea on the Saturday and returned the next day for our Sunday Lunch.

The Hotel which is open to non residents is quite lovely, perched up on the East Cliff of Ramsgate. The building has been substantially renovated during its conversion to a luxury boutique hotel, it now combines Regency splendor with lots of innovative modern designer touches courtesy I believe of Fontaine Decorative a local company who source stunning French Furniture and Decorative items.

Champagne Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea is served in Dining Room. Sandwiches, Tea and Champagne are served at your table. Cakes are laid out buffet style on the table by the window. It’s very much a case of eating as much as you want, as extra sandwiches are brought out on request. The Earl Grey Tea I ordered was particularly good, it’s from a company called Canton Tea and had a strong Vanilla flavour.

Sunday Lunch

The Sunday Lunch menu is pretty much as expected, a small selection of starters, a couple of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes for the main course with dessert options and/or cheese to complete the meal. Lunch and Dinner are served in the Dining Room. It’s an attractive room with a beautiful large fire place, you can also have pre or post dinner drinks in the lounge area which has quite spectacular views of Ramsgate Royal Harbour.

We ordered the Pork belly, scallops, apple puree & red vein sorrel and Wood pigeon breast with frisse & oak leaf salad. The Wood pigeon was served only slightly pink (so if you like it pink, best to say when ordering). We followed this with some nicely cooked Lime & jerk spiced sea bass, potato cake and samphire accompanied by a rather nice bottle of Albarino – the hotel has some excellent options on their wine list. Then for dessert we had Dark chocolate torte with white chocolate cream and raspberries and Vodka, lemon & lime posset with mixed berry compote, accompanied by a couple of glasses of Dessert Wine.

The Hotel is a real asset to the area and we look forward to returning regularly.

UPDATE : June 2015 – Had some decent platters from the Bar Menu, a meat and a fish one. The menu also included Sliders and Salad options.

UPDATE: August 2015 – They have extended the Bar menu, there is now a daily brunch menu from 10:00 – 16:00.

UPDATE : August 2022 – Have made several visits now for Breakfast, Dinner & Cocktails. They continue to serve well cooked fairly traditional British food and the Cocktails & service are also very good.

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Vinylhead Cafe – The Coolest Cafe in Thanet (Closed)

UPDATE – Under new Management from 8/3/19 – now called Eats ‘n’ Beats

If approaching Addington Street from the coastal side, you will find the VinylHead Cafe at the far end of the street. The Cafe has a fantastic ambience. I actually think that it is the coolest cafe in Thanet. It attracts a lot of Artists and Musicians and at the weekend there are occasional Open Mic sessions and live music.

Vinylhead is licensed and serves good coffee and homemade cakes. For more substantial food check out the kitchen menu.

Another highlight is the attractive outside courtyard with its stylish seaside themed mosaic and huge cantilever parsol.