Café Crème

Taking into account the near-​constant queue and very busy staff during my visit late on a Saturday morning, the service was fast and the staff welcoming, the atmosphere pleasant for a quick stop, the menu options catered for a variance of tastes, and the overall cost was very reasonable. My coffee and scrambled eggs on toast arrived soon after ordering and finding a table, and were hot and delicious. An update on the progress of my eggs from one of the friendly and clearly hard-​working staff was very much appreciated. As said, the café was very busy and I was lucky to find a seat, but I did clearly visit at what was probably the peak time.

Look, I know I don’t quite get Keynsham. At the moment I need to be in the high street once a week and I feel hard pushed to know where to go when I am there. So, today I ventured to the other end of the High Street to have a nosey at what ‘Café Crême’ has to offer.
I had a peek at the menu in the window and decided to give the panini a go. Especially as they offer one with haloumi and peppers. As a vegetarian, I get quite bored of the things places have to offer vegetarians and I felt encouraged by the idea of haloumi and peppers.
I sid I was in a bit of a hurry and asked how long it would take. The lady was very accommodating and friendly.
The café itself is quite a lot nicer inside than it looks on the outside. Lovely glass counters. I noticed they do milkshakes and ‘fruit mixes’ (which seems to me to be fruit juice whizzed up with ice-​cubes in a blender.
I noticed some nice looking cakes at £1.75 a slice, which is knock me down with a feather cheap compared with anywhere else I’ve been lately.
They have a terrace out at the back but I didn’t look at it.
They also do fancy coffees with all the varieties of syrups you can imagine.
I wish them well. I admire any place that competes with the chains. I love independent places.
The lady put in extra tomatoes in my panini, which I thought was a nice gesture. It was a little bit tasteless, which surprises me with haloumi. Yet, I wish to give them another chance. I notice a new place has opened up on the same street which has been very popular since it opened. That one’s a lot more ‘corporate’. So, I’ll go back and have a nice drink and a slice of cake soon and see what happens then.
They do gluten free cakes too. And a huge free cookie on a Wednesday with every drink purchased at the moment.

Keynsham’s Café Crème, tucked back a little from the pavement of the suburb’s high street, used to be called Urban Espresso, which I thought was a far better name.
Confusingly, the old sign with the old name on it remains up outside, alongside the new one, which means there’s an odd combination of brand identities. Apparently, new owners took over the café and wanted to make their own mark on it, introducing the new name — yet even the coffee cups still say ‘Urban Espresso’ on them!
In every other way, the café remains pretty much as it has always been, with quite a few tables inside, plus some chairs and tables outside both at the front by the high street, and to the rear in a garden area.
The coffee is pretty good, the staff are generally friendly, and they serve brunch and lunch, too. I’ve never eaten a meal here, though, so I can’t review the food — but the cakes are all quite tempting and I thoroughly intend to try one next time!
They do take-​away, too, which is great if you’re off to Keynsham station, which doesn’t have any snack bars or coffee places of its own.