Homage to all things Nordic - or Danish, to be precise - is the theme at this ultra cool South Belfast coffee shop.
Established by former lawyer, Orla Smyth, who, luckily for Belfast, decided to give up the world of corporate law on her return from a spell in Denmark and indulge her passion for great coffee and nordic design instead. With quality and simplicity at its heart - and a real record player - it soon had lovers of the best espresso coffee and wholesome fare beating a path to the door.
It's a very complete concept. 'Inspired by Copenhagen, Made in Belfast' sums it up neatly on a menu page given over to extensive information covering everything to do with the concept, starting with Food & Philosophy (how often do you you see that on a menu?), to the coffee and suppliers (coffee and tea, fresh foods, the lot).
Freshly roasted in Copenhagen by Danish coffee connoisseur Ricco Harder Sørensen for supply to Kaffe-O, the beans used for the house espresso are a rich, sweet blend of coffees from Guatemala, Ethiopia and Costa Rica and can be bought at the cafe or from their online shop.
Except for the coffee - and the the crockery, which is also imported from Copenhagen and the mugs and jugs are available to buy - everything else is locally sourced and the success of the wholesome food offered is the marriage of Scandinavian dishes made with the best of Ulster ingredients.
There's an emphasis on breakfast, which is available all day except for porridge which finishes at 11am and comes with all manner of toppings - Baby Bear porridge on the kids' breakfast menu comes with honey and banana...
For lunch there are soups and stews (vegetarian stock) and four Smorrebrod or Open Sandwich options as well as Swedish flatbread sandwich; cured meats and smoked fish feature, as would be expected, but the flavours are not heavy. There are some tempting sweet treats too and, if you're not drinking coffee, there's plenty else to choose from including Suki teas, hot chocolate, smoothies and juices
The vibe is urban and they encourage you to share the booths like the Danish. It’s the Hygge (cosy) way.
