Black Sheep Coffee in Reading

Lots of coffee shops to choose from in Reading; but on this week's stay in the town I've found myself taking my early coffee and snack here. It isn't as busy first thing as some of the others. (If you go into Caffe Nero opposite, for example, you might well get stuck in a long queue.) And I think this shop has one of the best ambiences, with theatrical lighting and chunky furniture. Sometimes they even have a cool jazz playlist on air. I often like a morning cake or pastry. And I've noticed the ones at Black Sheep are some of the best in the main chains. Always fresh and tasty. Not everything's perfect though. For me, they serve an Americano at a slightly lower temperature than their rivals. This has led me to only take my coffee here black. That said, it's good coffee.

Long queues at Costa and other big coffee chains led me to a quieter coffee shop. And i am so glad I discovered this. Wonderful coffee, friendly service, excellent natas tarts. It was quite busy inside with young people on laptops, quite a buzzy atmosphere. Would recommend

Friendly: The atmosphere was very calm and relaxing. Compared to other coffee shops where you can tell everyone is in a hurry or very energetic. The staff were friendly and you can tell every has a good relationship with each other, rather than just being colleagues. The cafe has very good vibes. Apologetic: I ordered a Norwegian waffle with strawberries and cream. One of the staff told me that they ran out of strawberries, but I can have whichever topping mix I wanted, along with the cream with no extra cost. I just chose banana and they said no problem. When I collected my order, a different staff member mentioned that they didn't run out of strawberries, but they didn't have enough to completely give me a strawberry waffle. I think there were about 1 or 2 strawberries left. The staff added the last strawberries in my waffle, along with the banana and cream, as a thank you for being patient and understanding. It was a nice gesture; I wasn't expecting it. It was my first time in a Black Coffee Cafe, and it was a pleasant one, and I enjoyed my waffle; it was very light on my stomach. I took someone else's there about a week or 2 later and the waffle was still as good as the first time.

I went to Black Sheep on the morning of Wednesday 20th September. The staff couldn't have been nicer. They served me a perfectly poured coffee, and 30 seconds later, my bag fell off my shoulder and spilled it all over the table and seats. I went back for some tissues, and one of the staff didn't hesitate to clean it up for me and then make me a new coffee, no questions asked. He even made me feel like it was a normal occurrence and took all my embarrassment away. The atmosphere is conducive for work. There is no music pumped in, like so many establishments nowadays. The only noise is the gentle clinking of coffee mugs and background chatter. Black Sheep has a great industrial chic aesthetic that makes it a pleasurable space to just sit and be in. Other coffee shops are starting to get this right, but none quite so well as this place.