Walk into this historical, (retro?) Bristol institution and you’ll be greeted by dark wood, brass fittings and the hiss of an old-school, proper Italian coffee machine. I tried my luck at the first ordering station for a coffee. That turned out to be for food-ordering. Next station down was for drinks where the server was unfazed by my wish for a decaf flat white. As it was a late lunch, the remaining food options were a bit limited but still there was lasagna, chicken and leek pasta plus various panini offerings. Reasoning that you can’t go wrong with traditional in an Italian-run cafe, I went for the lasagna.
Payment was taken and a number was given me to take to the table of my choice. At 1.30 on a Wednesday lunchtime, choice was a bit limited so I headed for what is always a refuge for the single punter: a counter – this one with stools – by the front window.
My order came quickly and despite the lasagna having been nuked to within a inch of its life, was pretty great although the pasta sheets did suffer from an “over-cooked” consistency. The coffee was so-so but that could have been down to the blend they use for the decaf.
As the lunch crowds started to die down, some laptop wielding student-types appeared. Outside of busy times, for the price of a coffee, I think you would feel quite comfortable working away at Cafe Amore especially as they are not hard up for space – there is more seating upstairs on the mezzanine level (though this was closed on my visit). There were even some hardy souls sitting out the front though, despite the sun, it was still a bit chilly for me on this early January day.
If you want to try for the breakfast experience then there is an extensive menu from when the cafe opens at 8am.
The environs
