Northern Soul

You won’t find any pretentious cafe behaviour up this end of town. No waiting around for staff to quit having fun and remember to serve you. Northern Soul is a cosy down-to-earth place at the Thornbury end of High Street serving up an uncomplicated menu with friendly service.

Vintage stools and bamboo wallpaper give this place a subtle retro feel while a spacious communal table means plenty of room to spread out the newspaper. Start your day (or end it, thanks to the all day breakfast) with any choice of sweet or savoury from the menu; juicy roasted field mushrooms with poached egg on top of perfectly baked polenta, homemade baked beans on pumpkin toast or fluffy pancakes with bananas dripping in toffee honeycomb and maple syrup.

Check the blackboard for lunch offerings; a selection of pides and perhaps a pumpkin, rocket and goat cheese pizza or a couscous salad. There’s also a small counter tempting patrons with the day’s cakes and muffins and a good selection of herbal teas such as lemon zing and Moroccan mint to accompany them.

Admittedly Northern Soul may not be worth making a special trip if you’re on the other side of town but it does make for a great local in a rapidly developing strip.