It was a miserable morning on the South coast as we rolled down the hill into Brixham harbour. The sky was grey, the breeze was fresh, and the first spits of rain dotted the windscreen of the car.
Coffee and cake were needed, and luckily enough, I found a parking spot directly in front of a coffee shop. It's great having a mother who's disabled and has a blue badge. It means we can park almost anywhere, and right outside this bizarrely decorated establishment was simply perfect.
Peering inside, I was completely bewildered by the ferocious attack on my senses. I really have no idea how to describe the style. Victorian...gothic...neo traditional...hints of medieval, I've no idea. Every single surface of this place was ornately decorated in muted colours and was contrasted with splashes of pink neon. We had panelled ceilings, chandeliers, ornate mirrors, tasselled lamp shades and at least a million plastic flowers.
Damn, the drugs must be good in these parts!
At the rear of the cafe was a huge screen that showed a bespoke 10-minute black and white video montage of famous clips. Again, it was hard to describe but hugely entertaining with superb editing that made it difficult to take your eyes off.
For the evening crowd, or even the morning crowd who needed a little alcoholic sustenance, the bar had every single alcoholic potion and mixer imaginable.
For the tea lovers, dozens of packets of leaf tea from all four corners of the world and in multitudes of flavours.
And Tunnocks. Both Chocolate Tea Cakes and Caramel Wafer bars. The holy grail of treats, made way up North in Scotland, and eaten way down here on the South coast.
The cake selection wasn't the greatest, but the slices were huge, and for the more sophisticated, there was a huge range of macarons and assorted croissants. I'm not sure why they were making a feature of Cornish pasties as we were in Devon...
Here we see a fake moose's head and a pig. I adored the armchair design, and despite my not normally being a fan of onyx and gold, in this setting, even they seemed to integrate so well into the overall design
I don't know what you'd call this panelled ceiling, but it was incredibly impressive, like something you'd only normally see in a traditional stately home. Obviously, they must have been mouldings, but they were finished beautifully. There's a clearer view in this next picture.
This is the British Royal Coat of Arms. The Latin, dieu et mon droit, means 'God and my right' and was shouted by King Richard the first as he roared into battle.
It's a strange thing, though. As I googled the coat of arms, I began to wonder about why the British have such a close affinity with lions, and why, in the name of all that is holy, is there a bloody unicorn on there?!
I feel some research and a new post coming on. Watch this space.
That ceiling...
If you prefer your coffee and cake outside, you can sit at the tables at the other side of the street by the harbour, place your order in a little hut, and they'll bring out your order when it's ready!
Oh yes, I almost forgot. The coffee! Well, I had a cappuccino, and thankfully, they simply went for a random chocolate sprinkle on top instead of doing what the more pretentious coffee shops do and create a piece of 'art' on my froth. I don't like that. At all!
It was actually a great cup of coffee. The wife had a pot of English breakfast tea, and the old girl had an Irish coffee. Just to keep the breeze out, don't you know, and it was croissants all round. Fresh and warm.
It was a great coffee shop. A wonderful change from the usual cool, minimalistic hangouts and in the perfect location. If you're ever in the area. Visit. Especially at night, as I'd love to see the place and its clientele on a Saturday night!
That's it from me. I've added the location to the wonderful 
