Tamu Cafe Review, Bearwood Road, Bearwood

I’ve been trying to regularly try out new cafes when I see them on my travels or if I hear good things about them on social media.  In this case I’d read a couple of good reviews on Facebook and decided it was worth trying out the Tamu Cafe, Bearwood Road, Bearwood.  The cafe was tucked away below the crossroads where the Bear pub is and it’s nearly opposite Bearwood Road school (a few doors down from T C Hayes).  It was tiny and you could easily miss it if you didn’t know where to look.   I think their success has now lead to a change of premises as they have now moved to a larger, more prominent location at the top end of Bearwood Road (not far from the Hagley Road junction).

I loved the cosiness of Tamu Cafe – it is very small inside and probably has 4 or 5 tables.  We were greeted as we walked in and offered a choice of tables. The downside of it being so small is that it can get a bit noisy when the milk steamer is being used (the person who invents a machine that can do it without the noise will be onto a real winner).  Other than that the deco was bright and welcoming and I liked that there were some soft cushions to sit on (cafes and pubs are better if there are some soft furnishings rather than all hard surfaces).

We ordered a pot of tea and a hot chocolate.  The crockery is quite quirky and has a bit of a retro feel.  The teapot poured nicely (they often don’t seem to in cafes) and held about two cups of tea.  I was quite taken with the cute little milk jug and I liked the shape of the teapot and its lovely summer blue colour.  The hot chocolate looked lovely and my companion certainly enjoyed her drink.

We were very tempted by the delicious looking cakes in the window, but as it was lunchtime we opted for something a little more substantial to eat.  We decided in the end to go for the chicken wraps with fries.  The food took a short time to prepare and was quickly and attractively presented.  We really liked the fact that the chicken was slightly spicy and very aromatic.  The wrap was really enjoyable.  I liked the fries too.  Again they had spicy seasoning, but it was subtle and didn’t over power. The serving was a good size for lunch: filling enough, without being too heavy.  I’d certainly be happy to go back there for lunch in the future.  I’d be tempted to go in the afternoon (or the morning) though and try something from the cake selection as there was a coffee cake on display that was definitely calling to me.