Cafe Latino

Café Latino is one of those cafes that only regulars know about. Accessed via a stairwell on Bold Street, it’s an intimate space that serves generous portions of cheap and cheerful tucker.
Breakfast items range from muffins, pastries and eggs on toast to the full english with bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomato and beans. Likewise, lunch items range from simple soups, ciabattas and salads to big plates of pasta and pizza. Service can seem slow compared to neighbouring cafes but this is clearly because the food is cooked fresh rather than pre-​heated.
The one area Café Latino falls short is the hot drinks. Both the tea and hot chocolate are okay but the coffee tastes cheap and nasty. If they started using Monmouth or Union Coffee, I’d probably give them an extra *.

While Geri Halliwell has forever ruined the word ‘Latino’ for me with that stupid song she did which was basically an excuse to showcase her ‘Spanish speaking skills’ (how did that get to number one? HOW?!?), thankfully she’s not ruined the experience of this café, a lovely little gem tucked away on Bold Street.
This is a bit of a blink and you’ll miss it affair as it honestly doesn’t look up to all that much from the outside, but please ensure you bypass the Nero opposite it because it’s certainly worth forsaking the chain for. It’s peaceful and fresh, and makes a great little escape of a nook above the busy shopping streets and maintains a down to earth, relaxed demeanour.
You can get all sorts of food here from homemade pizzas and garlic breads, all of which are lip-​smackingly gorgeous, to lighter options such as sandwiches, soups and salads, and the coffees are good and proper. The value’s astonishing too considering the pizzas are only the best part of a fiver and everything’s hugely affordable yet the quality’s superb. Also keep an eye on the ever-​changing specials boards and if you get a chance, have a chat to the owner — he’s a lovely guy and has been running the place for years.
Heartwarming and bellyfilling. Now there’s a combination you can’t beat.

Much like Rococo up the road, this place has remained unknown to me for years and judging on my visit here it still has to much of the city.
A quiet lunch was had and this place is good for that if that’s what you’re after. Next to a hairdressers and I think I saw a sign for some sort of clinic, Café Latino does feel shoved into its space as an after thought.
However the food is very cheap but very good. A simple ham and cheese ciabatta was a very healthy proportioned snack filled with parma ham and mozzarella with plety of pesto so it wasn’t too dry — ciabatta’s a bit of a gamble in my book! And with a really nice honey and balsamic dressing on the large salad garnish it showed it was more than after thought and the guys here don’t skimp — just on the prices.

Café Latino is a small restaurant which is hardly noticeable in Bold Street. Adjacent to Halifax bank, is a small staircase that leads to the restaurant which also has a couple other businesses in operation on the same floor.
When I arrived there early on a Thursday morning, the only thing on my mind was a hearty full English breakfast so that is exactly what I ordered without even looking at the menu; this costs £3.95 and includes a fried egg (sunny side up and runny on the inside), a small sausage, a few rashers of bacon, half a grilled tomato, some chopped mushroom slices, beans and 2 half toasted granary bread slices. It was a decent sized and hot breakfast but the only things I would say, is that the bacon was rather salty, the toast’s crust was burnt and I had to wait 15 – 20 minutes for it to be served baring in mind that I was the only customer present. I think I sent and received about 10 text messages during that time! Plus, I paid £1.50 for a bottle of still water on top of that. In terms of breakfast, if I had to choose between Café Latino or Wetherspoons, I would definitely pick the latter.

Café Latino, owned by Emilio, the other half of Sally Rose, is a lovely little coffee shop that rivals the chain giants and offers a more personal café experience. Not only a café though, they also do main meals which are not to be sniffed at.
Once you’ve struggled up the stairs with your shopping bags, you can try and get a seat by the window so you can have a good old nosey at all the other shoppers dragging themselves up and down Bold Street, and enjoy the authentic cosmopolitan atmosphere. Far from being one to shy away from the front line, Emilio can be seen serving the customers and walking around the tables, chatting with various people.
I discovered this café many years ago when it was the venue for evening Italian language classes. Unfortunately, the charismatic (oh ok, he was a little bit sleazy) tutor got married and settled down abroad, and the late night cappuccinos and verb conjugation came to an end. However, the café is still open reasonably late, and is an ideal place to go for a break from shopping or for a proper meal.