The people behind Bear Coffee Company kindly invited me and 4 of my friends to the opening of their new store in Derby. This is only their first new venue since their original shop opened in Uttoxeter in 2016 so they are a relatively new company since being founded in 2014. 

Upon walking in the thing I first noticed was the alternative layout of the bar compared to the conventional way. The bar/counter was centred in the middle of the room with the seating area to one side and the majority of bar stools to the other. There was surprisingly good lighting in there as well.  considering most modern coffee shops think its 'cool' to basically make you drink your coffee in the dark.  

I thought I'd start with a classic cappuccino. Our server informed us that the baristas strive for perfection on the drink side of things. If a coffee doesn't come out perfect they will just throw it away and start again. There was a 20 minute wait for our drinks but was understandable since the place was completely full and it was the first time the workers experience the pressure of a busy flow of customers. When the coffee arrived it had a well-made design decorating the top and the actual coffee was quite strong. It didn't stand out as much as I would have liked it to but it wasn't a bad coffee. At £2.60 I'd say it's an average price at today's standards. I sneaked a bit of my friend's Salted Caramel Shake and wow was it good. You'd need a sweet tooth to be able to handle the whole thing. Now, let's get onto the food...

For food, I ordered the Eggs Benedict. Never had this dish before and didn't really know what it was but I took a chance when I saw it on the menu. English muffin, bacon, poached egg, spinach and hollandaise sauce. Did I regret opting for this? Not at all. The sauce that topped the eggs was phenomenal and the entire thing really does fill you up. I think I've found a new favourite meal. At a price of £7.00, it's definitely something I would have again. 

Although the service was obviously going to be slow on their "trial-run" day, we felt welcomed and comfortable. Very friendly staff who were easy to talk to and have a laugh with. We even tried a Mexican wave at one point to get the waitress' attention (it worked).

Although I didn't try the other food my friends did have some comments. One friend, who ordered the BEAR breakfast loved the food but said the choice of bread was a bit too hard and crunchy. Another friend ordered the veggie BEAR which again was nice but he didn't feel was big enough since there wasn't much of a substitution for the meat ingredients in the main Bear Breakfast. My other 2 friends enjoyed the all American pancakes which they had nothing bad to say about what so ever!

I'm not going to beat around the bush, I'm 100% going back again. Until next time, BEAR!