Caffe Alba

Angella

Great Cream-Top Choccy Coffee & Balcony View 19th March 2009

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The Name Caffe - Caffe with the double f and the backslash on the e is Italian and aren't the Italians with their fondness for double letters the people who gave us all espresso coffee? So caffe is not a mis-spelling. It's a good sign that you might get good coffee.

The Coffee Making - Italian and other coffee shops use special machines which, when you go to buy one for your home, you discover are horrendously expensive.

The Name Alba - I went on line to check Alba and found a really helpful translation site called woxikon.com which told me that alba means dawn, daybreak or sunrise.

Previously I could not rmember the name of this cafe, oops, caffe, (sorry - no time to play hunt the accent. If accents are not on this site I could later draft out and import text here from Word or Applemac.) But now I can remember the name Alba and I've learned a word of Italian.

Unique Selling Points - Caffe Alba at the top of the escalator on level three of Brent Cross has friendly service and reasonable prices.

The Cost of Cream - I ordered mocha coffee (coffee mixed with chocolate) with a wonderful swirl of cream on top. It cost 50p extra for the cream but worth it.

My friend had said, 'Come back to my place for a coffee,' but I was not going to miss out on my cream topping. With the suck, sip, slurp, lick chocolate on top.

I said, 'I shall start my diet tomorrow and lose weight.'

'Fat chance!' says my friend.

Snack Costs
The filled rolls are about five pounds which is reasonable for a quick snack. Half the price of three selections from the conveyor at Yo Sushi. And a change from the sandwiches at Costa or Starbucks on the ground floor. This place has a lot of seating when the downstairs coffee bars are crowded.

The View - I'd previously thought that Caffe Alba looked a rather basic bar. But if you walk around the serving area you have two cosy corners either side. Ideal if you want privacy to tell your secrets or steal a kiss, or are agoraphobic.

But best of all a balcony at the back overlooking the side mall. For those who like to look down on others with a God's eye view from the building's top level, which theatres used to call The Gods.

I started with the name so you can remember the place and find it. And remember it if you want to tell people to meet you there.

Server - I don't suppose the girl who served, who was Hungarian, knew the meaning of Alba. But she was a delight, and apologetic about the fact that the cream cost extra, which made me warm to her and want to reassure her and myself that paying extra for the cream was quite okay by me, not a problem.

I asked her how to say thank you in Hungarian but it was too long and complicated for me. (If you must know, the Hungarian for 'thank you' is Köszönöm szépen.)

My friend, whose late mother was Hungarian, immediately said thank you in Hungarian which raised a big smile from the server.

Yes, we'll go back.

More - Their website says they have other branches in Stansted. I must learn to automatically say thank you in Italian.

Surely thank you in Italian is grazie? Canuckabroad.com tells me more: 'Thank you very much = Grazie Mille You're welcome = Prego.'