Short & Strong Cafe & Deli — Restaurant in England

Me and my partner have been Poldark chasing so naturally found ourselves at this beautiful tiny little gem.

Admittedly I was unsure as I walked in. Felt quite claustrophobic and as both the indoor seating rooms were (small and) full, I was nervous of sitting outside as storm Agnes was on the horizon.

THANK GOD for the smart optimism of my partner. Because the staff were ABSOLUTELY LOVELY before I'd even arrived at my unfair preconceptions. And they continued to be brilliant thereafter - a man with the moustache of a Greek god and a lovely woman were warm and fantastic!

We bought a cappuccino and a hot chocolate, which unexpectedly had that barista touch of art in the foam, like magic.

My partner got a vegan brunch and I got the Cornish one... and genuinely, hand on heart was one of the best-looking, heartiest breakfasts I've ever seen. I loved it so much I do believe I drove my partner mad with my ravings of how good this was!

It's worth mentioning, the sweet potato on the vegan brunch (my partner gave me some to try) was spiced with some level of magic that gave it a good kick I've never experienced before.

Although small, the indoor seating is warm, comfortable and cosy. And the outside area could fit loads more if the sun allowed for it (not today!). The cushions were the only small negative I had, but not one that could even dent the good mood that breakfast and that man's moustache put me in.

Please can I have your moustache?

Absolutely RECOMMEND RECOMMEND RECOMMEND!

...seriously though... I'll pay for...

The establishment and location of Short & Strong is excellent. The vibe is casual modern and cosy. However the food was average, leaning toward disappointing.

Things we tried Tomato soup (5/10): tasted like straight tomato passata. Some herbs/spices would have been great to offset the tomato-y tartness. The accompanying bread was dry and not very good.

Buddha Bowl (5/10): visually appealing but lacking in flavor. Roasted red peppers and smashed avocado could use a kick, like lemon/salt/pepper/cilantro. Hummus is also bland. Really disappointing compared to the Buddha bowl at Cosmic Kitchen (Plymouth)

Buffalo Mozzarella ciabatta sandwich with almond pesto (7/10): this was probably my favorite out of the three food items we tried. Well balanced flavor from the pesto, and a nice crunch from the toasted ciabatta.

Turmeric latte (6/10): nothing notable.

Kids special hot chocolate (visually 7/10): gratuitous volume of whipped cream and flake. Upon asking, the barista mentioned that they use bournville hot...

Visited Charlestown today and headed into Short & Strong for a light lunch. Despite having five staff and not a lot of customers, they were slow. We cleared our own table and despite table service, gave up waiting and placed our order at the till. Hot beverages arrived quickly, but then the toasted sandwiches took an age to arrive. They were then found to be almost cold. I'm not one to complain so tucked in to make the most of them, however my partner is less forgiving and returned hers - which they offered to remake and delivered well after mine were gone, thankfully hot this time. Wasn't impressed - they didn't check back or appear at all bothered that they had messed up our lunch time treat out. So rather than just not going back, which would be unlikely due to this being our holiday destination, I figured a review to warn others of the place's serious shortcomings. Wish we had checked the reviews before choosing...