walking . is . overrated

Well gosh, what an odd place the Coffee Club is. I think it’s trying to put style back into the increasingly-commercialised world of coffee chains, but it’s something which will take a bit of getting used to. What am I talking about, you ask? Read on, and find out…

Well as you can see by the picture on the left (click on it to see a bigger version) we went to the Coffee Club at night, seeing as nothing much else was open in Takapuna on a Thursday night, but it was actually surprisingly busy! We were greeted by a man who wanted to take our orders (what?!), I thought he was rushing us because they were closing soon but no, that’s just how they do things here, apparently. I asked where I should pay, and in response I was advised he’d “give you the check when you’re finished”, which is something I’m not used to when grabbing coffee and cake! He then asked where we’d like to sit, suggesting table 24. I didn’t really feel like arguing, so off we trooped to table 24 (which was, admittedly, a nice table!)

It gets better. He then produces this wine bottle of water, pours us each a glass of water, and begins setting the table with napkins and cutlery! Can I just remind you at this point that we had ordered a flat white, a piece of cake and an iced chocolate. That’s it. I was a touch overwhelmed. Starbucks take a hint! It’s probably worth noting that the coffee and cake were very good, beats both Starbucks and Esquires hands down, for those of you who are keeping score.

Alright down to the nitty-gritty, how is it in terms of accessibility? Well, I was impressed. Level entry, plenty of room inside the cafe, and three bathrooms, so you don’t have to put up with the drunk able-bodied men peeing all over the floor, they have their own bathroom to do that in! The door to the accessible bathroom is a pull-door with a pull-down handle, but no auto-close mechanism so it wasn’t heavy to pull at all. There’s a massive rail on the other side with which to pull the door closed behind you. Awesome stuff. The bathroom is really big, one of the most spacious I’ve encountered. Basin is at a good height, although I couldn’t see any part of myself in the mirror, but oh well, I probably looked pretty shabby anyway, haha Click on the image off to the left to check it out in full size.

THE LOWDOWN:

• Easily wheelchair accessible throughout
• Nice and relaxing space, take your pick of couches or chairs
• Enthusiastic service! Perhaps a bit over the top?!
• Open late
• Great wheelchair friendly bathroom, no stupid fiddly toilet-roll dispensers yay!
• Overall accessibility rating: 5 / 5