Folk Cafe

A fairly new independent addition to the Dundee cafe scene, The Folk Cafe, opened its doors in June 2014. Although it’s not located in the most salubrious of settings, being on the often forgotten, southern side of Nethergate, the building that the cafe is adjoined to is the rather impressive Meadowside St Paul’s Church.

At a glance, this cafe could be mistaken for a tiny coffee shop filled with a deli counter and 2 tables by the window. 

However, what you find when you go in is that the majority of seating is down a spiral staircase. The lower section can also be accessed by a side door and an elaborate ramp which makes it very wheelchair and pram friendly. 

As it wasn’t too clear whether we should order at the counter then take a seat downstairs, we admired the array of tarts, omelettes and salads on display before hazarding a guess and heading down without ordering.

We were greeted by a cheery waitress who led us through the bustle of diners to a table for 2 in the corner. We arrived at the peak lunchtime hour of 1pm so there weren’t many spaces available which was a promising sign.

The tables and chairs of different styles are casually set out with a few benches running along the walls. On the walls are different pieces of colourful, abstract artwork, mainly of distorted faces, which brighten up the room. 

The lightshades are perforated spheres which noticeably create a discoball effect on the walls and ceiling. All of this combined with the music tinkling away in the background made for a pleasant atmosphere.

Once seated, we were given menus and the blackboard of daily specials was pointed out to us. 

The Cafe serves breakfast until 11.30am, offering full breakfasts, scrambled eggs on toast and hot baps or for the more health conscious, some options were french toast with fresh fruit or natural yoghurt with granola and berry compote.

For lunch you are given choices like sandwiches, wraps, salads, tarts and omelettes. It was refreshing to see some variety and imagination on offer beyond the usual suspects such as ‘ham and cheese panini’ or ‘tuna mayonnaise sandwich’. 

I based my choice on seeing the counter on arrival and ordered an aubergine, halloumi, tomato and sage tart which comes with a choice of 2 of the salads. 

My lunch partner picked the chicken, avocado, lemon mayo sandwich which came with green salad however decided to add a side of the couscous salad to it. 

We were served quickly and finished our food within 40 minutes so we noted that if we only had an hour lunch break that we would not have to rush back to the office if it was around a 10 minute walk away.

Both plates of food were colourful, filling and delicious. The tart was light and crispy and the Greek and potato salads that I chose were juicy and refreshing. My partner enjoyed her sandwich which came on rustic bread but her highlight was the curry and apple couscous that she had chosen to add herself.

On this occasion, we decided not to indulge in any of the ‘sweet stuff’ on the menu but the cakes and traybakes on display did not look like they would disappoint. They were perched on their stands tempting nearby customers looking all homemade and devilish. We sneaked passed them to the till to pay.

Although it’s not that obvious from the opposite side of the road, giving The Folk Cafe more than a half glance is definitely worth it for the warm, friendly atmosphere and unique range of food available. They also have a smaller, sister café called ‘The Parlour’ located on Westport. 

Visit them on facebook to find out more.

Our Rating: 

Service – 4

Cooking – 5

Atmosphere – 4

Music - 4

Price - 4 

Inspiration 3

SCAMPI Rating – 24/30