Above the Bookshop

Genuinely one of the loveliest cafes I’ve been to! Cosy, with a great menu. If you are a book lover you will never want to leave.

The cafe is lovely. I really appreciate the lack of internet deterring laptop working, which means this is one of the only cafes in Falmouth that isn’t full of that. Sadly, the ‘silent book club’ hasn’t been great. I’ve been three times now and two of those have been a really unpleasant environment for people coming alone (not the staff, who have been lovely). There is a massive group of cliquey regulars who scalp chairs from nearby tables, leaving people sitting alone. I’ve watched a girl on a table of four (evidently to invite people to sit with her) have every single chair taken away, leaving her alone (unfortunately this was the one time where I’d managed to sit with someone!) I’ve asked to sit with people, thinking that was the purpose of the event, to be told that seats are being reserved. It’s a lovely premise, but in practice it’s like witnessing a cruel study on human behaviour. Maybe incorporate ‘chairs stay where they are’ rule to encourage the dominating individuals to split up, and stop people who’ve put themselves out there being alienated?

A lovely little spot with a relaxed, bookish atmosphere – like a library where chatting is encouraged. Great coffee, the cakes are excellent, with a nice balance of sweet and savoury options. Staff were warm and welcoming. First visit, and I’ll definitely be back.

Books and coffee are the best combo love the staff, the cakes are SO good, everything is homemade, the themed drinks are cool. Honestly, I could write a book on how much I love this place

Perfect place for a cosy afternoon with a book! Loved the new look of the space up here, excellent cream teas and comfy window seats. The staff were also very friendly and made us feel welcome.

Very relaxed atmosphere, clean and tidy, the savoury scones were lovely. Recommend the dark hot chocolate, truly delicious. Can't wait to come back soon :)

Really chilled tea shop. Highly recommend. Peaceful and nice staff. We had a great cream tea.

Where to start? It's a really lovely cafe and being book themed was a big draw for me. If you're lucky enough to get a window table, which I wasn't, it must be a lovely people watching spot. I ended up on a table next to the central book display so that suited me fine. There are books all over the place, though it doesn't feel cluttered or over the top. Every table has a book themed name and there's the option of big or small tables. I had the savoury cream tea as I've always wanted to try one. The scones were lovely and fresh, but I do feel like two scones is too much, so the option to have one or two would be better. Also the cream cheese and the chutney portions were not enough for two scones. The tea was good though, with decent sized cups and a nice proper tea pot and china mug rather than the metal ones so many places use now. I really really want to go back and try other things because the toasties and cakes look delicious and there's The Library drinks menu that sounds fabulous. If I still lived close by I'd be there every week. One thing that bothered me a bit. Laptop users. There were notices to say that priority went to those wanting to use the cafe as a cafe at busy times and there was an alternative space for those working. But during my visit, one of the biggest and best tables by the window was taken up by two laptop users who didn't appear to be utilising the cafe very much and some people came in and turned away because there was no space. It did have a sense of becoming a work and study space. This isn't really a criticism of the cafe or the staff because it's hard to predict how busy things will be. But I'd like to suggest perhaps having one or two laptop free tables. I know another cafe that do this and they have a lot of people who use the smaller spaces for work and then two large spaces for socialising. Finally, I took part in the first Bookish Quiz night here and that was really fun! Good selection alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. Really enjoyed myself (not just because our team won) and hope to attend another sometime. I will definitely be back when I can.