If you are after a quiet spot for breakfast or a long lunch in Bournemouth, Moka Pot is worth knowing about. It sits at 44 Seamoor Road in Westbourne, and it is the kind of place that works as well for a proper meal as it does for a coffee and a pastry while you get some work done. It opened back in 2020 with a fairly clear ambition: to blend Sicilian flavours with British classics, and the result is a menu that leans on both traditions without trying too hard to be either.
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The sweet side is what gets most of the attention. There are pistachio-filled croissants, cannoli and celebration cakes, all homemade, and they sit alongside the coffee and tea that give the place its name. On the savoury side, the menu runs from breakfast through to lunch, with arancini, a chorizo and egg breakfast served with sweet potatoes, courgettes and onions, and a selection of pasta dishes. Sandwiches, pancakes and cocktails are also on offer, so it is not just a morning stop. A meal here tends to land in the £10 to £20 range, which keeps it firmly in the territory of an everyday neighbourhood café rather than a special occasion.
Behind the counter are Giulia and her husband, who are credited with creating what has been described as a piece of Italy in Bournemouth. The place has a loyal following, which shows in the numbers: a customer rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars from 386 reviews, and a full five-out-of-five hygiene rating from the Food Standards Agency. The reviews tend to land on the same few things: fresh food, genuine hospitality and friendly service, which is exactly what you want from a local.
It is worth knowing that the place has not had a straightforward run of it. The original company behind it, Moka Pot Ltd, went into voluntary liquidation after a second branch in Bournemouth town centre failed, leaving the business with a debt of £278,789. The Westbourne café was saved when a new company, Delicious Food Ltd, set up by Andrew Muir, bought it in November and kept the same staff and the same way of doing things. Muir has since said that any plans to grow the business are on hold while the economy is uncertain, which is a sensible line to take given the history.
That history has not changed much about what it is day to day. It remains a neighbourhood spot where local residents, visitors and people working nearby drop in for a meal, a bit of remote working or an informal meeting. It opens Monday to Saturday from 07:30 to 15:30, and a little later on Sundays, from 08:30 to 15:30, so it is easy to build into a morning routine. If you want to book or check something before you head down, you can reach them on +44 1202 911810 or at hello@mokapotwestbourne.com. For a place that has come out the other side of a messy corporate chapter still doing good food and coffee, it is a nice example of a local business that found a way to keep going.
