JEDDAH, 21 July — Barnie’s is unique. I mean it serves coffee like nobody else. Their amazing coffee beans come all the way from Brazil. You can buy a kilo for only SR55. There is also an attractive display of china from England and Turkey. There are some cute mugs with star signs on them and teacups for every month of the year. I saw some adorable cup holders that look like Teddy bears as well as some plates.
The place is rather small. They have only two round tables at the front where you stand and sip delicious drinks while chatting with friends or reading the paper. I find this perhaps unnatural and certainly uncomfortable. Why haven’t they at least put some stools at the tables? No problem at all, however, with their pastries. Yummy croissants with a variety of fillings, doughnuts, muffins and sometimes little cakes.
One problem with Barnie’s which is very discouraging, is that there is no family section. Women who go in must endure the stares of male customers. What happens is of course that women send their drivers or some male family member to buy what they want. Still the coffee is great and that is why people go there. If what you need to brighten your day with a good cup of coffee, go to Barnie’s. Their cappuccino is both amazing and addictive and so is their cafe mocha. I also think that their hot chocolate is to die for. I have heard many people praise their American coffee as well as their Arabic and Turkish which you can have according to your taste: Light, medium, dark or black.The chocochino is quite the thing. It’s supposed to be a cross between a cappuccino and a chocolate drink and it is special.
They also have a selection of cold drinks that will leave you cool and refreshed. I urge you to try them, especially now in the hot summer days. They have ice mango ice, ice strawberry and ice orange ice in addition to their fabulous ice cappuccino. I absolutely positively recommend their ice chocolate. It is full of crushed ice and is soft, smooth and perfection.
As for their tea, there is also a long list. Although, I have to say, most of what is on the list is not available. They don’t have Ceylon tea nor papung tea nor rosehip nor hibiscus nor Prince of Wales — which I was especially eager to try. You can find Earl Grey, mint, jasmine, lemon and passion fruit if that is any consolation. All drinks are available with flavors if you’re interested. They have caramel, butterscotch, French vanilla, almond mocha, chocolate hazelnut, chocolate fudge and chocolate peanut butter.
As for the service, friendly comes to mind. I’ll tell you why I think so. A friend and I were once in the mood for a chocochino and for some reason, Barnie’s was out of chocolate that afternoon. Luckily we had a bar of chocolate with us and so they were nice enough to fix our chocochinos with out chocolate bar. I appreciated the fact that they not only accommodated but satisfied us. I have been a loyal customer ever since! Barnie’s is on Tahlia Street near Stallion’s. There are also branches in Oasis Mall, Hera’a Mall and even in the King Faisal Specialist Hospital. And if you want a drink on the road, Barnie’s drive-throughs are all over Jeddah.
