Flat White, Durham

Durham's best-known coffee is really two places a few minutes apart on the peninsula under the cathedral. Flat White Café on Elvet Bridge opened in 2010, long before speciality coffee was everywhere. It's a small, characterful room with seats spilling outside onto whatever flat surface the cobbles allow.

Its bigger sibling, Flat White Kitchen, sits up the hill on Saddler Street in a 17th-century townhouse spread over several floors. Expect a queue, often out of the door. It moves for good reason: the brunch menu, especially the pancakes, is as much of a draw as the coffee.

The coffee

Both serve Ouseburn Coffee Co from Newcastle on espresso. Go to the Café for a quiet flat white by the river, or the Kitchen if you want breakfast with it and don't mind waiting.