Supper Club: Upside Down

In his second time hosting the BSC Supper Club – a new series of food reviews – foody Tim Christian visits the cafe promising to bring coffee culture to Blackpool and finds much more besides

When looking for recommendations for new and interesting places to eat in Blackpool, one of the most regular suggestions I’ve had was for the next place on my list – Upside Down on Edward Street, just off the square by St John’s Church (very quickly becoming something of a go-to area for fans of good, local food and drink). It’s also a destination I’ve seen popping up on that eternal pantheon of lifestyle advice, the Instagram story feed, so naturally I decided it was a place that required investigation.

Their website (yes, a website, something of a rarity in the social media age) sets the tone as it lays out their admirable mission in no uncertain terms. Hoping to be the beginning (although not, as they stress, the end) of an as yet absent coffee culture in Blackpool, Upside Down also claims a “small but punchy offering with our low-waste aspirations and limited space leading us to indulge/torment customers with preserved, fermented and dehydrated additions to dishes”. On top of this they also have a selection of plants within the cafe for decoration and available to buy.

Once upon a time, in a conversation about eating in Italy, I was told one sign of the quality of an eating establishment was the size of the menu; generally speaking, the smaller the menu, the better the food. Indeed, I was told that you can find some smaller, family-run restaurants where there is only one dish on offer for the evening – whatever the chef has decided to make that night. That menu quality/size balance may or may not be true (although anyone who’s eaten at some of the dire all-you-can-eat “world cuisine” restaurants might agree heartily), but Upside Down’s modestly-sized menu nevertheless looks like all killer and no filler.

I smugly justified this indulgence to myself on the grounds of having walked into town from the far-off lands of Layton but, really, when the food is this good it justifies itself.

My mission for Blackpool Social Club’s Supper Club is to find anywhere that offered something above and beyond the tired and testing staples of cafes and eateries that this town has always offered and, in Upside Down, we’ve hit the jackpot.

I travelled into town on a particularly damp Sunday, parking up near Layton and walking into the centre (health kick going strong), so I was very ready to dry out and warm up when I arrived. Walking past Common (another one on the list) I arrived to see reassuringly steamed windows and opened the door to an extremely attractive cafe which, at that time, was empty except for the staff. Although the sign said to wait until seated, I was gestured inside and offered to take a seat where I liked and found a nice small table in the corner as is my won’t.

I’m going to keep referring to this because… well, it keeps coming up, but aesthetics are at the core of everything Upside Down has to offer. While managing to avoid the pitfalls of pretentiousness, everything here is just so. Clean, simple, light and airy, and surrounded by the plants that make up part of their USP, Upside Down is just an extremely good-looking space to inhabit. The staff were extremely welcoming and extremely apologetic that their coffee machine was on the blink (possibly a minor disaster for the coffee culture of Blackpool that day, but fairly immaterial for me, a non-coffee drinker). After I sat down I was brought a complimentary bottle of water (with a little poppy top like Grolsch!) with a glass and the day’s menu – a nice touch.

Part of the appeal of Upside Down is the menu, as well as being very select, is also constantly being reviewed and changed. While there are a few longer-term staples such as the chaat kebab, nothing is sacred and fixed (in a good way), and new dishes make regular appearances. There are also differences between the midweek menu and the weekend menu, with the former given over to more specials and new dishes, while the weekend focuses on the tried and true crowd-pleasers.

As such, the dish I had on my first visit – a cheese and kimchi toastie – is no longer part of the menu, however in subsequent visits (and there have been many) I have been delighted by the chaat kebab, the meatball foca, the seitan pastrami bagel, the mushroom stacos and the extremely popular breakfast bun, to name a few. Without hyperbole, every single one of these has been an absolute triumph. I’ve never had a meal that I’ve disliked, or even one that’s just been ok, every single time it’s been a wonderful synergy of taste and presentation and I’ve totally smashed it and left nothing behind.

To discuss Upside Down without also covering the drinks on offer would be to do them and you a disservice. Coffee is central to their mission statement, after all. As I mentioned, I’m no great coffee drinker myself, but the constant plethora of praise that the coffee aficionados of Blackpool heap on the place speaks for itself, and I can attest to the extremely high quality of the soft drinks (including the ubiquitous Blackpool-adopted Scottish Water, Irn Bru) and especially the tea, which I do have something of a love of.

Another quick note on presentation. The tea is served in a delicate glass or terracotta, single-serving teapot (free refills/extra infusions are available, depending on the type of tea). This is another testament to Upside Down’s dedication for quality and style – it both avoids stewing the tea and it looks pretty damn cool. *Fun fact: the tea is also served in a glass which, although it may seem unusual, actually allows for greater appreciation for the flavour of the tea because a thinner rim allows more air to enter the mouth while drinking, which facilitates the flavour on the tongue. It’s why wine tasters slurp.

But back to the food. That’s what you hogs are here for, isn’t it? On their website, Upside Down warns that it works on an a la carte basis and everything is prepared freshly, so dishes come as and when they are ready, but despite this the wait is never excessive, even at busy times. As expected here, everything is extremely well-presented wi’ little dots of sauce an’ everythin’, and it almost seems a shame to start eating it. But you must.

The balance of flavours exquisite. Never too heavy, never insubstantial, this is food made by people who genuinely care about the quality of what they make and take evident pride in how they make it.

After polishing off your meal with as much dignity as you can maintain, your thoughts will turn to the selection of cakes on offer. On this first occasion I chose from a small but delicious sounding selection and opted for a semla bun – a generous looking cardamom bun with an almond paste filling and whipped cream and a staple in Scandinavia in Lent, apparently. There was nothing modest about this bun but such is my dedication to the foodie cause that I smashed the whole thing anyway. I did it for this review. I did it for science. Reader, I did it for you. You’re welcome. The semla was yet another accomplishment in balance, providing bready goodness, lifted by an almond paste that never threatened to overpower and just the right amount of cream. I smugly justified this indulgence to myself on the grounds of having walked into town from the far-off lands of Layton but, really, when the food is this good it justifies itself.

It was while negotiating with the bun that I had a Good Customer Service Moment. Due to the lack of coffee machine and the increasing busyness of the cafe, a member of staff came out of the kitchen to ask if I was finished with my teapot as they were running out, and also to ask how my food was. I answered positively on both counts, as articulately as I could through mouthfuls of bun and my empty teapot was taken. They then came back out to apologise and to ask again if everything was ok. I let them know how much I was enjoying it (again, as undignified as it was, through mouthfuls of food) and they seemed genuinely appreciative and pleased. A brief human moment, but a valuable one.

All round Upside Down presented a great experience, from the ambience of the cafe, to the excellent food and the personal touch of the customer service, even when things weren’t exactly going to plan, the whole trip was a worthwhile one and one that demanded repetition. I can’t recommend Upside Down enough, and if it’s indicative of the quality of the burgeoning list of new and exciting food and drink places opening up in the town, I’m looking forward to the future of Blackpool’s culinary and social scene.

Upside Down is at 28 Edward Street. Visit their website here.