Home + Nature

Article By Mike Leaner

B1, Song Yuan Square, Outside South Gate
城墙南侧松园负一层17号
185 7173 4529
11:00am – 10:30pm

Average Price per Person /人均消费: 30 RMB
depending on how snack-happy you get

CONS:Spectacular atmosphere, nice drinks

PROS:No food unless a certain employee is around

One of the best things about a coffee shop is the aroma. The scent of freshly brewed beans and baked goods can be more inviting than home, and do a lot of the heavy lifting for setting a café’s atmosphere.

1If we’re going to be talking about atmosphere, Home + Nature has it in spades. It’s located outside of South Gate west of the traffic circle. If you know where Kuni Blue is, you’re in the right place, but you just need to take a quick jaunt to the other side of the complex, and you’ll find H+N tucked in the corner.

The aforementioned aroma is definitely the most striking thing about the place on first entry. My nostrils were greeted with an immediate rush of apples and cinnamon, I assume from their apple crumb cake, and that pleasant aroma was ensconced in every corner of the room. Swanky leather seats at homey, distressed wood coffee tables rub elbows with slick, beautifully designed metal-and-wood high top table sets. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is in the top three nicest coffee shops in the entire city.

I went to Home + Nature for an afternoon sit and to get some serious work done, and my order was Spartan to match—just a tea and a piece of the apple crumb cake I was smelling (which they initially refused to provide me with until someone could come supervise its preparation, which took a hot minute or two), both of which I enjoyed thoroughly. Aside from that there was a tiny offering of food, including a couple of cakes and treats and a seafood spaghetti plate, but a lot of drinks. There were plenty of teas, some smoothies, a bit of coffee and a shocking amount of booze. There’s a lot of variety and the type of variety will almost invariably force you to try something new, and if you’re buying what they’re selling that’s a very good thing.

H+N is definitely going for the higher end of things, that much is clear. However, while more variety and fancy-sounding drinks are all well and good, the other side of that coin is that their spread seemed a little unfocused. But that’s just me armchair quarterbacking. My productive afternoon was made nicer and more productive in their space, and I had a couple of nice treats to go with it. What more can I really ask for?

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