Atelier, Berwick-Upon-Tweed

Atelier has the feel of a wine bar. Although most of its customers were drinking beer on my early Wednesday evening visit. With no spare tables and both stools at the bar taken, it is the kind of place that I would have been turned away from during the dark days of Covid and its various restrictions. But the all female staff were quite happy with me having a drink whilst stood at the bar. Three cask ales are on offer. These were Born Blonde & Amber & Great North Eastern Rivet Catcher. None of these are particularly up my street. But there was nothing wrong with the conditioning. This certainly appears to be a popular place and situated just opposite the alleyway leading to the Curfew, it is worth a try if in Berwick.

Upmarket but laid-back foody place (‘Charcuterie’, dontchaknow) that nonetheless has a small bar area with the cask and a few keg. Ale from Orkney, Grand Northern Metro (NBSS 3, served in one those naff little goblets) and one I forgot to note but all a bit on the samey side, style-wise. Long and front facing with a slightly odd red and muddy green colour scheme. To the right is an old pharmacy cupboard filled with knick-knacks which was of passing interest. Plenty of people in on a grey dank Monday almost all eating, so they are certainly doing something right – if I hadn’t already chowed-down at the Curfew I might have been tempted myself. Worth a look, especially if you want some sustenance. 6.5

The prominent sign "Cafe.Charcuterie.Bar" perhaps tells you most of what you need to know about Atelier (which is French for 'Workshop', by the way). There were five keg fonts on the go as well as three hand pumps, but all three cask beers were blonde or gold, which is a downer as far as I'm concerned. This is a double shop unit conversion, with the bar counter in the right hand side near the entrance, and at the time of my mid-evening visit on a Saturday it was busy and hot, with the windows well steamed up. The charcuterie counter is in the left hand side. Loud music fills both parts of the cafe, which encourages people to yell at each other at the tops of their voices, though it's quite possible some of them don't need any encouragement. I had a swift half of Swannay Magnus Blonde 4.3%, purely on the basis that I've had beers from this brewery before and know that they are well made even if not necessarily to my taste. The others were Hadrian & Borders Northumbrian Gold and Fyne Ales Jarl; the Swannay turned out to be more copper in colour than blonde, according to my notes made at the time, though with 18 months having passed, I cannot recall anything about the taste. (If it had been off I would have noted it, so it must have at least been drinkable.) Please note this bar closes at 10pm: I missed out when I was here a few months prior to my actual visit and tried to get a drink at 22:20, so I assume it's a condition of their license. Date of visit: 23rd November 2019