Cafe Tiere by The Sea

February 22, 2016 by Jo Overfield

Cafe Tiere by The Sea

Tattoos and beauty therapy aren’t the first things that spring to mind when you get talking to a new coffee shop owner, but that’s exactly what Dean Kermack tells me he was doing before, as I take a stool at the new and improved ‘Café Tiere By The Sea’.

Along with wife Karen, Dean has taken over the management at the Rectory Grove branch of Café Tiere in Leigh-on-Sea.

So why the leap into the coffee shop industry?

After realising that the local area was inundated with beauticians and tattoo specialists, combined with a lifelong passion to run their own café, the Kormack’s decided ‘what’s stopping them?’ Dean could see that the original Leigh-on-Sea branch was in need of a change; so one barista course later, and with support from both Café Tiere Berrys Arcade and Café Tiere East in Rayleigh, he decided to improve the layout.

I remember the café before having a typical, standard set up with tables and chairs, nothing particularly inviting at first glance. Now there’s more of an ‘open plan’ setting with leather sofas, cool checkered tables (if the mood for playing games takes you), shelves of books to read, a sprawling menu, variety of teas on display, it’s a very relaxing approach.

It reminds me, only slightly, of the womb-like comfort I feel when I go into Café Utopia in Southend.

Dean says he wanted the café to be a relaxing place to go, a place to talk to friends and feel at home. He remembers places like the Sun Rooms (RIP), in nearby Southend, where anyone could go to get a coffee or a drink and talk to each other feeling relaxed and welcome.

Dean grew up in and around Leytonstone, East London, moving to Essex in the early 80s, so when I ask him what food they specialise in it didn’t surprise me to hear “coffee & bagels”; as many good, authentic bagel bakeries are often based in East London.

In fact Dean’s supplier for his bagels at the cafe are sourced and bought from a much loved, well known bagel bakery in Gants Hill. The bagel names do feature strongly on the menu; there’s ‘The West’; melted cheese and salad leaves, ‘The Upstream’; smoked salmon and cream cheese, and many others, most are cute little nods to Leigh-on-Sea.

I tried ‘The Broadway’ – guacamole, beef tomato, salad leaves and a Mexican chilli cheese, it normally comes with bacon but I’m vegetarian and Dean and Karen were more than happy to prepare one for me without the meat.

My ‘Broadway’ bagel was served on a wooden board with a small helping of salad and homemade coleslaw. I was excited to try the bagel after hearing about where it came from. I wasn’t disappointed, it was a classic bagel with a tender chew; as it should be, and the filling had a subtle chilli kick that I enjoyed. My drink came recommended by Dean; a peanut butter and jam herbal tea!

Turns out teas have become a new passion of his since taking over Café Tiere, Dean wants to include up to 30 different teas in the near future. He just has two requirements; “locally sourced and interesting”. I loved the peanut butter and jam tea, I’m a herbal tea drinker (much different to a secret lemonade one) and even we get bored by our own ordering habits sometimes. So to try new and unique flavoured teas is a treat. I definitely recommend this and I can’t wait to try the ‘Pina colada’ tea next time.

As well as authentic bagels and a variety of teas, Café Tiere By The Sea offers good coffee, homemade salt beef, panini’, sandwiches, homemade cakes, milkshakes, smoothies and a breakfast menu until 11.30am. They are open Tuesday to Sunday, 9am-4pm and 10am-2pm on Sundays.

Dean and Karen are friendly, family orientated, passionate and keen to learn more about their new trade. They were more than welcoming towards me, happy to talk and seemed to really care about their customers.

You can visit Cafe Tiere at Rectory Grove (nest to the Post Office), Leigh-on-Sea