Meli cafe

the filter coffee here is the kind of thing you slow down for, not something to grab and go. meli sits on northumberland street, which puts it right in the thick of newcastle's main retail drag, and that contrast matters: the street moves fast, this place doesn't. you'll find it draws a loyal crowd, the sort that keeps coming back week after week, which tends to say more about consistency than any single visit could. the milk-based drinks are taken seriously too, not just treated as an afterthought to the espresso. nothing about what meli does feels like it's coasting. on a grey northeast afternoon, the filter is where to start.