Cars, Coffee & Cafés

If we were there and if we could have heard them behind their big smut-suppressing scarf, likely the first words the first driver would have said to their passengers would have been ‘where shall we go?’ And very likely the answer, because this was Britain after all, would have been ‘cup of tea?’

Today, the beverage of choice would more likely be coffee, in one of its many milky or frothy variations, but driving out for a drink with mates has been at the heart of motoring since Karl Benz said ‘…and I call it der MotorWagen.’ We owe it to ’50s and ’60s bikers for popularising existing truck stops like the Ace Cafe, which served as useful assembly points for mass jaunts to the coast. The sight of all the bikes and greasers proved so evocative that it inspired a whole new type of bike, the Café Racer.

While the marriage of burger bars and cars proliferated in the USA, here in Blighty, for decades, the idea didn’t really catch on beyond bikers. A few small venues popped up, like the wonderful Gilks Cafe in Kineton, but the sense of a ‘trend’ was missing.

That didn’t stop fans of two and four wheels congregating, of course. What could? Morning ‘Cars & Coffee’ events have been springing up in fields and the forecourts of classic specialists for years, while endless Club events, of course, cater for our deep desire to get together and talk machines. Given the opportunity, we all love to meet other enthusiasts and feel that sense of connection and shared joy.

COVID, the rise of Instagram and the demise of the traditional boozer created a perfect storm for the avalanche of ‘cars and coffee’ cafés that we lucky enthusiasts are witnessing today.

It began with Caffeine & Machine, which took a hugely popular event in Dubai and transposed it to the Cotswolds. Based around the idea of a traditional ‘road house’, C&M has become the template for the raft of cafés that have followed. Namely, create a car-themed bar or café with ample parking. Add in some simple carb-based food, run some themed events and, well bingo.

C&M caught on because it was the first, and it cleverly harnessed the Insta generation. Other venues have taken a more low-key, less glossy approach. The Motorist in Yorkshire, The Piston Club in Warwickshire and the biker-oriented Baffle Haus near Pontypool have all put their love of wheels first and foremost.

So what is it, beyond a love of good java, that fuels these cafés? Of course, it’s obvious. We are passionate about our machines. We want to use them, we want to explore and to go to new places. And often, when we go there, we want to meet people, like-minded people who get why we love the drama and the detail of two and four wheels. They might be people we know, or more likely people we don’t. Cafés are those meeting points, places where we can converse over food and drink, making connections flow more easily.

Whenever I go to a motoring café, I’m always struck by how relaxed it is. Nobody is getting lairy with anyone else. It’s never about to kick off. There’s just the burble of engines and the hum of conversation, interspersed with enthusiastic shouts and with laughter. You can arrive alone and wander, and whichever one you visit, you’re guaranteed to end up talking to someone. Before you know it, you’ve whiled away 30 minutes debating whether the Stag was stymied by its engineering or construction, or the differences between the C-Series engine in the Austin Healey and the MGC. This is the sort of stuff that would get rolling eyes anywhere else, but at a motoring café, you know you’re in good company.

The growth in motoring cafés means that, today, whichever direction you turn out of your drive, you’re likely to find one. That is fantastic for our shared love of machines.

Below, in no particular order, are some of our top café choices. There are many more – let us know which ones you love – and we might have missed.

Our Top 10 Favourite Cafés:

1. The Piston Club
2. Gilks’ Cafe
3. Caffeine & Machine (several venues)
4. The Motorist
5. Baffle Haus
6. Gasoline Juice
7. NY500
8. Ace Cafe
9. The Drive at Haddo
10. Re:Fuel