A coffee and cake crawl through Hull

Hull's specialty coffee scene grew quietly through the 2010s, steadied by one important local roaster and a cluster of owner-operators who treated the city's 2017 UK City of Culture designation as a proper start rather than a finish line. The Fruit Market, a regenerated block of Victorian warehouses between the Old Town and the Humber waterfront, anchors the southern end of the scene. Newland Avenue, the city's independent retail street, holds its own a twenty-minute walk north. This crawl takes in both, plus the tight network of lanes and arcade passages that thread the Old Town in between. Allow four to five hours.

1. Milchig, Paragon Arcade

Start at the Victorian Paragon Arcade, a short walk from Hull Paragon station. Milchig has grown since 2020 from a small Scandinavian-inspired bakery into one of the most distinctive coffee stops in the city. Flat whites and oat lattes are made with care, and the pastry counter is worth inspecting slowly before you decide.

Take your time here. There is no rush at the beginning of a crawl, and the arcade itself, with its ornate ironwork and glazed roof, is worth looking at.

2. Hearth, King Street

A five-minute walk east through the Old Town brings you to Hearth on King Street, beside Trinity Square and Hull Minster. Chef Ryan Telford and head baker Caitlin Ogden opened the ground-floor bakery in 2022 and have since earned a Michelin Guide listing for the restaurant upstairs. The reason to come in the morning is simpler: sourdough and laminated pastries baked fresh, with a coffee programme that matches the kitchen's ambitions.

The view from the front window looks directly across Trinity Square. If the pastries are still warm, eat one at the window.

3. Liquid Jade, Whitefriargate

Continue along Whitefriargate, Hull's pedestrianised main street, and look for the archway. Liquid Jade is tucked behind it, an easy place to walk past if you do not know it is there. Inside, a house blend of Brazilian and Guatemalan beans is ground to order alongside a menu of more than forty loose-leaf teas. Cakes, sandwiches and wraps cover the food; vegan and gluten-free options are reliably stocked.

It is a quiet spot and a good one for a mid-morning pause before moving further into the Old Town.

4. McCoy's, Old Town

McCoy's is one of the few Hull cafes to roast its own beans on site. The Old Town location is compact but the programme is serious: in-house roasted single origins on espresso and filter, alongside seasonal brunch plates made with properly sourced ingredients.

If you are eating at any point on this crawl, this is the stop. The roasting operation is small but genuine, and the staff are happy to talk through what is on the bar.

5. Thieving Harry's, Humber Street

Head south from the Old Town towards the waterfront and the Fruit Market. Thieving Harry's started as a pop-up on Humber Street in 2011 and has long since become a fixture of the neighbourhood. It sources its espresso from the Blending Room, Hull's own specialty roastery founded in 2009, and rotates its seasonal blends throughout the year.

The converted warehouse interior is easy and unhurried. A large window faces the public square. Order a flat white, find a seat near the glass, and stay longer than you plan to.

6. Planet Coffee, Newland Avenue

The final stop requires a short bus ride or a twenty-minute walk north to Newland Avenue. Planet Coffee at number 162 has been on the avenue long enough to feel genuinely of the neighbourhood: squishy sofas downstairs, a terrace out front, a broad menu of coffees, hot chocolates and smoothies made with care rather than complication.

It is the right way to finish a crawl. Sit outside if the day allows, order something warm, and take stock of everything you have drunk since the Paragon Arcade.

Common questions

How long does this Hull coffee crawl take?

Allow four to five hours at a comfortable pace. Stops one to five are within easy walking distance of each other in the city centre and Old Town. The final stop on Newland Avenue adds around twenty minutes on foot or a short bus ride north on services running along Beverley Road and Newland Avenue.

Which stop has the best food?

Hearth on King Street is the strongest for baking, with fresh sourdough and pastries from an in-house bakery alongside a Michelin-listed restaurant upstairs. McCoy's is the best choice for a full brunch plate made with locally sourced ingredients.

Where is coffee roasted locally in Hull?

The Blending Room has been roasting specialty coffee in Hull since 2009 from its base at the Boulevard factory estate in the west of the city, and supplies several cafes on this crawl. McCoy's also roasts its own beans on site at the Old Town cafe.

Is the Fruit Market easy to reach from Hull Paragon station?

Yes. It is a fifteen-minute walk south from the station, or a short taxi ride. The Fruit Market area is flat and fully pedestrianised, with cafes, galleries and independent shops concentrated within a few streets around Humber Street.