Review: The Soulshine Cafe, Bridport

In February this year a delayed flight meant that I had an unexpected night in Los Angeles with my family. The next day we had a few hours to kill before heading back to the airport and decided to hire bikes and cycle along the scenic Manhatten Beach trail. There were so many cafés and juice bars along the route and we talked about how fantastic it would be to have something with a similarly laid back vibe in Bridport.

And now there is! The Soulshine Cafe opened three months ago and is such a refreshing addition to our already vibrant market town.

It's the place to go for smoothies and fresh juices - you can either order one from the counter at the front, which also sells their own artisan bread and deli items, or stroll through to the bright and lively cafe at the back, which opens onto a beautiful outside courtyard.They also sell art and lifestyle magazines which can be difficult to get hold of in this part of the world!

So much thought has gone into every aspect of the stylish design - there is a little annexe containing a herb garden and even a cute understairs area where children can play with vintage toys.

Just as much passion has gone into creating the locally-sourced menus with snacks and meals to suit every appetite and plenty of vegetarian and vegan food on offer. The menu is displayed on a big blackboard:

We started off by ordering some juice - there is a great selection to suit any mood! I ordered the detox juice (a blend of beetroot, carrot, apple ginger and lemon) and Mr DF had Buzz Like A Bee, a delicious concoction of apple, celery, cucumber, kale and coconut water.

They are so addictive and I love how they serve them in jam jars:

In addition to their healthy blended treats, they also offer a hearty brunch menu. Mr DF was about to leave for a weekend sailing, so he stocked up with the Full English while I had the Scrambled Eggs with Chorizo. Such a delicious treat, and we both loved the freshly baked sourdough bread.

I also spotted lots of stacks of Canadian pancakes being ordered, popular with both adults and children:

We finished with our favourite flat white coffee, the best in town:

And check out the tempting selection of cakes (we were too full unfortunately!)

The cool wall decor includes maps and graphic design prints:

Without a doubt, this will become a regular place for me to go for coffee with friends or take the boys for a smoothie after school. If you are local and haven't yet discovered Soulshine then you are in for a treat and if you are on holiday in the area, I would definitely recommend it for brunch to set you up for the day!

And finishing as always with my outfit! It was a warm sunny day, so I wore my floral ASOS midi skirt that I bought for my Dad's 70th birthday lunch a couple of weeks ago, an Abercrombie tee that I bought in Miami last year and H&M tan and snake print flat sandals that I bought in Exeter last week. The bag is by Nat & Nin at Yard and the necklace is from Links of London, a present from my Mum a couple of years ago.

Hope everyone is enjoying this lovely weather.

Back soon with a post all about maxi skirts!

Abbi x

If you would like your restaurant to feature on Dorset Fashionista please contact me on abbiibell@gmail.com

Disclosure: The brunch at the Soulshine was provided free of charge but all the opinions are my own.