Fade to Black

I’ve lived near the Quadrant shops in St Albans for many years and I don’t think I’ve eaten lunch there, or been for a coffee; living just five minutes walk away makes it hard to justify! A new cafe has changed that, and I have now been three times to Fade to Black, as everyone seems curious to try it.

Fade to Black is owned by locals Vicky and Lee, who also own a cafe in Hanwell. The cafe has a great look, with dark grey painted walls, an exposed concrete ceiling, reclaimed wood counter and old school chairs. The space is larger than I expected, and there is seating for about 30 people, and when I went in one morning it was pretty full, with people having breakfast or working away at their laptops. It has a nice family-friendly feel too, and there is a large chalkboard on the wall near the loos that will amuse kids (or adults, of course!) for a while, as well as a box of toys.

Coffee is by Ozone who are based in Shoreditch and it’s great; a good depth of flavour and with the all-important crema. You can get all the usual coffees including flat whites, espressos, long black, cappuccino and latte and my long mac was perfect. They do a good range of teas and turmeric chai latte too; I had a rooibos one afternoon and it came in a smart pot that made enough for two good cupfuls. Prices compare well with the city centre coffee shops.

There is a nice selection of cakes and pastries on the counter; I noticed a gluten-free toffee cake, as well as brownies, flapjacks and carrot cake, and my caramel slice was excellent. Cakes and bakes are made locally by Lucy O’Reilly, and Jane’s Bakes in Wheathamstead.

They can make fresh juices while you wait, and they keep the menu simple, so no staring at an over-complicated menu trying to work out what the green goddess is. Simply choose one, two, or three juices from the list of orange, grapefruit, apple, carrot, beetroot, cucumber and spinach. You can add a shot of ginger or turmeric too. My orange and grapefruit juice was delicious.

The all day food menu has a really sensible range for what they can make in their open kitchen and I think is great value with most things under a fiver. It is mainly toasties, sandwiches and wraps, and my chilli smashed avocado on toasted sourdough for 4.20 was generous and the avos were perfectly ripe. I’ll choose the toasted tuna with tomato, paprika and rocket next time; I’ve never thought to pair tuna with paprika but it sounds good! Service has been good each time I’ve been in.

Meat-lovers might choose the croissant with ham and cheese, or the pastrami, swiss, pickles and mustard – a taste of New York right here in the Quadrant. As we go into spring, the two salads on the menu are bound to be popular too; they do a Greek-ish salad with feta, spinach leaves, tomato, olives and cucumber, and the mozzarella and basil salad, with avocado and pesto oil dressing sounds good, and again, both are under a fiver. Dolce Forne supply the breads, and ES Hulse & Son, the vegetables and fruits.

Vicky explained that they chose the name Fade to Black as the plan is to open in the evenings too, and the cafe does have a bar feel; keep an eye on how that develops. They already sell some almost-alcohol cocktails during the day including Seedlip-based English Garden and Citrus Zest.

Fade to Black is a great new addition to the Quadrant and I am sure I will be back.