Religion and addiction are very similar. They can both be overpowering, irrational and distract from our humdrum lives. Well, the coffee at St Ali is a bit of both and you should be warned- popping into St Ali for an innocent coffee can lead to a serious caffeine overdose. After your first coffee when the nice waitress asks “can I get you another?” you will hear yourself sighing “yes” before anyone has time to stop you. This can happen multiple times, ceasing only when your hands are too shaky to actually hold a cup, and it doesn’t help that purring in your peripheral vision are the huge coffee roasters dishing out the beans ready for your tasting pleasure. Don’t get me wrong; you’ll enjoy every moment of it. Every cup is made with the kind of passion and care usually reserved for lovers. It's no wonder the St Ali coffee empire is expanding so rapidly.

Of course, the coffee isn’t the only saliva-inducing item on the menu. The unique array of food has a Middle-Eastern twist and you’ll find full-flavoured additions such as whipped goats cheese, pine nuts and lemon. Even the basics are gourmet and eggs on toast always come with house-made kasundi. For lunch try the Ali Baa Baa pizza with slow braised lamb, caramalised onion, pine nuts, sultanas, baby spinach and garlic yoghurt. Plus there’s an assortment of slices, cakes and cookies that, teamed with a delicately roasted coffee, will send you into a state of pure ecstasy.

And if you’re wondering where the name springs from- in the 15th Century St Ali introduced coffee to Muslim mystics who believed it was a gift from the gods. Who can blame them? They used it to sustain energy and concentration during long prayer sessions, which isn’t so different from our modern uses (if you factor in the 9-5 and minus the actual praying).