Seven coffees in seven days in seven different ways
01 February, 2026
Coffee hound and Love Dumfries contributor, Gilbert West, takes us on a whirlwind coffee tour of Dumfries.
I love good coffee and I spend way too much time in cafés. So I thought I'd give a shout-out to some of my favourite places. I hope you get a chance to try them out for yourself.
Monday - Pan's Café
My go to coffee is espresso. It's something that's really difficult to do well at home which is why I usually opt for it when I'm out. It can also tell you a lot about the quality of the beans used in a café.
Now when it comes to the best coffee in town, I think it's a toss up between newcomer, Pan's, and town centre staple, Kings. But when it comes to the setting, you can't beat Pan's. They operate from the former Moatbrae café and offer views over the gardens and river. There's a decent breakfast and lunch menu with an east Asian thread running through many of the options. They have also recently branched out into lunch deliveries, so if you can't make it into town for a break, they'll deliver it for £1. Pan's opens 9am to 4pm every day except Wednesday, so if you're one of those people who says you didn't ever go to Moatbrae, now you have a second chance. View Pan's profile
Tuesday - Kings
Kings offers great coffee in a variety of different ways and if you like people watching you can sit on a stool by the window watching the world go by or enjoy their outdoor benches during the warmer months.
What's special about Kings is that drinking coffee can be a joint venture. If you fancy sharing a coffee with friends, Aeropress, V60 and Chemex are options on the menu.
They also have a "make your own salad bowl" options, something I'd like to see more widely available in all cafés.
Kings is open 9.30 to 5 everyday, except Sunday. View Kings profile
Wednesday - The Stove Café
The Stove Café is a bit like Cheers, "Where everybody knows your name". It's certainly a community hub and is always buzzing with regulars. My go to coffee here is usually a cortado accompanied by one of their lunch time stews. Hearty and warming, just like the café itself.
There's always something going on at The Stove Café. You'll usually find a small exhibition, you'll bump into someone you know or just peruse the leaflets and posters for events in the area. If you're lucky enough to get a sunny day, there's no sunnier spot to enjoy a coffee and a natter.
The Stove Café is open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 3pm. View Stove Café's profile
Thursday - Hopper Records
Hopper is a relatively new record shop on Queensberry Street that will also brew up a coffee. Hopper reminds me of my youth spend across the road at long gone, Barnstorm Records.
Fortunately the music legacy continues on Queensberry street, with much more room for album flipping, the occasional tiny gig and the welcome addition of coffee.
Hopper is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am - 5pm and 3.30pm to 7.30pm on a Thursday. View Hopper's profile
Friday - Elevenses
By the end of the week I'm ready for some guilty pleasures and haggis and cheese loaded hashbrowns or macaroni cheese with extra haggis and chips comes to mind. But what does that have to do with coffee you ask? Well Elevenses has a coffee surprise in store and they do it in their own particular way.
After a decent lunch, I like to wash everything down with an affogato. Literally, ice cream, "drowned" in coffee. Coffee as a dessert. You pour the coffee over the ice cream yourself and Elevenses top it all off with a very generous portion of shortbread.
Elevenses is open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm. View Elevenses' profile
Saturday - Studio Café (At Gracefield Arts Centre)
Sticking with the Italian theme, you can get a good espresso, in nice espresso glasses at Studio Café. It's a perfect place to take a break from the exhibitions at Gracefield. Once you've had your fill you can jump back into the exhibitions or just stay a bit longer for some cake.
Exhibitions are free at the Gracefield so you don't even have to be going for the art to nip in for a drink at the Studio Café.
Studio Café is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm. View Mrs Green's profile
Sunday - Mrs Green's
Sunday is the best day for a full breakfast and Mrs Green's is a decent Sunday spot for that. Big breakfasts call for big coffees so I'd be washing that down with a long black/Americano or two.
If it's a sunny day, you can grab a table outside and you even have the option to grab and ice cream from Sadie's and enjoy it with a coffee from Mrs Green's.
Mrs Green's is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 3pm, except Wednesday, and 10am to 3pm on Sundays. View Mrs Green's profile
Disclaimer: Mark Smith, Treasurer of DPAG, the operator this website, is a trustee of the social enterprise that runs Kings. He wasn't involved in writing this article.