Friar Street · Reading
A small café with seriously good coffee, and a short, honest menu.
We open early, bake in the mornings, change the menu most weeks, and try to keep the place somewhere you'd actually want to spend an hour. Reading, two minutes from the station.
A bit about us
Coffee with intent. Food without fuss.
Cornerstone opened in 2022 with a simple idea: do a few things really well rather than a lot of things badly. Our beans come from a handful of independent roasters we visit in person. The bread we use is sourdough from Hill Top, the bakery a mile up the road. The kitchen is small on purpose.
The room seats eighteen and there are two tables outside when the weather behaves. Most of our regulars are people who live or work within ten minutes. We are happy to be a quiet stop in your day, and we are also happy if you decide to stay for two hours and finish a book.
Today
When we're open.
- Mon to Fri
- 7:30 – 16:00
- Saturday
- 8:00 – 17:00
- Sunday
- 9:00 – 16:00
Stories
From the café.
-
1 June 2026
This summer's coffee rotation
Three new beans on bar from June, including a peach-sweet washed Ethiopia we have not been able to stop drinking.
-
18 May 2026
Why our bread comes from Hill Top
A small note on the bakery in Caversham that supplies our sourdough, and why we send the toastie press their way.