&KITH is one of Leicester’s newest independent openings, launching earlier this year on Granby Street.
Taking inspiration from the phrase “Kith & kin”, it’s all about social time spent with friends. One of their standout features is their NYC style alcohol free cocktail bar, offering a range of classic made with the finest 0% alternatives, as well as all day dining option.
We caught up with owner, Farouk, to find out more about the venue and their plans.
How would you describe &KITH to someone who’s never been?
&KITH is all day social space that serves specialty coffee and dessert, brunch, evening food and an amazing dry (alcohol-free) bar.
How did you come up with the name?
Social is at the core of what we do because our mission is to bring friends (and family) together at any time of the day and enjoy the variety of things on offer. “Kith” was taken from the phrase “kith and kin” which means “friends and family”, so we shortened it to KITH and placed and & in front of it. The idea is “Coffee &KITH”, “Food &KITH”, “Drinks &KITH’.
What are some of the standout items on your menu?
Firstly our coffee is single origin Mexican beans that are farmed and produced only by women, and on our coffee menu we are fast becoming famous for our colourful Spanish lattes, particularly the pistachio. We’ve recently introduced a white chocolate hazelnut one, which is like having a Kinder Bueno and coffee simultaneously!
On our Brunch menu the savoury standout has to be our wild mushrooms with beef bacon on toast topped with fried eggs. Customers love this dish and it is our favourite.
Our Neaopolitan style pizzas made from scratch are customer favourites too.
You’ve recently introduced brunch all through the week as well, has this been a particular highlight with customers since opening?
Yes, customers really wanted brunch throughout the week and it is currently our most popular service. In only our first two week since launching it every day weve been really busy, so thank you!
What’s your favourite thing about the venue?
Its not a thing really, but its how peaceful it is. Its such a calming space with neutral colours and beautiful pops of pink, and the real plants in the café section make us feel part of nature.
Your dry bar is a particular standout feature of the venue, what made you want to introduce this concept?
As a non drinker, I wanted to have exciting drink options. These are limited for people who are teetotal and I desperately wanted to change that. I wanted to create a real, credible bar space that felt every inch an alcoholic bar but with all completely alcohol free options. Its been great to see people sit at a bar and use the space in that way, that wouldn’t normally because as well as not drinking alcohol they don’t want to be surrounded by it either.
Tell us about your non-alcoholic drinks offer and what makes it special?
Our mojitos for example contain real white and dark rum 100% alcohol free alternatives, giving them body and a flavour profile that ones without those alternative don’t have. We also have some really special fruit based cocktails such as our Mango and Passionfruit sunrise which contains real, fresh fruit purees, making them a cut above other drinks out there. We recently created a lychee and rose mimosa which is a great girlfriends catch up mocktail over brunch!
Who are some of your other favourite independents in Leicester?
We love BakerStCakes for their award winning macarons and cookies, Chloe Gourmet for her French style of patisserie, and NC French bakery/breakfast for making breakfast time special.
Where can people find out more about &KITH, what are your opening hours and do people need to book?
Currently, on our Instagram page @andkith where we post stories daily about our coffee, food, bar and desserts. It has our opening times on it too. Currently we’re walk in only, but stay tuned, because we’re launching our website soon which will have a booking system.
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